Open AccessFlexible CMOS chip converted by a novel chip transformation process
Author(s) -
Lai J.,
Chandrasekaran S. T.,
Sanyal A.,
Seo J.H.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
electronics letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.375
H-Index - 146
ISSN - 1350-911X
DOI - 10.1049/el.2020.2235
Subject(s) - chip , cmos , materials science , etching (microfabrication) , system on a chip , electronic engineering , optoelectronics , electrical engineering , computer science , nanotechnology , engineering , embedded system , layer (electronics)
In this Letter, the authors report a flexible CMOS chip converted by a novel chip transformation process. To realise a truly flexible CMOS chip, a two‐step etching process was employed in the transformation process: (i) vapour etching to remove inter‐dielectric layers followed by polymer encapsulation and (ii) plasma etching to remove the substrate of the chip. The I–V results measured after the chip transformation process show a voltage variance of <0.8% compared to the rigid chip. The bending test also revealed very small changes (0.6%) under strain conditions. Their results offer a viable route to use the foundry‐fabricated CMOS chip for flexible chips; thus, a high‐performance flexible chip can be realised. This technology will enable us to utilise various foundry‐processed chips for future flexible applications such as health and environment monitoring, advanced mobile communication systems, and wearable electronics via a simple post‐transformation process.