1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
2. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering,
3. Frederick-Seitz Materials Research Laboratory,
4. Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology,
5. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
6. Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
7. Department of Mechanical Engineering,
8. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA
9. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Yonggang Huang^7,8John A. Rogers^1,2,3,4,5,6 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.A.R. (Email: jrogers@uiuc.edu) and Y.H. (Email: y-huang@northwestern.edu).

Abstract

The human eye is a remarkable imaging device, with many attractive design features^{1, 2}. Prominent among these is a hemispherical detector geometry, similar to that found in many other biological systems, that enables a wide field of view and low aberrations with simple, few-component imaging optics^{3, 4, 5}. This type of configuration is extremely difficult to achieve using established optoelectronics technologies, owing to the intrinsically planar nature of the patterning, deposition, etching, materials growth and doping methods that exist for fabricating such systems. Here we report strategies that avoid these limitations, and implement them to yield high-performance, hemispherical electronic eye cameras based on single-crystalline silicon. The approach uses wafer-scale optoelectronics formed in unusual, two-dimensionally compressible configurations and elastomeric transfer elements capable of transforming the planar layouts in which the systems are initially fabricated into hemispherical geometries for their final implementation. In a general sense, these methods, taken together with our theoretical analyses of their associated mechanics, provide practical routes for integrating well-developed planar device technologies onto the surfaces of complex curvilinear objects, suitable for diverse applications that cannot be addressed by conventional means.

1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
2. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering,
3. Frederick-Seitz Materials Research Laboratory,
4. Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology,
5. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
6. Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
7. Department of Mechanical Engineering,
8. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA
9. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Yonggang Huang^7,8John A. Rogers^1,2,3,4,5,6 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.A.R. (Email: jrogers@uiuc.edu) and Y.H. (Email: y-huang@northwestern.edu).

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