Transparent and Foldable Electronics Enabled by Si Nanomembranes

Reducing the thicknesses of silicon offers one of the most promising routes to improved mechanical and optical properties in Si electronic devices. For the last decade, many examples of flexible, stretchable, and conformable electronic devices based on ultrathin silicon nanomembranes have been designed to overcome the limitations of conventional rigid electronics. Ultrathin Si-based devices exhibit remarkable mechanical properties for integration onto soft substrates of flexible and stretchable electronics and good optical transmittance in the visible range for use in transparent electronics. In this chapter, we discuss the recent research progress in Si nanomembrane-based flexible and transparent electronics. The fabrication methods used to improve the optical and mechanical properties of Si based on a "top-down process" are first briefly discussed. The mechanical, optoelectrical, and electromechanical properties of Si nanomembranes are then summarized. Lastly, various kinds of transparent and foldable electronic devices enabled by ultrathin Si nanomembranes are discussed.