October_2021_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 1 2 UNBREAKABLE ELECTRONICS Researchers from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, created a new type of soft electronics that integrate skin-like cir- cuits to increase durability and flex- ibility. Their soft and stretchy circuit design could pave the way for devices that are self-healing, reconfigurable, and recyclable. Current consumer de- vices, such as phones and laptops, con- tain rigid materials that use soldered wires running throughout. The soft circuit developed by the Virginia Tech team replaces these inflexible materi- als with soft electronic composites and tiny, electricity-conducting liquid metal droplets, which are initially dispersed in an elastomer as electrically insula- ted drops. “To make circuits, we introduced a scalable approach through embossing, which allows us to rapidly create tun- able circuits by selectively connecting droplets,” explain the researchers. “We can then locally break the drop- lets apart to remake circuits and can even completely dissolve the circuits to break all the connections to recycle the materials, and then start back at the beginning.” The circuits are soft and flexible, like skin, continuing to work even under extreme damage. If a hole is punched in these circuits, the metal droplets can still transfer power. Instead of cutting the connection completely as in the case of a traditional wire, the droplets make new connections around the hole to continue passing electricity. The cir- cuits will also stretch without losing their electrical connection, as the team pulled the device to over 10 times its original length without failure during the research. “We’re excited about our progress and envision these materials as key components for emerging soft technol- ogies,” they say. “This work gets closer to creating soft circuitry that could sur- vive in a variety of real-world applica- tions.” vt.edu . SEEING IN THE DARK Making the invisible visible, an in- ternational research team developed a first-of-its-kind prototype technology that could revolutionize night vision. The team, led by The Australian Nation- al University, says their new ultracom- pact, thin-film technology, based on EMERGING TECHNOLOGY Rice University, Houston, is building a 266,000-sq-ft facility to replace its historic Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory. The new space will contain the headquarters for The Welch Institute for Advanced Materials, founded in 2020 with a $100 million gift from the Robert A. Welch Foundation. The institute will develop next-generation materials for energy systems, space systems, biomedical applications, and more. rice.edu. BRIEF nanoscale crystals, has applications for defense and standard use in consumer glasses. They also say the work of police and security guards—who regularly em- ploy night vision—will be easier and saf- er, reducing chronic neck injuries from existing bulky night-vision devices. The technology is extremely light- weight, cheap, and easy to mass pro- duce, making it accessible to everyday users. Currently, high-end infrared im- aging tech requires cryogenic freezing to work, and is costly to manufacture, while the new tech works at room temperature. It incorporates the use of metasurfaces to manipulate light in new ways. According to the research- ers, this is the first time anywhere in the world that infrared light has been successfully transformed into visible images in an ultrathin screen. “It’s a re- ally exciting development and one that we know will change the landscape for night vision forever.” www.anu.edu.au. Lead researcher, Dr. Rocio Camacho Morales, says her team has made the “invisible, visible.” Courtesy of Jamie Kidston/The Australian National University. Soft circuits can bend, fold, twist, and stretch. Courtesy of Virginia Tech.