Stretchable electronics have emerged as promising platforms for many important areas such as bio-mimetics, health monitoring, biomedical therapeutics, and soft robotics. This project investigates a set of foundational materials science problems to, for the first time, establish a new electronic materials platform - Si nanomeshes - for next-generation stretchable electronics. The transformative aspect of this project arises from the broad utility of the resulting design and engineering knowledge for nanomesh electronic materials, having profound impacts to not only fundamental materials science but also a broad range of applications in human-electronic interfaces and smart robots. The collaborative team also utilizes this project to integrate creative educational activities with cutting-edge research at multiple levels through: (1) engaging K-12 students via summer research and exhibiting at Oklahoma WONDERtorium Children's museum; (2) actively attracting undergraduate students for early research; and (3) the continuous curriculum development at both Northeastern University and Oklahoma State University to expand capacity in the soft electronic materials field.
Stretchable electronics research has long been facing the dichotomy between device performance and density. In the past decade, there has been significant progress in realizing stretchable semiconductors, however, existing approaches are still incomplete when high-density, high-performance stretchable electronics are needed. On the basis of strong preliminary results from the research team, the principal investigators hypothesize that with tailored nanomesh geometries and engineered sidewall surface states, Si nanomeshes can achieve simultaneously large stretchability, high mobility and high reliability that are needed for high-density stretchable electronics. Through both theoretical and experimental investigations, this project aims to investigate and establish the interrelationship of structure-processing-properties of Si nanomeshes for stretchable devices. Key structure variables to investigate include in-plane nanomesh pattern, out-of-plane materials stacking and sidewall surface states, while main properties targeted are mechanical flexibility, stretchability, and carrier transport mobilities. The project then achieves Si nanomeshes with desired mesh patterns through viable top-down approaches, prints and fabricates sidewall engineered Si-nanomesh based stretchable devices. A set of combined optical and electrical characterizations systematically investigate the properties of sidewall-engineered Si nanomeshes under stretching and scaling. Besides potential applications for high-performance stretchable electronics, this semiconductor nanomesh concept provides a new platform for materials engineering, and is expected to yield a new family of stretchable materials having tunable electronic and optoelectronic properties with customized nanostructures.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
