Shapeable Magnetoelectronics

Abstract

In our everyday life, we are surrounded by electronic sensing devices designed in a way to meet requirements for a certain application, which is determined primarily by their shape and size. In this respect, the natural question, which surprisingly has only recently been raised, is can one create electronics that can be reshaped on demand after its fabrication? After introducing this ground-breaking paradigm, the so-called shapeable electronics became a dynamically developing research area with already a variety of shapeable devices commercially available: electronic displays, light-emitting diodes, integrated circuitry, to name a few. Special attention has been paid to the family of shapeable electronics which combines advantages of being flexible with the high speed of conventional semiconductor-based electronics. Shapeable electronics and optoelectronics have been developed already for a few years. Very recently, we added a new member to this family – the shapeable magnetic sensor. Shapeable magnetoelectronics on flexible membranes could enable the fabrication of biomedical fluidic systems, where large-angle folding of the micrometer-sized functional elements is a crucial prerequisite for a successful implementation. Furthermore, shapeable magnetic sensors can be directly integrated into already existing flexible electronic systems to realize smart hybrid magnetoelectronic devices with the functionality to sense and respond to a magnetic field.