Nanomeshed Si nanomembranes

Abstract

Silicon nanomeshes for stretchable electronics Inorganic materials such as silicon were often rigid; here a facile method has been shown to etch silicon into stretchable nanomeshes without degrading its properties. A team of scientists led by Prof Hui Fang from Northeastern University, US develops a novel silicon nanomesh concept for nanomembrane type of device possessing excellent mechanical stretchability. The silicon nanomeshes are patterned by grain boundary lithography and dry etching methods. As predicted in their simple model, the fractional silicon nanostructures on polyimide substrates show a high electron mobility of 50 cm2/V·s and can sustain 14% strain for 1000 cycles of stretching. This approach opens up the possibilities to make stretchable inorganic nanomeshes for electronic and optoelectronic devices.