Scientists take inspiration from the spider web to create biomedical photodetectors

“We used a unique fractal web design to develop a deformable and durable

electronics.As a result, it can easily interact with any 3D curved surface,” explains Chi Hwan Lee, assistant professor of biomedical and mechanical engineering at Purdue. “For example, we have demonstrated a hemispherical or dome-shaped photodetector array that can detect the direction and intensity of incident light simultaneously. This is similar to the vision system of arthropods such as insects and crustaceans."

Purdue experts' technology uses a web structure with a repeating pattern. 

This is what provides unique opportunitiesto distribute external stress along the thread in accordance with the effective ratio of the helical and radial dimensions. In addition, the technology guarantees greater stretchability for better dissipation of tensile forces. 

“The resulting three-dimensionaloptoelectronic architectures are especially attractive for photodetection systems that require a large field of view and wide angle antireflection image. This will be useful for many biomedical and military imaging purposes, ”explains Muhammad Ashraful Alam, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“The assembly technique presented in this work,allows you to deploy 2D deformable electronics in 3D architectures. It looks like we have new opportunities to advance in the field of 3D electronic and optoelectronic devices, ”concludes Lee.

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