Dae Hyeong Kim

Printed Assemblies of Inorganic Light-Emitting Diodes for Deformable and Semitransparent Displays

Bend Me, Stretch Me In the push toward flexible electronics, much research has focused on using organic conducting materials, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), because they are more readily processed using scalable techniques. Park et al. (p. 977) have developed a series of techniques for depositing and assembling inorganic LEDs onto glass, plastic, or rubber. Conventional processing techniques are used to connect the LEDs in order to create flexible, stretchable displays, which, because the active diode material only covers a small part of the substrate, are mostly transparent. Methods to fabricate and assemble inorganic light-emitting diodes provide a route toward transparent, flexible, or stretchable display devices. We have developed methods for creating microscale inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and for assembling and interconnecting them into unusual display and lighting systems. The LEDs use specialized epitaxial semiconductor layers that allow delineation and release of large collections of ultrathin devices. Diverse shapes are possible, with dimensions from micrometers to millimeters, in either flat or “wavy” configurations. Printing-based assembly methods can deposit these devices on substrates of glass, plastic, or rubber, in arbitrary spatial layouts and over areas that can be much larger than those of the growth wafer. The thin geometries of these LEDs enable them to be interconnected by conventional planar processing techniques. Displays, lighting elements, and related systems formed in this manner can offer interesting mechanical and optical properties.

Waterproof AlInGaP optoelectronics on stretchable substrates with applications in biomedicine and robotics

Inorganic light-emitting diodes and photodetectors represent important, established technologies for solid-state lighting, digital imaging and many other applications. Eliminating mechanical and geometrical design constraints imposed by the supporting semiconductor wafers can enable alternative uses in areas such as biomedicine and robotics. Here we describe systems that consist of arrays of interconnected, ultrathin inorganic light-emitting diodes and photodetectors configured in mechanically optimized layouts on unusual substrates. Light-emitting sutures, implantable sheets and illuminated plasmonic crystals that are compatible with complete immersion in biofluids illustrate the suitability of these technologies for use in biomedicine. Waterproof optical-proximity-sensor tapes capable of conformal integration on curved surfaces of gloves and thin, refractive-index monitors wrapped on tubing for intravenous delivery systems demonstrate possibilities in robotics and clinical medicine. These and related systems may create important, unconventional opportunities for optoelectronic devices.

Optimized Structural Designs for Stretchable Silicon Integrated Circuits

Materials and design strategies for stretchable silicon integrated circuits that use non-coplanar mesh layouts and elastomeric substrates are presented. Detailed experimental and theoretical studies reveal many of the key underlying aspects of these systems. The results shpw, as an example, optimized mechanics and materials for circuits that exhibit maximum principal strains less than 0.2% even for applied strains of up to approximately 90%. Simple circuits, including complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor inverters and n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor differential amplifiers, validate these designs. The results suggest practical routes to high-performance electronics with linear elastic responses to large strain deformations, suitable for diverse applications that are not readily addressed with conventional wafer-based technologies.

Traps in AlGaN/GaN/SiC heterostructures studied by deep level transient spectroscopy

AlGaN∕GaN∕SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs), with and without Si3N4 passivation, have been characterized by temperature-dependent current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements, and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). A dominant trap A1, with activation energy of 1.0 eV and apparent capture cross section of 2×10−12cm2, has been observed in both unpassivated and passivated SBDs. Based on the well-known logarithmic dependence of DLTS peak height with filling pulse width for a line-defect related trap, A1, which is commonly observed in thin GaN layers grown by various techniques, is believed to be associated with threading dislocations. At high temperatures, the DLTS signal sometimes becomes negative, likely due to an artificial surface-state effect.

A stretchable electrode array for non-invasive, skin-mounted measurement of electrocardiography (ECG), electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG)

This paper reports a class of stretchable electrode array capable of intimate, conformal integration onto the curvilinear surfaces of skin on the human body. The designs employ conventional metallic conductors but in optimized mechanical layouts, on soft, thin elastomeric substrates. These devices exhibit an ability to record spontaneous EEG activity even without conductive electrolyte gels, with recorded alpha rhythm responses that are 40% stronger than those collected using conventional tin electrodes and gels under otherwise similar conditions. The same type of device can also measure high quality ECG and EMG signals. The results suggest broad utility for skin-mounted measurements of electrical activity in the body, with advantages in signal levels, wearability and modes of integration compared to alternatives.

