Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Electronic textiles

A logical step

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 328–329 (2007)Cite this article

The integration of electronics and clothing promises a variety of new technologies, but constructing electronic circuits on fabrics is complex. Coating fibres to create electrodes and forming transistors at their crossing points offers an elegant solution.

The concept of multifunctional — electronic or 'smart' — fabrics was suggested several years ago1, but only recently has their true potential to make life safer, healthier and more comfortable been recognised. Multifunctional fabrics are conceived as innovative and high-knowledge-content apparel, integrating sensing, actuation, processing and power functions into a single garment2. Perhaps the most compelling application is that of providing quality health care in modern society, delivered by means of easy-to-use wearable interfaces, to enable prevention, diagnosis, therapy and even rehabilitation3.

Your institute does not have access to this article

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Figure 1: Working principles of OFET and electrochemical WECT transistors.
Figure 2: Logic circuits constructed from WECTs.

References

  1. Post, R., Orth, M., Russo, P. R. & Gershenfeld, N. IBM Syst. J. 39, 840–860 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Service, R. F. Science 301, 909–911 (2003).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lymberis, A. & De Rossi D. (eds) Wearable Health Systems for Personalized Health Management — State of the Art and Future Challenge (IOS, Amsterdam, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Mahiar, H., Forchheimer, R. & Inganäs, O. Nature Mater. 6, 357–362 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Dimitrakopoulus, C. & Malenfant, P. R. L. Adv. Mater. 14, 99–117 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Lee, J. B. & Subramanian, V. IEEE Trans. Electron Dev. 52, 269–275 (2005).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Maccioni, M., Orgiu, E., Cosseddu, P., Locci, S. & Bonfiglio, A. Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 143515 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Norris, I. D. & Mattes, B. R. in Handbook of Conducting Polymers 3rd edn (eds Skotheim, T. A. & Reynolds, J. R.) 1–72 (CRC, Boca Raton, Florida, 2007).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Biotex project; www.biotex-eu.com

  10. Proetex project; www.proetex.org

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Danilo De Rossi is at the Center E. Piaggio, University of Pisa, Via Diotisalvi, 2, 56100 Pisa, Italy. d.derossi@ing.unipi.it,

    Danilo De Rossi

Authors
  1. Danilo De Rossi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

De Rossi, D. A logical step. Nature Mater 6, 328–329 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1892

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1892

Further reading

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing