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.
Fifty years after the term brain–computer interface was coined, the neurotechnology is being pursued by an array of start-up companies using a variety of different technologies. But the path to clinical and commercial success remains uncertain.
The responsible development of brain–computer interface technology requires careful consideration of issues related to access, equity and the management of expectations.
Multilayer hexagonal boron nitride can be synthesized over large areas and used to enhance mobility in graphene heterostructures, illustrating the potential of the material as an insulator in commercial two-dimensional electronics.
Conventional dielectric layers used in stretchable electronics are solution-processed, thick and have poor electrical performance compared with rigid, inorganic dielectrics. A stretchable nanometre-thick gate dielectric layer has been produced using large-area vacuum deposition. This material has excellent electrical, mechanical and chemical properties and could facilitate the development of high-performance wearable devices.
This Perspective explores the use of flexible electronics in the development of brain–computer interfaces, considering their potential impact on neuroscience, neuroprosthetic control, bioelectronic medicine, and brain and machine intelligence integration.
Multilayers of hexagonal boron nitride can be grown using a chemical vapour deposition process on iron–nickel foil and integrated into a large array of graphene devices that exhibit room-temperature carrier mobilities of up to around 10,000 cm2 V−1 s−1.
A thin and stretchable polymer layer can be fabricated over large areas with high uniformity using a vacuum-deposition method and used as the gate dielectric in stretchy carbon-nanotube-based transistors and circuits that can function at 40% strain.
A lithography method that is based on interfacial adhesion energy differences and physical etching processes can be used to fabricate more than 10,000 molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistors on six-inch wafers with a yield of around 100%.
Three-dimensional liquid metal structures can be created by manipulating ductile gallium–indium alloy wires that are then encapsulated in an elastomer and heated to recover their fluidity, and can remain in a liquid state for a range of temperatures due to a supercooling effect.
Long-range wireless data links can be created by combining a software-defined digital signal processing back end with on-chip high-power terahertz signal sources and broadband frequency mixers based on Schottky diode technology.
