Ultra-thin Semiconductor Films for Flexible Electronics and Bioelectronics

Electronics that can seamlessly integrate with human body could have significant impact in medical diagnostic and therapeutics. However, seamless integration is a grand challenge because of the distinct nature between electronics and human body. Conventional electronics are rigid and planar, made out of rigid materials. Human body are soft, deformable and curvilinear, comprised of biological materials, organs and tissues. This talk will introduce our strategies to address the challenge through ultra-thin semiconductor film electronics based soft electronics technologies, such as flexible, stretchable electronics and most recently rubbery electronics. By taking the advantage of the enable mechanics of ultra-thin, open-mesh structures, conventionally non-stretchable electronic materials could become mechanically stretchable. Special mechanical structures or architectures accommodate or eliminate mechanical strain in the non-stretchable materials while stretched. Stretchable electronics in this fashion allow integration with skin, organ and tissues. On the other hand, rubbery electronics is constructed all based on elastic rubber electronic materials of semiconductors, conductors and dielectrics, which possesses tissue-like softness and mechanical stretchability to allow seamless integration with soft deformable tissues and organs.