Inorganic semiconducting materials for flexible and stretchable electronics

Abstract

Recent progress in the synthesis and deterministic assembly of advanced classes of single crystalline inorganic semiconductor nanomaterial establishes a foundation for high-performance electronics on bendable, and even elastomeric, substrates. The results allow for classes of systems with capabilities that cannot be reproduced using conventional wafer-based technologies. Specifically, electronic devices that rely on the unusual shapes/forms/constructs of such semiconductors can offer mechanical properties, such as flexibility and stretchability, traditionally believed to be accessible only via comparatively low-performance organic materials, with superior operational features due to their excellent charge transport characteristics. Specifically, these approaches allow integration of high-performance electronic functionality onto various curvilinear shapes, with linear elastic mechanical responses to large strain deformations, of particular relevance in bio-integrated devices and bio-inspired designs. This review summarizes some recent progress in flexible electronics based on inorganic semiconductor nanomaterials, the key associated design strategies and examples of device components and modules with utility in biomedicine.