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Silicon Circuits That Bend and Stretch

Posted by Soulskill on from the one-size-fits-all dept.

Matty the Monkey brings us a story from the BBC about silicon chips which can bend, flex, and even stretch. Researchers have developed a method to create circuits just 1.5 microns thick, which can then be bonded to a type of rubber to allow a great degree of flexibility. Scientists and companies see uses for these circuits in products ranging from "electronic paper" to form-fitting sensor devices to advanced brain implants. From BBC News: "To create the foldable chips, these circuit layers are deposited on a polymer substrate which is bonded in turn to a temporary silicon base. Following the deposition of the circuits, the silicon base is discarded to reveal delicate slivers of circuitry held in plastic. These are then bonded to a piece of pre-strained rubber. When the strain is removed, the rubber snaps back into shape, causing the circuits on the surface to wrinkle accordingly."

7 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. Waterproof? by EdIII · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Rubber implies the possibility of being waterproof, or more likely, water resistant.

    That's pretty cool. For anybody that has ever had coffee spilled on a laptop this could be huge :)

  2. Dry Rot by ScottBob · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, when that rubber dry-rots, then what are you going to do?

    1. Re:Dry Rot by evanbd · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Throw it away and buy a new one, like with any cheap plastic product, why?

      Besides, if it's expensive enough for that to be a bad option, there are things like silicone rubbers that don't dry rot. I have no idea if this technique works on those, but I'm guessing it will.

  3. Re:Finally! by ForestGrump · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just give them away for free and you'll have an army of walking billboards.

    Yep. That's right! People wear free shirts and give away free advertisement space. Imagine the annoyance/positive marketing impact with animated shirts!

    Grump

    Note: I am not responsible if people choose to boycott your company instead.

    --
    Is it true that more people vote for the winner of American Idol, than vote for the president? -Ali G.
  4. Re:Finally! by moderatorrater · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yea, but airport security might not like it.

  5. Re:Finally! by Dannkape · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why give away free shirts? Seems to work plenty fine to charge people for the privilege of walking around with advertisment. At least it works for sporting equipment companies...

  6. Re:Something I Keep Thinking About by hcdejong · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Such a world would be bloody annoying, to the point where I'd invest in a portable EMP generator so I could scramble/fry any nearby screens. I'm getting information overload as it is.
    Also, covering everything in displays would come at a huge cost. Even if the displays are cheap, they'll inevitably use electricity. I don't look forward to having a power bill for my wallpaper.