ABSTRACT
Recent advances in flexible and stretchable electronics have led to a surge of electronic skin (e-skin)-based health monitoring platforms. Conventional wireless e-skins rely on rigid integrated circuit chips that compromise the overall flexibility and consume considerable power. Chip-less wireless e-skins based on inductor-capacitor resonators are limited to mechanical sensors with low sensitivities. We report a chip-less wireless e-skin based on surface acoustic wave sensors made of freestanding ultrathin single-crystalline piezoelectric gallium nitride membranes. Surface acoustic wave-based e-skin offers highly sensitive, low-power, and long-term sensing of strain, ultraviolet light, and ion concentrations in sweat. We demonstrate weeklong monitoring of pulse. These results present routes to inexpensive and versatile low-power, high-sensitivity platforms for wireless health monitoring devices.
Subject(s)
Monitoring, Physiologic , Remote Sensing Technology , Wearable Electronic Devices , Humans , Monitoring, Physiologic/instrumentation , Pulse , Remote Sensing Technology/instrumentation , Semiconductors , Sweat/chemistryABSTRACT
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
ABSTRACT
A memristor1 has been proposed as an artificial synapse for emerging neuromorphic computing applications2,3. To train a neural network in memristor arrays, changes in weight values in the form of device conductance should be distinct and uniform3. An electrochemical metallization (ECM) memory4,5, typically based on silicon (Si), has demonstrated a good analogue switching capability6,7 owing to the high mobility of metal ions in the Si switching medium8. However, the large stochasticity of the ion movement results in switching variability. Here we demonstrate a Si memristor with alloyed conduction channels that shows a stable and controllable device operation, which enables the large-scale implementation of crossbar arrays. The conduction channel is formed by conventional silver (Ag) as a primary mobile metal alloyed with silicidable copper (Cu) that stabilizes switching. In an optimal alloying ratio, Cu effectively regulates the Ag movement, which contributes to a substantial improvement in the spatial/temporal switching uniformity, a stable data retention over a large conductance range and a substantially enhanced programmed symmetry in analogue conductance states. This alloyed memristor allows the fabrication of large-scale crossbar arrays that feature a high device yield and accurate analogue programming capability. Thus, our discovery of an alloyed memristor is a key step paving the way beyond von Neumann computing.
Subject(s)
Alloys/chemistry , Electric Conductivity , Neural Networks, Computer , Electrodes , Kinetics , Silicon/chemistry , ThermodynamicsABSTRACT
Hybrid heterostructures are essential for functional device systems. The advent of 2D materials has broadened the material set beyond conventional 3D material-based heterostructures. It has triggered the fundamental investigation and use in applications of new coupling phenomena between 3D bulk materials and 2D atomic layers that have unique van der Waals features. Here we review the state-of-the-art fabrication of 2D and 3D heterostructures, present a critical survey of unique phenomena arising from forming 3D/2D interfaces, and introduce their applications. We also discuss potential directions for research based on these new coupled architectures.