Erratum: "Silicon electronics on silk as a path to bioresorbable, implantable devices" [Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 133701 (2009)].

[This corrects the article on p. 133701 in vol. 95.].

The Effect of Cerium Precursor Agglomeration on the Synthesis of Ceria Particles and Its Influence on Shallow Trench Isolation Chemical Mechanical Polishing Performance

The level of agglomeration in the cerium precursor and its effect on the physicochemical properties of the synthesized ceria particles and how these properties influence shallow trench isolation chemical mechanical polishing (STI CMP) performance were investigated. Two different types of ceria particles were synthesized from cerium precursors of different degrees of agglomeration. The crystallinity and particle size distribution of the synthesized ceria particles were markedly different between these two types of particles. The ceria particles synthesized from agglomerated cerium precursors had a smaller crystallite size than the other particles due to the incomplete decarbonation reaction, which resulted in large agglomerations of particles. The different physical characteristics of the ceria particles resulted in remarkable discrepancies between the STI CMP performances of the ceria slurries, such as the oxide removal rate, the selectivity and the uniformity.

Agglomerated Large Particles under Various Slurry Preparation Conditions and Their Influence on Shallow Trench Isolation Chemical Mechanical Polishing

The effects of various slurry manufacturing conditions, such as suspension pH, abrasive contents, and the calcination temperature of abrasive ceramic particles on the formation of agglomerated large particles of ceria slurry were investigated. The agglomerated large particles in slurry have much influence on the micro-scratches on the wafer surface in shallow trench isolation chemical mechanical polishing (STI CMP). The formation of large agglomerated particles is affected by the conformation of the organic additives in the slurry as a function of the suspension pH and the specific surface area of the abrasive particle. Regarding the solid content, abrasive particles are more easily dispersed at lower solid loading, which prevents additional agglomeration even under acidic conditions. The influence of agglomerated large particles on STI CMP was investigated through a polishing experiment with plasma-enhanced tetra-ethyl-ortho-silicate (PETEOS) and a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) nitride layer.

Millimeter-scale epileptiform spike patterns and their relationship to seizures

Advances in neural electrode technology are enabling brain recordings with increasingly fine spatial and temporal resolution. We explore spatio-temporal (ST) patterns of local field potential spikes using a new high-density active electrode array with 500 μm resolution. We record subdural micro-electrocorticographic (μECoG) signals in vivo from a feline model of acute neocortical epileptiform spikes and seizures induced with local administration of the GABA antagonist, picrotoxin. We employ a clustering algorithm to separate 2-dimensional (2-D) spike patterns to isolate distinct classes of spikes unique to the interictal and ictal states. Our findings indicate that the 2-D patterns can be used to distinguish seizures from non-seizure state. We find two statistically significant ST patterns that uniquely characterize ictal epochs. We conclude that millimeter-scale ST spike dynamics contain useful information about ictal state. This finding may be important to understanding mechanisms underlying local circuit activity during seizure generation. Further work will investigate whether patterns we identify can increase our understanding of seizure dynamics and their underlying mechanisms and inform new electrical stimulation protocols for seizure termination.

Flexible biomedical devices for mapping cardiac and neural electrophysiology

Clinical in-vivo electrophysiological measurements using standard technologies provide spatial resolution limited by the number of electrodes. Recent strategies demonstrate that high resolution is possible by use of active multiplexing silicon electronics, in flexible forms capable of integration with soft, curvilinear tissues of the body. In vivo cardiac mapping experiments with such technology illustrate in-situ mapping of the spread of electrocardiogram (ECG) waveforms from natural and paced beats. In other examples, circuits in ultrathin mesh formats on sheets of bioresorbable substrates of silk fibroin improve the ability of these systems to conformally wrap the tissue. Neural mapping experiments on feline animal models illustrate the utility of this approach. These concepts provide capabilities for implantable diagnostic and therapeutic systems, which cannot be realized with conventional, wafer-scale device designs.