Researchers unveil code for indestructible technology equipment
A Horizon-Expanding Step Towards Flexible Electronics
The brilliance of a game-changing breakthrough has just emerged from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). This development brings us one step closer to couture tech, as we stand on the cusp of a world embracing fully flexible electronic devices.
Conventional electronic devices have been hamstrung by the high processing temperatures needed to manufacture them. The transistors are built on rigid and brittle oxide nanolayers that require over 400°C temperatures during production. The unbending silicon foundation on which these electrical components stand is also inflexible and breakable.
Creating flexible electronic devices necessitates incorporating them onto a bendable polymer material, which cannot withstand such high temperatures, risking combustion during manufacturing. Philipp Gutruf, the lead researcher from RMIT, and his team have engineered a revolutionary process that triumphs over this issue, paving the way for versatile, bendable electronic devices.
"We utilized a transparent indium tin oxide material for our electrically-conductive components," explains Gutruf. Instead of a rigid oxide layer, which, like glass, can crack, they created a layer of oxide plates similar to tectonic plates, that overlap and slide over each other—forming a flexible, stretchable surface. This flexible surface can sustain a massive amount of stress while still retaining its electrical conductivity.
The researchers prepared the oxide plates on a silicon layer, then applied a special rubber-like polymer on top, detaching the layer once it dried. This results in the components settling within the material, leaving the silicon behind. For the polymer, they employed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)—an organic, transparent, and biocompatible material commonly used in medical devices such as breast implants and catheters, as well as in food additives.
Flexible, body-friendly electronic devices have several medical applications, such as implanted devices that are less likely to be rejected by the body because they are soft. In collaboration with RMIT medical researchers, the team is working on developing endoscopy devices that could be left inside the body to take data readings over a period of time.
The RMIT team is also conducting research into piezoelectronics—new kinds of self-powering electronic motors that could potentially be used in medical devices like pacemakers, eliminating the need for invasive procedures to replace batteries.
For mobile computing, this research opens up the potential to take flexible device technology to the next level, challenging rigid screens and devices. While flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology has existed for some time, we are only now beginning to see the first flexible iterations of displays in the market. Companies such as Samsung have unveiled prototypes of phones using flexible plastic-based displays, demonstrating paper-like smartphone concepts that can bend like a book.
Gutruf believes his team's research could lead to devices that are more flexible and versatile than currently available. "Flexible displays are more bendable than fully flexible," he explains. "Phone concepts demonstrated by Samsung can bend to a certain degree, but a device made from PDMS using our process could be truly flexible, stretchable, and virtually unbreakable. Devices could, therefore, be much more portable. Interactive newspapers that can be crumpled up like paper in your hand are not that far away."
While simple flexible electronic devices such as rollable keyboards and flexible RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips are already in the market, Gutruf's research could pave the way for more complex flexible devices, such as rubber-like phones, squeezable tablets, and interactive clothing. Additionally, flexible displays could be transparent, leading to applications like transparent TVs, interactive advertisements in shop windows, and displays integrated into car windshields.
Because the material is organic, it is also biodegradable, potentially reducing waste from conventional devices. However, Gutruf anticipates it may take a "decade or two" before flexible devices are on the same functional level as their rigid counterparts. Until then, the researchers intend to demonstrate that the process can work with fully functional processors, moving one step closer to a world embracing flexible, state-of-the-art electronic devices.
Science has taken a significant leap forward with the innovative process engineered by Philipp Gutruf and his team at RMIT, which promises to revolutionize smartphone technology. By using a transparent indium tin oxide material for electrically-conductive components and a flexible, stretchable surface, they've developed a method that could lead to truly flexible, virtually unbreakable smartphones, challenging the rigidity of current devices. This advancement in technology also opens doors for other gadgets, such as squeezable tablets and interactive clothing, making our use of technology more seamlessly integrated into our lives.
