Mechanics of Stretchable Electronics

JOINT SEMINAR with AME and CEEYoung HuangShao Lee Soo ProfessorDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial EngineeringUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAbstractStretchable electronics is important in the development of next-generation electronics since it has many applications such as portable electronics, flexible display, small optical sensor and compact digital camera, sensors and drive electronics for artificial muscles, structural monitors wrapped around aircraft wings, and surgeon's gloves studded with stretchable sensors that can monitor a patient's vital signs. However, silicon is an intrinsically brittle material and is not stretchable. We have produced a stretchable form of silicon that consists of sub-micrometer single crystal elements structured into shapes with microscale periodic, wave-like geometries (Science, v 311, pp 208-212, 2006). When supported by an elastomeric substrate, this wavy silicon can be reversibly stretched and compressed to large strains without damaging the silicon. The amplitudes and periods of the waves change to accommodate these deformations, thereby avoiding significant strains in the silicon itself. Dielectrics, patterns of dopants, electrodes and other elements directly integrated with the silicon yield fully formed, high performance wavy metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, pn diodes and other devices for electronic circuits that can be stretched or compressed to similarly large levels of strain. There are many mechanics problems in stretchable electronics, and I will discuss a few in this talk.

Location: Hedco Pertroleum and Chemical Engineering Building (HED) - co Neurosciences Bldg. (HNB Auditorium)

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: April Mundy