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Communication
Biodegradable Elastomers and Silicon Nanomembranes/
Nanoribbons for Stretchable, Transient Electronics and Biosensors
SUKWON HWANG, Chi hwang Lee, Huanyu Cheng, jaewoong jeong, Seung-Kyun Kang, Jaehwan
kim, Jiho Shin, Jian Yang, zhuangjian Liu, Guillermo A. Ameer, Yonggang Huang, and John A. Rogers
Nano Lett., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/nl503997m • Publication Date (Web): 23 Feb 2015
Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on April 9, 2015

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Page 1 of 27 Nano Letters

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Biodegradable Elastomers and Silicon
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12 Nanomembranes/Nanoribbons for Stretchable,
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Transient Electronics and Biosensors

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21 Suk-Won Hwang†,‡, Chi Hwan Lee♫,‡, Huanyu Cheng§,‡, Jae-Woong Jeong∏, Seung-Kyun
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24 Kang♫, Jae-Hwan Kim♫, Jiho Shin¶, Jian Yang#, Zhuangjian Liu¤, Guillermo A. Ameer#,
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27 Yonggang Huang§ & John A. Rogers*,♫,■,┴
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KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology, Korea University, Seoul
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32 136-701, Korea
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35 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research
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37 Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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Department of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Center for
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41 Engineering and Health, and Skin Disease Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston,
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43 IL 60208, USA
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46 Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder,
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CO 80309, USA
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50 ¶Department
51 of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-
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53 Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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56 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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Institute of High Performance Computing, 1 Fusionopolis Way, #16-16 Connexis, Singapore
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5 138632, Singapore.
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8 Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-
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10 Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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13 Department of Chemistry, Mechanical Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer
14 Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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‡
17 These authors contributed equally.
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ABSTRACT
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7 Transient electronics represents an emerging class of technology that exploits materials and/or
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9 device constructs that are capable of physically disappearing or disintegrating in a controlled
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12 manner, at programmed rates or times. Inorganic semiconductor nanomaterials such as silicon
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14 nanomembranes/nanoribbons provide attractive choices for transistors, diodes and other essential
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16 components of overall systems that dissolve completely by hydrolysis in biofluids or ground
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19 water. We describe here materials, mechanics and design layouts to achieve this type of
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21 technology in stretchable configurations with biodegradable elastomers for
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23 substrate/encapsulation. Experimental and theoretical results illuminate the mechanical
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26 properties under large strain deformation. Circuit characterization of complementary metal-
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28 oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) inverters and individual transistors under various levels of applied
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loads validates the design strategies. Examples of biosensors demonstrate possibilities for
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33 stretchable, transient devices in biomedical applications.
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KEYWORDS: Stretchable, flexible, transient, biodegradable electronics, biosensors
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Advances in nanomaterials and unconventional fabrication techniques have recently
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6 yielded capabilities for broad classes of semiconductor devices and integrated systems that are
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8 entirely soluble in biofluids, with non-toxic end products.1-17 Of particular interest are
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approaches that use single crystalline nanomembranes of silicon (Si NMs)8-10,14-16 or thin films of
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13 zinc oxide11 as the semiconductor, to achieve not only the essential electronic components
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15 needed for integrated circuits but also other devices such as solar cells,8
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18 temperature/strain/hydration sensors,8,15 multiplexed arrays of photodetectors,8 mechanical
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20 energy harvesters11 and radio frequency power scavengers.9 For Si NMs, the rates of hydrolysis
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22 vary between tenths and tens of nanometers per day in groundwater, biofluids and other solutions
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25 of interest, where the specific rates depend on temperature, pH, ionic concentration, doping level
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27 of the silicon and other factors.8,14,16 These and related electronic systems combine such
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semiconductors with Mg or other dissolvable metals (e.g. Zn, Fe, W, Mo) for interconnects and
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32 electrodes;18 MgO and SiO2 or SiNx for dielectrics/encapsulating layers;8,19 biodegradable
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34 polymers (e.g. silk, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), poly lactic
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37 acid (PLA))8,15 or metal foils for substrates/packaging materials. In addition to their potential for
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39 use in temporary biomedical implants, this type of physically ‘transient’ device technology has
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41 potential applications in degradable environmental monitors/sensors, disposable consumer
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44 gadgets, ‘unrecoverable’ electronics, and hardware-secure digital memories. Past work
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46 demonstrates capabilities for forming devices in rigid or flexible formats.4,8-11,15 In many cases,
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48 particularly those that require integration with the human body, mechanical stretchability (i.e.
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51 ability to accommodate strains >>1%) provides critically important advantages.20,21 Here we
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53 describe transient electronic devices and sensors that use Si NMs and nanoribbons (NRs) in
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optimized configurations on a biodegradable elastomer (poly (1,8-octanediol-co-citrate); POC),
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to yield systems that can be reversibly stretched to strains of up to ~30% with linear elastic
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6 mechanical responses. The electrical characteristics of the resulting component devices are
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8 similar to those that use non-transient construction and rigid, planar substrates. Experimental
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and theoretical studies illustrate the underlying behaviors of the materials and their responses to
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13 mechanical deformation. Sensors of pH and skin-mounted monitors of electrophysiology (EP)
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15 provide two application examples.
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19 Figure 1 presents optical micrographs and an exploded view schematic illustration of an
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21 array of stretchable, transient complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) inverters.
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23 Device fabrication begins with a series of doping processes on silicon on insulator (SOI,
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26 SOITEC, France) wafers, to create lightly doped p-well (p-) and heavily doped regions (p+, n+)
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28 for contacts of both p- and n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors
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(MOSFETs). Removal of the buried oxide with hydrofluoric acid (HF) releases the doped
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33 silicon device layer to yield isolated Si NMs. Transfer printing delivers these Si NMs onto a
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35 silicon wafer coated with a bilayer of poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA, Sigma-Aldrich, USA)
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38 and diluted polyimide (D-PI). Reactive ion etching (RIE, Plasmatherm) of the Si NMs with
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40 surfuric hexafluoride (SF6) defines the active areas of the devices. Plasma-enhanced chemical
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42 vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon dioxide (SiO2) yields the gate and interlayer dielectrics. A
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45 patterned thin film of Mg formed by electron beam evaporation serves as source, drain and gate
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47 electrodes as well as interconnects. A uniform overcoat of PECVD SiO2 encapsulates the entire
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system (Figure 1, top left). Removing the PMMA by immersion in acetone enables release onto
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52 the surface of a slab of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (Figure 1, top right), for transfer onto a
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54 biodegradable elastomer substrate, POC (Figure 1, bottom right). Polydiolcitrates represent a
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unique and interesting platform of elastomeric polyesters that exhibit tremendous versatility
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regarding fundamental and functional design strategies that can be used to meet the goals of a
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6 wide range of applications. Similar fabrication procedures are used for all of the various devices
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8 reported here. Details appear in the methods section.
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12 As explored in previous reports on non-transient stretchable Si NM electronics,22,23
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14 layouts that include device islands connected by serpentine and/or non-coplanar interconnects
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16 allow the system to accommodate large deformations without fracture. Here, the interconnects
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19 undergo in- and out-of-plane buckling in response to tensile loads, whereas the islands remain
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21 flat and undeformed. The buckling process induces bending strains that are typically orders of
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23 magnitude smaller than the applied tensile strains. Additionally, the interconnects often involve
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26 metal encapsulated above and below by thin polymer layers, thereby placing the metal near the
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28 neutral mechanical plane, to minimize bending strains. We expect the fatigue properties under
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cyclic loads to be similar to those of related, but non-transient, stretchable systems. These same
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33 strategies prove valuable in the context of transient, stretchable Si NM systems introduced here.
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35 The results shown in Figure 1a illustrate arrays of stretchable, transient CMOS inverters with
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38 three different types of interconnects. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) reveals the mechanics
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40 associated with each case; a representative example appears in Figure 2a (See Figures S1-S3 and
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42 movies S1-S2 for additional information). For device islands that are bonded to the substrate and
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45 interconnects that are not, the elastic stretchability is predicted to be >40 %, determined from the
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47 distribution of strain in the Mg (bottom panels of Figure 2a). A top layer encapsulation of POC
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can enhance the bonding and protect the devices from the environment. The top panels in Figure
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52 2b-c show optical images collected from experiments, where partially cured (Figure 2b, Young’s
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54 modulus of 0.1 MPa) and fully cured (Figure 2c, Young’s modulus of 2 MPa) layers of POC
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provide encapsulation. FEA shows that the interfacial stresses decrease as the Young’s modulus
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of encapsulation material increases, consistent with the role of this layer in preventing
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6 delamination. As shown in the bottom panels of Figures 2b and 2c, the maximum principal
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8 strain increases dramatically when freestanding interconnects are replaced by fully bonded ones.
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The maximum principal strain in the interconnects increases slightly from soft encapsulation to
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13 hard encapsulation. An ultra-soft encapsulation (Figure S2b, Young’s modulus of 0.1 KPa) leads
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15 to strains that differ by only < 3 % from the soft encapsulation case. This result highlights the
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18 value of substrate chemistries that allow strong, selective bonding only at the islands, as is well
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20 established for the case of a non-transient elastomer like silicone. Modifications to POC for this
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26 An alternative architecture for stretchable electronics, first introduced in devices with
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28 mechanical properties matched to the epidermis (i.e. epidermal electronic systems),20 exploits a
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mesh design constructed of filamentary serpentine (FS) traces. Figure 3a-b presents an exploded
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33 view schematic illustration and optical images of transient CMOS inverters using this type of
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35 layout. Here, FS bridges of SiO2 connect small, isolated device islands. The images and
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38 maximum principal strain distributions (in percent) in Figures 3c and 3d correspond to an array
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40 of CMOS inverters formed in this manner; the stretchability reaches ~30 % in the x direction
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42 (More results on FEA appear in Figure S4 and Movie S3). Portions of the device structures
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45 begin to delaminate after stretching to more than 30%. As for the examples of Figure 2, the
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47 stretchability can be enhanced through the use of non-bonded interconnects. Corresponding
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electrical characteristics of a representative CMOS inverter appear in Figure 3e. The output
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52 voltages remain constant during applied strain (black, 0 %; red, 10 %; blue, 20 %), with gain and
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54 threshold voltage (Vth) of ~60 and -1 V, respectively, at a supply voltage of 10 V (Vdd) (Figure
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S5). The negative threshold voltage of the inverters arises from the high negative threshold
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voltage of the p-type MOSFETs. Figure 3f presents transfer curves in linear (red) and
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6 logarithmic (blue) scales for a typical p-channel MOSFET (left) and current-voltage
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8 characteristics for a typical n-channel MOSFET (right). The mobilities are ∼70 cm2/V·s (p-type)
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11 and ∼400 cm2/V·s (n-type); the on/off (Ion/Ioff) ratios are ∼105.
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14 This type of stretchable mechanics is important for applications such as those in
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16 biomedicine, where conformal lamination onto the time-dynamic, curvilinear surfaces of the skin
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19 or other organs of the body is critically important. As an example of a type of transient
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21 biosensor with utility in this area, Figure 4a presents a schematic illustration of stretchable pH
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monitors built using doped Si NRs (length, width and thickness: 500 µm, 40 µm and 300 nm,
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26 respectively) functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). Mg serves as the
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28 electrodes and interconnects; SiO2 as the interlayer dielectrics and encapsulants; and POC as the
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31 substrate. The inset shows an image of the device. Figure 4b provides an optical micrograph of
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33 an individual pH monitor (top) and a magnified view (bottom). Figure 4c shows measured
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35 changes in conductance of devices constructed with phosphorous (left) and boron (right) doped
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38 Si NRs (~1020/cm3 for both cases), as a function of time when exposed to solutions with different
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40 pH. Here, the –NH2 and –SiOH groups24 on the functionalized surfaces of the Si NRs undergo
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42 protonation to –NH3+ at low pH and deprotonation to –SiO- at high pH. Resulting changes in the
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45 surface charge electrostatically gate the transport in the silicon by depleting or accumulating
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47 charge carriers. The result is that the conductance of phosphorous and boron doped Si NRs
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descends and ascends, respectively, in a series of distinct steps with pH (from 3 to 10) in aqueous
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54 µS/pH for phosphorous and boron doped Si NRs, respectively. The latter results are in a range of
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silicon wafer substrates (0.1 ~ 4 µS/pH).25,27,28 This sensitivity depends on doping concentration,
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6 fabrication method (bottom-up, top-down) and geometry (surface to volume ratio) of the Si NWs,
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sensing with these transient devices, Figure 4d shows changes in conductance of highly boron-
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13 doped Si NRs (similar doping level used in Figure 4c) measured in test structures during
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15 immersion in phosphate buffer solutions (PBS, 0.1 M, Sigma-Aldrich, USA) with different pH
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18 values (from 4 to 10) for 5 days at 37 ˚C. In PBS of pH 7.4 at 37 ˚C (0.1 M), the conductance of
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20 Si NRs (heavily boron-doped) changes by ~1 % or less during immersion for 5 days. This
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22 dissolution behavior is consistent with thickness changes reported previously for highly boron-
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25 doped Si NMs in similar solutions.16 The dissolution rates depend on the types and
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27 concentrations of ions in solution. For example, the rate in PBS (pH 7.4, 0.1 M) is ~20 times
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slower than in PBS (pH 7.4, 1 M), and ~1.5 times faster than that in PBS (pH 7.4, 0.05 M).14
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32 (Even for fixed concentration, the type of ions in the PBS can have strong effects. Recent
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34 changes in formulation of a commercial PBS (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) increased the dissolution
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37 rate by ~20 times, the details of which will be described elsewhere.) The most relevant rates, of
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39 course, are those that occur in biofluids of interest. Dissolution studies of highly doped Si (boron
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41 and phosphorous) in bovine serum at 37 °C appear in Figure S6. In both cases, the dissolution
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44 rates are ~2.5 nm/day, which is somewhat slower than calculated values from previous
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46 reports14,16 likely due to some differences in doping levels. Unencapsulated pH monitors have
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during this period occurs, as expected. The time durations for stable operation can be extended
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by including overcoats of high-quality, ultrathin dielectric insulators that exhibit slow dissolution
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6 rates, such as SiO2 or SiNx.19 Although this type of encapsulation can affect the response,
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levels of sensitivity.29,30 Figure 4e presents a set of images at various stages of dissolution of a
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13 pH sensor while immersed in PBS (pH 10, Sigma-Aldrich, USA) at room temperature. The Mg
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15 electrodes completely disappear after 12 hours via reactive dissolution (i.e. hydrolysis), and other
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18 components (Si, SiO2, POC) dissolve slowly in several weeks with rates similar to those reported
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20 in previous articles,8,14,16,19,31 in which the kinetics depend strongly on temperature, and pH and
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22 ionic content/concentration of solutions, as well as the morphologies of the materials. The rate
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25 of dissolution of POC can be controlled/tuned by adjusting the cross-linking density or using
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As another application example, Figures 5a and b present optical images and schematic
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33 illustrations of a stretchable, transient EP sensor. The device includes thin layers of Mg (300 nm)
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35 and SiO2 (100 nm) in the form of FS meshes (Figure 5a, inset) for measurement, ground and
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38 reference electrodes and connecting leads. The Mg electrodes couple to the skin through a thin
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40 sheet of POC, in a sensing mechanism that relies on displacement currents generated by
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42 capacitive coupling through the SiO2. This arrangement enables EP measurements with levels of
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45 fidelity that are comparable to those of conventional gel electrodes.32 High quality of
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47 electrocardiograms (ECG) and electromyograms (EMG) can be recorded by attaching transient,
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capacitive EP sensors on the chest (Figure 5c) and the right forearm (Figure 5e) of a volunteer
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52 (age: 27). The resulting ECG (Figure 5d) and EMG (Figure 5f) data (red) compare quantitatively
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54 to that collected with conventional gel-based electrodes (blue). Figure 5g shows a set of images
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of a transient EP sensor during dissolution when submerged in PBS (pH 10) at room temperature.
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The transient electronic materials (Mg and SiO2) dissolve in a uniform fashion without
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6 delamination. Each component completely dissolves within hours (Mg) or days/weeks (SiO2),
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11 The findings reported here establish routes to transient electronic systems that have low
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14 modulus, elastic responses to large strain deformation. These characteristics are particularly
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16 important in applications that involve integration with biological tissues. Experimental and
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theoretical results provide insights into the observed behaviors and also suggest routes to further
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21 improvements in properties. Sensors of pH and EP represent starting points for the development
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23 of more advanced chemical/biological monitors of relevance to envisioned uses of this
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26 technology in biomedicine.
