Flexible chips to make wearable e-clothes a reality

Flexible chips to make wearable e-clothes a reality
Washington | July 19, 2006 1:42:53 PM IST

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison claim to have developed a fast, flexible computer chip on plastic. They have said the new thin-film semiconductor technique would help add sensing, computing and imaging capability to an amazing array of materials.

Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma, an electrical and computer engineer along with materials scientist Max Lagally said they developed a process to remove a single crystal film of semiconductor from the substrate on which it is built. They said this thin layer (only a couple of hundred nanometers thick) could be transferred to glass, plastic or other flexible materials also.

Traditionally, semiconductors are built on flat, two-dimensional chips upon which a thin film of material is spread. This film is then etched to make electronic circuits for computers and other electronic devices.

Researchers said that compared to the new chip, traditional chips were quite beefy.

In addition, the semiconductor film can be flipped as it is transferred to its new substrate, making its other side available for more components. This doubles the possible number of devices that can be placed on the film, and by repeating the process, layers of double-sided, thin-film semiconductors can be stacked together, creating powerful, low-power, three-dimensional electronic devices.

"It's important to note that these are single-crystal films of strained silicon or silicon germanium. Strain is introduced in the way we form the membrane. Introducing strain changes the arrangement of atoms in the crystal such that we can achieve much faster device speed while consuming less power," said Ma.

Ma said that technique would also allow the possibility in future for flexible semiconductors to be embedded in fabric to create wearable electronics or computer monitors that roll up like a window shade.

"This is potentially a paradigm shift. The ability to create fast, low-power, multilayer electronics has many exciting applications. Silicon germanium membranes are particularly interesting. Germanium has a much higher adsorption for light than silicon. By including the germanium without destroying the quality of the material, we can achieve devices with two to three orders of magnitude more sensitivity," said Lagally.

Lagally further said that the increased sensitivity could also be applied to create superior low-light cameras, or smaller cameras with greater resolution.

The study appears in the Journal of Applied Physics. (ANI)

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