Abstract
The seamless integration of electronics with biology requires new bio-inspired approaches that, analogously to nature, rely on the presence of electrolytes for signal multiplexing. On the contrary, conventional multiplexing schemes mostly rely on electronic carriers and require peripheral circuitry for their implementation, which imposes severe limitations toward their adoption in bio-applications. Here, a bio-inspired iontronic multiplexer based on spatiotemporal dynamics of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), with an electrolyte as the shared medium of communication, is shown. The iontronic system discriminates locally random-access events with no need of peripheral circuitry or address assignment, thus deceasing significantly the integration complexity. The form factors of OECTs that allow for intimate biointerfacing as well as the electrochemical nature of the communication medium, open new avenues for unconventional multiplexing in the emerging fields of bioelectronics, wearables, and neuromorphic computing or sensing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Advanced Functional Materials |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 22 |
| Early online date | 24 Mar 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 26 May 2021 |
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge George Malliaras for fruitful discussions on the device physics of OECTs, Armantas Melianas for discussions on spatiotemporal device response, and Javad Taghinasab for his assistance in designing the custom-made electronic board. The authors also wish to thank Hans-Juergen Guttmann, Christian Bauer, Frank Keller and Michelle Beuchel and Katharina Lieberth from MPIP for their technical assistance.Funding
K.A. and M.H.A. acknowledge the financial support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany) through the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award, and the technical support from the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research. Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.