Stretchable Carbon Nanotube Charge-Trap Floating-Gate Memory and Logic Devices for Wearable Electronics

TLDR

Wearable electronics must be soft, flexible, and stretchable to match the mechanical properties of the human body while maintaining high performance during deformation. The authors propose materials and device design strategies for stretchable transistors, charge‑trap floating‑gate memory units, and logic gates. They employ semiconducting carbon‑nanotube networks integrated with charge traps and ultrathin dielectrics, along with serpentine interconnections and neutral‑plane layouts, and validate performance and reliability through detailed material and electrical characterizations and statistical analysis. Repetitive stretching tests and mechanical studies confirm the reliability and performance of the CNT‑based stretchable memory and logic devices.

Abstract

Electronics for wearable applications require soft, flexible, and stretchable materials and designs to overcome the mechanical mismatch between the human body and devices. A key requirement for such wearable electronics is reliable operation with high performance and robustness during various deformations induced by motions. Here, we present materials and device design strategies for the core elements of wearable electronics, such as transistors, charge-trap floating-gate memory units, and various logic gates, with stretchable form factors. The use of semiconducting carbon nanotube networks designed for integration with charge traps and ultrathin dielectric layers meets the performance requirements as well as reliability, proven by detailed material and electrical characterizations using statistics. Serpentine interconnections and neutral mechanical plane layouts further enhance the deformability required for skin-based systems. Repetitive stretching tests and studies in mechanics corroborate the validity of the current approaches.