Implantable radio chips in rolls
Flexible biocompatible microcircuits for in vivo operation have been created
However, conventional integrated circuits occupy a large volume and cannot bend for optimal contact with the surface of human organs — this limits the applicability of traditional technologies in living organisms (in vivo).
A team of scientists from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology – VM), led by Professor Keon Jae Lee, has developed and demonstrated flexible silicon-based circuits with a high level of integration designed for biomedical wireless communications.
Radio frequency chips combining thousands of nanotransistors were manufactured on a silicon wafer using standard CMOS technologies (production of complementary metal-oxide semiconductors - VM). Then, by wet chemical etching, the entire lower part of the substrate was removed to an active near-surface layer with a thickness of 100 nm, after which flexible radio frequency switches for wireless communication were sealed in a biocompatible liquid crystal polymer.
The decisive test of the new technology was the implantation of radio chips to live rats, which demonstrated the stable functioning of flexible microcircuits in vivo.
The results of the study are described in an article published in the May online issue of ACS Nano (Hwang et al., In Vivo Silicon-Based Flexible Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Monolithically Encapsulated with Biocompatible Liquid Crystal Polymers; for a popular retelling, see the press release of A KAIST research team developed in vivo flexible large scale integrated circuits – VM). KAIST is currently preparing the introduction of roll printing of flexible plastic-based chips on an industrial scale.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru08.05.2013