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32 Methods
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Fabrication of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) inverters. P- and n-
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38 channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) used boron and
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40 phosphorous doped silicon nanomembranes (Si NMs) prepared from n-type silicon on insulator
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(SOI, top silicon ~260 nm, SOITEC, France) wafers. Lightly doped boron regions for the p-
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45 wells (p-) were defined at 550 °C using spin-on dopant (SOD, Filmtronics, USA). Heavily
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47 doped p+ and n+ regions for source and drain electrodes of each p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET
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50 were formed at 1050 °C and 950 °C, respectively. Removal of the underlying box oxide (SiO2)
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52 by wet etching with hydrofluoric acid (HF) released the device silicon layer from the SOI wafer,
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54 and allowed transfer printing onto a spin cast bilayer of PMMA/diluted polyimide (D-PI) on a
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sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon
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6 dioxide (SiO2, ~50 nm) formed the gate dielectric. Contact openings for source and drain
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8 electrodes were defined by using a buffered oxide etchant (BOE, Transene Company, USA). A
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layer of electron beam evaporated Mg (300 nm) served as the source, drain and gate electrodes,
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13 as well as the interconnects. Another thin layer of PECVD SiO2 encapsulated the devices,
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15 except for source, drain and gate contact pads. A layer of D-PI cast on top of the structure
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18 completed the stack. Dry etching completely through the polymer and oxide films defined the
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20 mesh structure. Immersion in acetone washed away the PMMA to release the entire system from
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22 the silicon substrate, thereby allowing its retrieval onto the surface of a PDMS. After
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25 eliminating the base, exposed layer of D-PI by oxygen RIE, transfer printing delivered the
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27 system onto a biodegradable elastomer (POC). Removing the top layer of D-PI by oxygen RIE
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completed the process.
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36 Fabrication of pH sensors. The fabrication began with doping of the Si NMs (p-type, 300 nm)
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38 with phosphorous or boron at 950 °C ~ 1050 °C on SOI wafers. The Si NMs were patterned into
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41 Si nanoribbons (Si NRs; width: 40 µm, length: 500 µm) by RIE with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
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43 gas. A thin layer of Mg (300 nm thick) deposited by electron beam evaporation (E-beam) served
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45 as the source, drain electrodes and interconnectors. A layer of SiO2 (300 nm thick) formed by
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48 PECVD formed the interlayer dielectrics, with sensing windows and contact pads defined by
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50 BOE. All other fabrication procedures were similar to those described for the CMOS inverters.
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Fabrication of electrophysiological (EP) sensors. The fabrication began with casting
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6 PMMA/D-PI layers onto a glass slide. Photolithographic patterning of a layer of Mg (300 nm)
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8 defined the layout of the EP sensors. A thin layer of SiO2 (100 nm) formed by PECVD served as
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the interlayer dielectric, with contact pads opened by etching with BOE to allow bonding to an
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13 ACF cable. All other fabrication procedures were similar to those described for the CMOS
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15 inverters.
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22 Electrical characterization of pH sensors. The Si NRs were cleaned by exposure to ultraviolet
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24 induced ozone for 3 min. Coating with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES, Sigma-Aldrich,
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USA) occurred by immersion in a 1 % ethanol solution of APTES for 20 min, rinsing with
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29 ethanol three times, and then heating at 80 °C for 10 min. ACF cables connected to bonding
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31 pads enabled external data acquisition. Measurements were performed during partial immersion
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in PBS with various pH values between 3 and 10. An Ag/AgCl reference electrode was placed in
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36 the center of the solutions and a floating gate voltage defined the quiescent conductance of the Si
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38 NRs. After a short period of stabilization, a semiconductor analyzer (4155C, Agilent, USA)
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41 recorded the conductance of the Si NRs for several seconds in the solutions with various pH,
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Electrical measurements of electrophysiological (EP) sensors. A capacitive EP sensor was
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52 connected with ACF cable to a pre-amplifier with ultra-high input impedance and extremely
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54 low-input capacitance (OPA124, Texas Instruments, USA; Impedance = 1014 Ω, 3 pF). This
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an insulation layer (SiO2). Details of the circuit appear elsewhere.32 The amplifier and filter
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6 units enabled tunable gain (60 - 80 dB) for electrocardiograms (ECG) and electromyograms
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8 (EMG). The passband of the circuit was digitally varied using LabVIEW software (National
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Instruments, USA). The system was set to a gain of 60 dB in the range of 0.5 - 100 Hz for ECG;
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13 a gain of 80 dB in the range of 10 - 500 Hz for EMG. The acquired signals were sampled at 1
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15 kHz by an analog-to-digital convertor (NI USB-6363, National Instruments, USA) and displayed
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18 on a computer screen.
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24 Dissolution tests for doped Si NRs. The test structures for studying dissolution behaviors of
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doped Si NRs were formed on a SOI wafer (top Si: ~200 nm, SOITEC, France) by
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29 photolithography and RIE. Insoluble materials, such as gold (~150 nm thick), PI (~1 µm thick)
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31 served as source/drain electrodes and encapsulation layers, respectively. The samples were
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immersed into ~50 mL of phosphate buffer solutions (PBS, 0.1 M, pH 4 - 10, Sigma-Aldrich,
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36 USA) at a temperature of 37 °C. The samples were removed from the solution at regular time
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38 intervals to measure the conductance with a semiconductor analyzer (4155C, Agilent, USA).
