Flexible electronic systems are beginning to change the way we interact with technology. Electronics that can bend, roll, fold, and move with the human body will enable tools that are simply not possible with rigid, wafer-based materials. Flexible displays, electronic textiles, biosensors, and wearable medical devices are just a few applications that benefit from large-area form factors and mechanical flexibility. In addition, low-cost manufacturing methods such as roll-to-roll printing can be used to fabricate large-area devices on flexible plastic substrates.
Building flexible electronics requires thin layers of material – including conductors, semiconductors, and insulators – that can be patterned onto a plastic substrate. Fundamental advances in our understanding of semiconductor materials, device design, and manufacturing techniques are required if flexible electronics are to fulfill their potential: we need high performance, biocompatible electronic materials with low thermal budgets and robust mechanical properties. We partner those materials with transistor design and customized fabrication processes that enable us to create innovative flexible systems.
We are a multidisciplinary team of researchers focusing on the materials, devices, and fabrication processes that will enable flexible electronic systems. Our research sits at the intersection of semiconductor device physics, materials science, and bioengineering. Together we are engineering innovative systems to build novel flexible circuits and sensors for biomedical applications.