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Stretchable transistors and functional circuits for human-integrated electronics

Nature Electronics volume 4, pages 17–29 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Electronics with skin- or tissue-like mechanical properties, including low stiffness and high stretchability, can be used to create intelligent technologies for application in areas such as health monitoring and human–machine interactions. Stretchable transistors that provide signal-processing and computational functions will be central to the development of this technology. Here, we review the development of stretchable transistors and functional circuits, examining progress in terms of materials and device engineering. We consider the three established approaches for creating stretchable transistors: buckling engineering, stiffness engineering and intrinsic-stretchability engineering. We also explore the current capabilities of stretchable transistors and circuits in human-integrated electronics and consider the challenges involved in delivering advanced applications.

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Fig. 1: Evolution of stretchable transistors and functional circuits.
Fig. 2: Schematic representations of transistor structures and the transfer and output characteristic curves.
Fig. 3: Buckling-engineering-enabled stretchable transistors and circuits.
Fig. 4: Stiffness-engineering-enabled stretchable transistors and circuits.
Fig. 5: Intrinsically stretchable transistors and circuits.
Fig. 6: Applications for stretchable transistors and circuits.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the start-up fund from the University of Chicago. J.X. acknowledges support from the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a US Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility, and the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, under contract no. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Yahao Dai, Huawei Hu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Yahao Dai, Huawei Hu, Maritha Wang & Sihong Wang

  2. Nanotechnology and Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA

    Jie Xu

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Y.D., H.H. and S.W. researched the data and wrote the manuscript. M.W. and J.X. reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors discussed the contents and provided important contributions to the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sihong Wang.

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Dai, Y., Hu, H., Wang, M. et al. Stretchable transistors and functional circuits for human-integrated electronics. Nat Electron 4, 17–29 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-020-00513-5

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