Peel-and-Stick Integrated Circuits Could Make Any Object an IoT Device

Look at the items around you on your desk, in your living room, or in your kitchen. Almost everything that’s not electronic has organic…

Cameron Coward
6 years ago

Look at the items around you on your desk, in your living room, or in your kitchen. Almost everything that’s not electronic has organic curved surfaces. That’s true for aesthetic reasons, and also for a variety of practical manufacturing considerations. But, most electronic components are mounted on rigid PCB substrates, and the components themselves are etched on silicon wafers, which makes them boxy. This new fabrication technique can be used to create peelable, flexible circuits that conform to the organic shapes around you.

The method, developed by researchers from Purdue University and the University of Virginia, doesn’t make the PCB flexible — something we’ve seen before — it makes the components themselves flexible. Traditionally, integrated circuit (IC) components are etched directly onto a stiff silicon wafer. This new fabrication technique places a ductile layer of nickel between the two, making the wafer more of a die than a consumable part of the IC.

After etching, the wafer is soaked in water to loosen the circuit so that it can be peeled of. The circuit maintains its integrity, and the silicon wafer is reused. Those circuits could potentially be anything from a wireless chip to a sensor, and because they’re flexible they can be stuck onto anything. The process both lowers manufacturing costs by reusing the silicon, and also makes it possible to build entire devices that are flexible. The potential for low-cost IoT and biomedical devices is enormous.

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist.
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