Hmm, this is one of those papers which was giving us a lot
of hard time not because it is a weak one (which we don’t typically write)
rather the reviewer was having hard time to understand the fabrication flow. Well,
it has always been difficult to understand our flows because we do it in the
right way and the way that others can follow (when they grasp it). So, what has
been done? Adrian et al. have shown …
Stretchable and Foldable Silicon-Based Electronics
A. C. Cavazos Sepulveda, M.S. Diaz Cordero, A. A. A. Carreño,
J. M. Nassar and M. M. Hussain
Flexible and stretchable semiconducting substrates provide
the foundation for novel electronic applications. Usually, ultra-thin,
flexible, but often fragile substrates are used in such applications. Here, we
describe flexible, stretchable and foldable 500-mm-thick
bulk mono-crystalline silicon (100) “islands”
that are interconnected via extremely compliant 30-mm-thick connectors made of
silicon. The thick mono-crystalline segments create a stand-alone silicon array
that is capable of bending to a radius of 130 µm. The bending radius of the
array does not depend on the overall substrate thickness because the
ultra-flexible silicon connectors are patterned. We use fracture propagation to
release the islands. Because they allow for three-dimensional monolithic
stacking of integrated circuits or other electronics without any
through-silicon vias, our mono-crystalline islands can be used as a
“more-than-Moore” strategy as well as to develop wearable electronics that are
sufficiently robust to be compatible with flip-chip bonding.
Adrian – it is time to be patient. As victory comes with
patience :)