Chapter 6
Outlook
In thefirst part of this thesis, we introduced newflexible macroporous nanoelec-
tronics that incorporate photopatternable polymers and“bottom-up”synthesized
nanoelectronic units into designed networks and circuitry. This method can be
readily applied to pattern virtually any nanomaterials (e.g. graphene,
two-dimensional semiconductors, etc.) onto polymer substrate forflexible elec-
tronics fabrication. Using this 2D macroporous nanoelectronic network as precur-
sor, we invented a mechanics-driven self-organization strategy to generate 3D
regular and addressable nanoelectronic networks. This strategy offers opportunities
to design and incorporate nanoscale electronic components into a 3D intercon-
nected circuitry, which potentially could be used to significantly further enhance the
density of functionally computing units in current integrated circuits. Considering
limitations in further reducing the size of individual transistor, a 3D integrated
circuit design that combines different modules could offer solutions for further
enhancing the computing power in both CPU and GPU [ 1 , 2 ]. Notably, different
functional nanoscale components could be readily integrated into a 3D macrop-
orous nanoelectronic network as a multifunctional embedded system [ 3 ].
In the second part of this thesis, we integrate this 3D macroporous nanoelec-
tronic neworks into soft material systems, translating inactive materials into very
“smart”systems. Importantly, the low volumefilling ratio, nanoscale feature size
and ultra-flexibility of nanoelectronics introduce vanishingly-small interruptions to
physical and chemical properties of host materials. In this direction, one can
envision the incorporation of sensors, actuators, close loop control and
radio-frequency identification circuity into soft material to create smart systems that
could be used for applications ranging from wearable devices to internet of things
[ 4 , 5 ].
In the third part of this thesis, we use 3D macroporous nanoelectronic network to
mimic the structure of extracellular cellular matrix. We studied the seamlessly
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J. Liu,Biomimetics Through Nanoelectronics, Springer Theses,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68609-7_6
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