Micromechanics of macroelectronics

Zhigang Suo, Joost Vlassak, and Sigurd Wagner

For half a century, the technology of integrated circuits has been advancing by miniaturization, squeezing more and more transistors onto each chip. While the trend to miniaturize features will continue in the field of microelectronics, a new trend to enlarge systems is gaining momentum in the nascent field known as macroelectronics or large-area electronics (Nathan and Chalamala, 2005). At present, the most visible application of macroelectronics is flat-panel displays. In such an application, transistors need not to be smaller than, say 10 μm, but the total surface area must be large.

Enthusiasm is gathering to develop macroelectronics as a platform for many technologies, ranging from paper-like displays to thin-film solar cells. The widespread use of these large structures will depend on their ruggedness, portability and low cost. For example, thin-film devices on thin polymer substrates lend themselves to roll-to-roll fabrication, and impart flexibility to the products. This paper describes ongoing work in the mechanics of macroelectronics, with emphasis on the mechanical behavior at the scale of individual features, and over a long time.

This paper is published in an open-access journal, and is here attached (Suo, Vlassak and Wagner 2005).

Note added on 28 November 2006. I've just attached the slides for an invited talk at MRS today.