title: In vivo silicon-based flexible radio frequency integrated circuits monolithically encapsulated with biocompatible liquid crystal polymers.
abstract: Biointegrated electronics have been investigated for various healthcare applications which can introduce biomedical systems into the human body. Silicon-based semiconductors perform significant roles of nerve stimulation, signal analysis, and wireless communication in implantable electronics. However, the current large-scale integration (LSI) chips have limitations in in vivo devices due to their rigid and bulky properties. This paper describes in vivo ultrathin silicon-based liquid crystal polymer (LCP) monolithically encapsulated flexible radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for medical wireless communication. The mechanical stability of the LCP encapsulation is supported by finite element analysis simulation. In vivo electrical reliability and bioaffinity of the LCP monoencapsulated RFIC devices are confirmed in rats. In vitro accelerated soak tests are performed with Arrhenius method to estimate the lifetime of LCP monoencapsulated RFICs in a live body. The work could provide an approach to flexible LSI in biointegrated electronics such as an artificial retina and wireless body sensor networks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Geon-Tae
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Donggu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Im
authors.forename: Sung Eun
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jooseok
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: So Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seungjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kyounghoon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Sung June
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kwyro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Keon Jae
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D055615:Electrical Equipment and Supplies; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011846:Radio Waves; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D059015:Wireless Technology
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D012825:Silicon