Silicon Circuits That Bend and Stretch

[Science News]

Matty the Monkey brings us a story from the BBC about silicon chips which can bend, flex, and even stretch. Researchers have developed a method to create circuits just 1.5 microns thick, which can then be bonded to a type of rubber to allow a great degree of flexibility. Scientists and companies see uses for these circuits in products ranging from "electronic paper" to form-fitting sensor devices to advanced brain implants. From BBC News: "To create the foldable chips, these circuit layers are deposited on a polymer substrate which is bonded in turn to a temporary silicon base. Following the deposition of the circuits, the silicon base is discarded to reveal delicate slivers of circuitry held in plastic. These are then bonded to a piece of pre-strained rubber. When the strain is removed, the rubber snaps back into shape, causing the circuits on the surface to wrinkle accordingly."Read more of this story (http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/28/0148239&from=rss) at Slashdot.
http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdotScience?i=nuYOBr</img> (http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdotScience?a=nuYOBr)
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~4/259455381

Silicon Circuits That Bend and Stretch (http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/259455381/article.pl)