Synthesis, Assembly, and Applications of Semiconductor Nanomembranes

This chapter focuses on semiconductor nanomembranes (NMs) in general, and silicon NMs in particular, as a class of electronic material for devices that can bend, fold, and stretch without significant change in properties. The content begins with procedures for creating such materials, and for manipulating them using the techniques of transfer printing. Compressive buckling of NMs on elastomeric supports creates composite structures that can accommodate large strain deformations with reversible responses and without fracture. Examples of applications based on these ideas range from water-soluble, "transient" electronics to unusual optoelectronic systems for biointegration or for bio-inspired engineering. The results foreshadow a future for electronic devices that offer characteristics and features radically different from those that exist today.