Dissolution chemistry and biocompatibility of silicon- and germanium-based semiconductors for transient electronics

Seung Kyun Kang, Gayoung Park, Kyungmin Kim, Suk Won Hwang, Huanyu Cheng, Jiho Shin, Sangjin Chung, Minjin Kim, Lan Yin, Jeong Chul Lee*, Kyung Mi Lee, John A. Rogers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

155 Scopus citations

Abstract

Semiconducting materials are central to the development of high-performance electronics that are capable of dissolving completely when immersed in aqueous solutions, groundwater, or biofluids, for applications in temporary biomedical implants, environmentally degradable sensors, and other systems. The results reported here include comprehensive studies of the dissolution by hydrolysis of polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, silicon-germanium, and germanium in aqueous solutions of various pH values and temperatures. In vitro cellular toxicity evaluations demonstrate the biocompatibility of the materials and end products of dissolution, thereby supporting their potential for use in biodegradable electronics. A fully dissolvable thin-film solar cell illustrates the ability to integrate these semiconductors into functional systems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)9297-9305
Number of pages9
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume7
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - May 6 2015

Keywords

  • biocompatible materials
  • bioresorbable electronics
  • dissoluble semiconductors
  • thin-film solar cells
  • transient electronics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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