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Digital Electrochemistry for On‐Chip Heterogeneous Material Integration
Author(s) -
Bao Bin,
Rivkin Boris,
Akbar Farzin,
Karnaushenko Dmitriy D.,
Bandari Vineeth Kumar,
Teuerle Laura,
Becker Christian,
Baunack Stefan,
Karnaushenko Daniil,
Schmidt Oliver G.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.202101272
Subject(s) - active matrix , materials science , microsystem , electrochromism , nanotechnology , microelectronics , fabrication , electronics , thin film transistor , electrical engineering , electrode , engineering , layer (electronics) , medicine , chemistry , alternative medicine , pathology
Many modern electronic applications rely on functional units arranged in an active‐matrix integrated on a single chip. The active‐matrix allows numerous identical device pixels to be addressed within a single system. However, next‐generation electronics requires heterogeneous integration of dissimilar devices, where sensors, actuators, and display pixels sense and interact with the local environment. Heterogeneous material integration allows the reduction of size, increase of functionality, and enhancement of performance; however, it is challenging since front‐end fabrication technologies in microelectronics put extremely high demands on materials, fabrication protocols, and processing environments. To overcome the obstacle in heterogeneous material integration, digital electrochemistry is explored here, which site‐selectively carries out electrochemical processes to deposit and address electroactive materials within the pixel array. More specifically, an amorphous indium‐gallium‐zinc oxide (a‐IGZO) thin‐film‐transistor (TFT) active‐matrix is used to address pixels within the matrix and locally control electrochemical reactions for material growth and actuation. The digital electrochemistry procedure is studied in‐depth by using polypyrrole (PPy) as a model material. Active‐matrix‐driven multicolored electrochromic patterns and actuator arrays are fabricated to demonstrate the capabilities of this approach for material integration. The approach can be extended to a broad range of materials and structures, opening up a new path for advanced heterogeneous microsystem integration.