Transient devices designed to undergo programmable transformations

• US 10,396,173 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2017
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois, Trustees of Tufts College
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Inventors: Rogers, John A., Omenetto, Fiorenzo G., Hwang, Suk-Won, Tao, Hu, Kim, Dae-Hyeong, Kaplan, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Gumedzoe, Peniel M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson, Christopher A
• Application Number:
  US15/632,004
• Publication Number:
  US 20180175158A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 23/282 Limited play
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/293 Organic, e.g. plastic
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/016 Thin-film circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 28/10 Inductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 28/20 Resistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 28/40 Capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0669 Nanowires or nanotubes carbon nanotubes as material of solid-state device active part H10K85/211
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66 Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66007 Multistep manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7787 with wide bandgap charge-carrier supplying layer, e.g. direct single heterostructure MODFET
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78603 characterised by the insulating substrate or support H01L29/78657 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7869 having a semiconductor body comprising an oxide semiconductor material, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide, cadmium stannate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78696 characterised by the structure of the channel, e.g. multichannel, transverse or longitudinal shape, length or width, doping structure, or the overlap or alignment between the channel and the gate, the source or the drain, or the contacting structure of the channel H01L29/78612 takes precedence; transistors having a drain offset region or a lightly doped drain [LDD] H01L29/78621
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/812 with a Schottky gate H01L29/7725, H01L29/775, H01L29/778, H01L29/806 take precedence; with Schottky contact on top of heterojunction gate H01L29/802
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/861 Diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/872 Schottky diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/08 in which radiation controls flow of current through the device, e.g. photoresistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2283 : mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 : Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 257/922 : with means to prevent inspection of or tampering with an integrated circuit, e.g. "smart card", anti-tamper

Abstract

The invention provides transient devices, including active and passive devices that electrically and/or physically transform upon application of at least one internal and/or external stimulus. Materials, modeling tools, manufacturing approaches, device designs and system level examples of transient electronics are provided.

Claims

1. A passive transient electronic device comprising:

a substrate; and

one or more inorganic components supported by said substrate;

wherein said one or more inorganic components independently comprise a selectively transformable material, wherein said one or more inorganic components have a preselected transience profile in response to an external or internal stimulus;

wherein at least partial transformation of said one or more inorganic components provides a programmable transformation of the passive transient electronic device in response to said external or internal stimulus and at a pre-selected time or at a pre-selected rate, wherein said programmable transformation provides a change in function of the passive transient electronic device from a first condition to a second condition;

wherein change in function transforms said one or more inorganic components from;

(i) a NOR gate to a NAND gate;

(ii) an inverter to an isolated transistor;

(iii) a resistor to a diode;

(iv)a NAND gate to an inverter;

(v) a NOR gate to an isolated transistor;

or

(vi) a NAND gate to an isolated transistor.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said programmable transformation of said one or more inorganic components occurs by a process other than bioresorption.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said programmable transformation of said one or more inorganic components occurs:

(i) by a phase change, wherein at least a portion of said one or more inorganic components undergo at least partial sublimation or melting;

(ii) via at least partial dissolution of said one or more inorganic semiconductor components or said one or more metallic conductor components in a solvent;

(iii) via at least partial hydrolysis of said one or more inorganic semiconductor components or said one or more metallic conductor components;

(iv) via at least partial etching or corrosion of said one or more inorganic semiconductor components or said one or more metallic conductor components;

(v) by a photochemical reaction wherein at least a portion of said one or more inorganic semiconductor components or said one or more metallic conductor components absorb electromagnetic radiation and undergo an at least partial chemical or physical change

(vi) by an electrochemical reaction;

or

(vii) by a chemical or physical change wherein at least a portion of said one or more inorganic semiconductor components or said one or more metallic conductor components is converted to an insulator,

thereby providing said programmable transformation of the passive transient electronic device.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said preselected transience profile is characterized by a transformation of 0.01% to 100% of said one or more inorganic components over a time interval selected from the range of 1 ms to 2 years, thereby providing said programmable transformation of the passive transient electronic device.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein said preselected transience profile is characterized by a decrease in electrical conductivity of said one or more inorganic components at a rate selected over the range of 10¹⁰ S·

m<sup>−

1</sup> s<sup>−

1</sup> to 1 S·

m<sup>−

1</sup> s<sup>−

1</sup>.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said external or internal stimulus comprises a change in biological environment, a change in temperature, a change in pressure, exposure to electromagnetic radiation, contact with a chemical agent, application of an electric field, application of a magnetic field, exposure to a solvent, change in pH of an external environment, change in salt concentration of an external environment, or application of an anodic voltage.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising an encapsulating material at least partially encapsulating one or more of said inorganic components, wherein said encapsulating material comprises a selectively removable material that is at least partially removed to expose underlying inorganic components.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein said encapsulating material is removed in response to said external or internal stimulus.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein said encapsulating material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of MgO, silk, collagen, gelatin, PLGA, polyvinylalcohol (PVA), PLA, SiO₂, polyanhydrides (polyesters), polyhdroxyalkanates (PHAs) and polyphosphates.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein each of said one or more inorganic components independently comprise Si, Ga, GaAs, ZnO or any combination of these.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein said one or more inorganic components independently comprise Mg, W, Fe, or an alloy thereof.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein said one or more inorganic components independently comprise an alloy of Mg with one or more additional materials selected from the group consisting of Al, Ag, Ca, Li, Mn, Si, Sn, Y, Zn, and Zr, wherein said one or more additional materials of said alloy has a concentration equal to or less than 10% by weight.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein said substrate comprises silk.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein a time for a thickness of selectively transformable material to reach zero is given by:

15. The device of claim 1 further comprising a silk overcoat provided on at least a portion of said one or more organic components.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein said one or more inorganic components comprise one or more inorganic semiconductor components, one or more metallic conductor components or both one or more inorganic semiconductor components and one or more metallic conductor components.

17. A method of using a passive transient electronic device, said method comprising the steps of:

providing the passive transient electronic device comprising;

a substrate; and

one or more inorganic components supported by said substrate;

wherein said one or more inorganic components independently comprise a selectively transformable material, wherein said one or more inorganic components have a preselected transience profile in response to an external or internal stimulus;

wherein at least partial transformation of said one or more inorganic components provides a programmable transformation of the passive transient electronic device in response to said external or internal stimulus and at a pre-selected time or at a pre-selected rate, wherein said programmable transformation provides a change in function of the passive transient electronic device from a first condition to a second condition

exposing said passive transient electronic device to said external or internal stimulus, thereby programmably transforming said passive transient electronic device, thereby providing said change in function of said passive transient electronic device from;

(i) a NOR gate to a NAND gate;

(ii) an inverter to an isolated transistor;

(iii) a resistor to a diode;

(iv) a NAND gate to an inverter;

(v) a NOR gate to an isolated transistor;

or

(vi) a NAND gate to an isolated transistor.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said passive transient electronic device further comprises a silk overcoat provided on at least a portion of said one or more inorganic components.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said one or more inorganic components comprise one or more inorganic semiconductor components, one or more metallic conductor components or both one or more inorganic semiconductor components and one or more metallic conductor components.