In a world first, a group including researchers at Keio University and Stanford University has succeeded in operating a flexible and stretchable semiconductor device at the high frequency of 13.56 megahertz (the same frequency used in contactless cards to pay for public transportation). The group was comprised of Naoji Matsuhisa, an Assistant Professor from Keio University’s Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering; Dr. Simiao Niu, a postdoctoral research fellow (at the time of this research project) in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University; Dr. Zhenan Bao, a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University; and colleagues. Until this breakthrough, the operating frequencies for stretchable semiconductor devices have been limited to roughly 100 hertz, meaning that this development has surpassed previous performance by 100,000-fold.
Skin-like soft electronic devices are expected to have vast applications as next-generation wearable devices due to their ability to attach to the skin and be worn comfortably. One critical obstacle with such devices was power supply. The outcomes of this research involving high-frequency diodes, however, have made the wireless transmission of electrical power and communications possible in stretchable electronic materials. Furthermore, the electronic materials developed for stretchable semiconductor devices in this research also have applications for sensors and light-emitting elements, improvements are expected across all flexible wearable technology, bringing us one step closer to practical implementation in our daily lives.
The outcomes of this research were published in Nature on December 8, 2021.
Research outcomes were also shared digitally in a video published by the journal's YouTube channel, nature video, on December 15, 2021. The video can be viewed via the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km1-LbqoHGI