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- Title
In vitro dissolution behavior of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin-film transistors.
- Authors
Tian, Yuan; Flewitt, Andrew J.; Canham, Leigh T.; Coffer, Jeffery L.
- Abstract
Recent developments in biodegradable nanostructured crystalline silicon and flexible silicon-based electronic devices raise the significant question of the stability of standard amorphous silicon transistor platforms in biologically relevant environments. In this work, we evaluate the biodegradation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film transistors. Specifically, using a combination of gravimetric analysis, optical imaging, and X-ray fluorescence, we investigate the fundamental stability of a simple hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film transistor structure immersed in phosphate-buffered saline at physiological temperature (37 °C). In addition to the possible galvanic influence of associated metal electrodes in the degradation of such devices, implications for future device platforms are also discussed. Biomedical devices: how silicon degrade in a biological environment A study on the degradation of amorphous silicon-based devices may suggest ways to improve the performance of some biomedical implants. An international team of researchers led by Jeffery L. Coffer at Texas Christian University, USA, has immersed in a water-based salt solution kept at body temperature electronic devices based on amorphous silicon—a structurally disordered version of silicon that can be deposited as a thin film to realize flexible transistors. They observed how silicon and the metals used as electric contacts dissolve during 4 months, and how the local distribution of these materials affects dissolution. This investigation may prove useful to design devices that can be implanted in the body to record or stimulate the electrical activity of tissues and organs, and that biodegrade into non-toxic residues after a controlled amount of time.
- Subjects
THIN film transistors; DISSOLUTION (Chemistry); HYDROGENATED amorphous silicon; NANOSTRUCTURED materials; ELECTRONIC equipment
- Publication
NPJ Materials Degradation, 2018, Vol 2, Issue 1, pN.PAG
- ISSN
2397-2106
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41529-018-0063-0