Stretchable thin film mechanical-strain-gated switches and logic gate functions based on a soft tunneling barrier
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Mechanical-strain-gated switches are cornerstone components of material-embedded circuits that perform logic operations without using conventional electronics. This technology requires a single material system to exhibit three distinct functionalities: strain-invariant conductivity and an increase or decrease of conductivity upon mechanical deformation. Herein, mechanical-strain-gated electric switches based on a thin-film architecture that features an insulator-to-conductor transition when mechanically stretched are demonstrated. The conductivity changes by nine orders of magnitude over a wide range of tunable working strains (as high as 130%). The approach relies on a nanometer-scale sandwiched bilayer Au thin film with an ultrathin poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomeric barrier layer; applied strain alters the electron tunneling currents through the barrier. Mechanical-force-controlled electric logic circuits are achieved by realizing strain-controlled basic (AND and OR) and universal (NAND and NOR) logic gates in a single system. The proposed material system can be used to fabricate material-embedded logics of arbitrary complexity for a wide range of applications including soft robotics, wearable/implantable electronics, human–machine interfaces, and Internet of Things.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | 2104769 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Advanced materials |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 41 |
Publication status | Published - 14 Oct 2021 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 85114310389 |
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Mendeley | c0a9f274-b369-3734-b12d-16be69fee401 |
unpaywall | 10.1002/adma.202104769 |
WOS | 000693699300001 |
ORCID | /0000-0001-6778-7846/work/142240145 |
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- logic gates, strain-gated electric switches, stretchable circuits, thin films, tunneling, PRESSURE, CONDUCTORS, SENSOR, ELECTRONIC SKIN, SILVER NANOPARTICLES