Biodegradable Transistors Use Blood, Milk & Mucus Instead Of Silicon

The research engineers at the Tel Aviv University (TAU) have used blood, milk and mucus in place of silicon to create environment friendly, biodegradable transistors. Silicon, until now, was extensively used to create electronic components used in circuits; but the researchers say that the material is quickly becoming outdated. The electronics industry is evolving to create very small electronic components which are environment friendly. TAU research team comprising of Ph.D. students Elad Mentovich and Netta Hendler of TAU's Department of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology under the supervision of Dr. Shachar Richter and his student Bogdan Belgorodsky are working together to create protein based transistors. The team is focused on using the materials found in human body to change the way electronic components are manufactured.


A printed circuit board with electronic components --- Image by © Michael Rosenfeld/Science Faction/Corbis

The researchers are working with materials like milk, blood, mucus protein as they have the ability to auto-assemble to form a semi-conducting film. One of their achievements include creation of biodegradable, flexi-screen. They're now developing the technology to create the basic electronic components and the results have been very encouraging. While the industry uses 18 nanometers thin semi-conducting sheets, the TAU team has already created 4 nm thin film.

It's quite obvious that if this technology finds its way to commercial products, then the whole electronics industry would witness a revolution. Mentovich says that the industry is rapidly moving from the silicon era to the carbon era and their research could play a catalyst in this transition. The new technology will allow fabrication of smaller and flexible devices.

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