Biomedical Engineering Research Division, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 29;7(1):9660. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-09877-9.
In the context of micro-electronics, the real-time manipulation and placement of components using optics alone promises a route towards increasingly dynamic systems, where the geometry and function of the device is not fixed at the point of fabrication. Here, we demonstrate physically reconfigurable circuitry through light-induced dielectrophoresis on lithium niobate. Using virtual electrodes, patterned by light, to trap, move, and chain individual micro-solder-beads in real-time via dielectrophoresis, we demonstrate rewritable electrical contacts which can make electrical connections between surface-bound components. The completed micro-solder-bead bridges were found to have relatively low resistances that were not solely dominated by the number of interfaces, or the number of discrete beads, in the connection. Significantly, these connections are formed without any melting/fusing of the beads, a key feature of this technique that enables reconfigurability. Requiring only a low-power (~3.5 mW) laser source to activate, and without the need for external power supply or signal generation, the all-optical simplicity of virtual-electrodes may prove significant for the future development of reconfigurable electronic systems.
在微电子学领域，仅使用光学手段实时操纵和放置组件有望实现日益动态的系统，其中设备的几何形状和功能在制造时并非固定不变。在这里，我们通过铌酸锂的光致介电泳演示了物理上可重构的电路。我们使用虚拟电极（由光图案化）通过介电泳实时捕获、移动和链式单个微焊点，从而演示了可重写的电接触，这些电接触可以在表面结合的组件之间建立电连接。已发现完成的微焊点桥具有相对较低的电阻，这些电阻不仅由连接中的界面数量或离散微焊点的数量决定。重要的是，这些连接是在没有任何珠子熔化/融合的情况下形成的，这是该技术可重构性的关键特征。仅需低功率（约 3.5mW）激光源即可激活，并且无需外部电源或信号发生器，虚拟电极的全光学简单性可能对可重构电子系统的未来发展具有重要意义。
