Bend it, wrap it, stretch it: the new silicon circuit
By Susan Wilson
Bio-medical implants, hi-tech clothing, and wearable health monitors are all possible uses for this new chip. By adding the chip to rubber, it can be molded so that it fits in places where others chips can’t. These circuits are also more powerful than other bendable chips that have been created on plastic.
Professor John Rogers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign described the initial problem in the BBC article Silicon Chips Stretch into Shape this way,"We had to figure out how to make the entire circuit in an ultra-thin format." The scientists developed this new bendable circuit by adding strips of silicon to stretched rubber. When the rubber was allowed to resume its original shape, the silicon strips resembled an "accordion bellows" that allowed the silicon to move with the rubber. The circuitry was then carefully layered on to the silicon and the rubber to create minute integrated circuits.
The chips are currently not as powerful as standard computer circuits. These flexible circuits are only one and a half microns thick and show great promise for use in microelectronics. While still in the developmental stage, Dr. Rogers is working with other scientists primarily on applications in the medical field. Projected uses for this technology would be as a flexible sheet that could be placed inside the skull to monitor brain activity in epileptics. Another use would be a "smart" latex glove for surgery that would be able to update the wearer on the patients vital signs and blood loss.
Other uses can easily be imagined. In a previous post, I wrote about the use of electronics in creating new clothing designs. Another post referenced the use of electronics in Dainese’s new motorcycle racing suit. Beyond clothing, these tiny flexible circuits could be used in furniture to sense the vital signs or anxiety level of the seated person. Further uses in furniture would be the ability to heat a seat or couch to a person’s preference. It could even be used to keep the pets off the sofa.
Beyond the currently imagined applications for this flexible technology will be uses that have not yet been envisioned. This new type of microelectronics will create new ways of interacting with everyday objects and new ways of treating medical conditions.
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