Transient Electronics: Materials and Devices

Abstract

Transient technology is an emerging field that requires materials, devices, and systems to be capable of disappearing with minimal or non-traceable remains over a period of stable operation. Electronics with the capability of disintegrating or vanishing after stable operation are becoming an interesting research topic and have attracted increasing attentions. In recent years, transience technology has been extended to intelligence applications, bioelectronics and environmental monitoring systems, and energy harvesters and storage. Although the transient concept has only a few years of development, this emerging transient technology is believed to find more opportunities in the fast development of advanced electronics. In this review, we will examine recent progress in the development of transient electronics. First, an overview of various transient materials, including metals, polymers, and semiconductor materials, is described. Second, recent progress in the design and development of transient electronics is reviewed. Third, transient energy storage, focusing on primary batteries and secondary batteries, is explored. We end the review with a conclusion and outlook, pointing out further designs and developments of transient technology based on transient materials towards high-performance evanescent electronics and energy storage.

Degradation behaviors and mechanisms of MoS2 crystals relevant to bioabsorbable electronics

“…Monolayer MoS 2 can be slowly oxidized in air or dissolved in aqueous solution after several weeks or months, resulting in its environmental degradation [12][13][14][15] . Owing to these characteristics, monolayer MoS 2 is an ideal candidate for use in bioabsorbable electronics, such as temporary biomedical sensors and therapeutic vehicles, that can be absorbed after being implanted into the human body, thereby eliminating the need for secondary surgeries to extract the implants [16][17][18][19] . The long-term cytotoxicity and immunological biocompatibility of CVD-grown monolayer MoS 2 in biofluids and tissues of live animal models have been reported 20 .…”

Materials and processing approaches for foundry-compatible transient electronics

“…The results enable bioresorbable implants that bypass secondary surgical procedures for extraction, environmental sensors that avoid the need for retrieval and collection after use, and compostable electronics that eliminate costs and risks associated with recycling operations (24-26). Specific examples in the research literature include simple passive and active components (e.g., resistors, Si transistors), complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) inverters and their logic gates, sensors and detectors, energy storage devices and harvesters, and wireless RF power scavengers (27)(28)(29)(30). The most recent results show, in fact, that transient electronics can be built using conventional tools in a CMOS fabrication environment, with device and circuit designs that incorporate biodegradable materials, such as Si, SiO 2 , and W, with only minute amounts of nondegradable materials, such as Significance Bioresorbable electronic systems have the potential to create important new categories of technologies, ranging from temporary biomedical implants to environmentally benign, green consumer devices.…”

Bioresorbable Materials on the Rise: From Electronic Components and Physical Sensors to In Vivo Monitoring Systems

“…Among the different bioresorbable materials, monocrystalline silicon in the form of nanomembranes (Si NMs) represents an emerging choice for the fabrication of high‐performance transient electronics and bioresorbable devices …”