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41 The solution was replaced every other day.
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47 FIGURES
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Figure 1. Images and illustrations of stretchable arrays of transient silicon CMOS devices
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53 on biodegradable elastomer substrates. These systems incorporate CMOS inverters on poly
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55 (1,8-octanediol-co-citrate) (POC) substrates. Transient CMOS inverters fabricated on a silicon
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58 wafer in a stretchable configuration (top left), after release and retrieval onto a slab of
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polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and removal of underlying layer of diluted polyimide (D-PI) layer
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6 (top right), and after transfer printing onto a biodegradable elastomer and removal of top D-PI
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8 layer to complete the device (bottom right). Schematic exploded view illustration (bottom left)
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of the various layers, i.e. magnesium (Mg) for electrodes/interconnects, silicon dioxide (SiO2) for
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13 gate/interlayer dielectrics, silicon nanomembranes (Si NMs) for semiconducting elements and
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15 POC for substrate/encapsulating materials.
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22 Figure 2. Experimentally observed and calculated distributions of strain in stretchable,
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biodegradable CMOS inverters. Optical microscope images of CMOS inverters that consist
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27 of transistors joined by deformable interconnects for stretching up to ~40 % (top) and
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29 corresponding results from Finite Element Analysis (FEA, bottom). Cases for (a) no
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encapsulation, (b) soft encapsulation (0.1 MPa) and (c) hard encapsulation (2 MPa).
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38 Figure 3. Evaluation of the distributions of strain in CMOS inverters interconnected in a
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41 filamentary serpentine (FS) mesh. (a) Schematic exploded view illustration of the device. (b)
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43 Image of an array of CMOS inverters, with a magnified view in the inset. (c) A set of
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45 micrographs before and after applying external strains up to 30 % in the x direction. (d)
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48 Computed results for principal strain in regions of the FS structure that correspond to
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50 micrographs in (c). (e) Electrical characteristics of a representative CMOS inverter at a strain up
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to 20 %. (f) Linear and log-scale transfer curves of a typical p-MOSFET (left), and current-
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55 voltage characteristics of a typical n-type MOSFET (right), with different gate biases.
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7 Figure 4. Biodegradable, stretchable pH sensors based on doped silicon nanoribbons (Si
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9 NRs). (a) Exploded view schematic illustration of a device, with a photograph in the inset. (b)
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12 Optical microscope image of an individual pH sensor (top) and its magnified view. (c)
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14 Measurements of the conductance of devices submerged in solutions with various pH (from 3 to
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16 10), for the cases of phosphorous (left) and boron (right) doped Si NRs. (d) Changes in
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19 conductance of heavily boron-doped Si NRs (~200 nm thick) while submerged in phosphate
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21 buffer solution (PBS, 0.1 M, pH 4 - 10, Sigma-Aldrich, USA) at 37 °C. (e) Images at various
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23 stages of dissolution of a device during immersion in PBS (pH 10) at room temperature.
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29 Figure 5. Capacitive biodegradable, stretchable electrophysiological (EP) sensors. (a)
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Optical image of a device, and magnified view of the FS mesh electrode structure (inset). (b)
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34 Exploded view schematic illustration. (c) Photograph of a device mounted on the chest for
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36 measurement of electrocardiograms (ECG, left). ECG collected using a biodegradable (middle)
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39 and standard gel-based (right) device. (d) Photograph of the EP sensor located on the forearm
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41 for measurement o electromyograms (EMG, left). EMG collected using a biodegradable (middle)
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43 and standard gel-based (right) device, while clenching the first every 2 seconds. (e) A series of
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46 images of dissolution of a device in PBS (pH 10) at room temperature.
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52 ASSOCIATED CONTENT
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56 Supporting Information
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Supplementary figures 1-5 and movies 1-3 provide additional information for the results
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6 described throughout the main text. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at
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8 http://pubs.acs.org.
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15 AUTHOR INFORMATION
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17 Corresponding Author
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*E-mail: jrogers@ilinois.edu
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26 Author Contributions
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28 The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval
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31 to the final version of the manuscript. ‡These authors contributed equally.
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37 Notes
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40 The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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47 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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49 Huanyu Cheng is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Student Research fellow.
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51 Support for the research was provided by an NSF INSPIRE grant.
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7 a Stretching in X direction
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