Researchers at Incheon National University have set out a detailed roadmap for a new class of flexible bioelectronics built from ultra-thin crystalline silicon, a material they argue could bridge the long-standing gap between high-performance semiconductor technology and the soft, dynamic environment of the human body.
In a review published in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, the team describes how silicon, long associated with rigid chips and brittle wafers, can be transformed into nanometre-scale membranes that bend, stretch, and conform to biological tissue without sacrificing electrical performance or compatibility with conventional chip manufacturing.
Silicon has underpinned the electronics industry for decades, but its stiffness has limited its use in biomedical devices designed to interface directly with organs, nerves, or skin. According to the authors, that constraint is not inherent to the material itself, but to how it has traditionally been processed.
“When silicon is thinned down to the nanoscale, it behaves very differently,” said Dr Young Uk Cho, Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Robotics Engineering at Incheon National University, who led the review. “You can retain the performance and reliability that made silicon dominant in electronics, while gaining mechanical flexibility that makes intimate integration with the body possible.”
The paper brings together advances from materials science, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, and manufacturing. The authors argue that progress in the field has been rapid but fragmented, with no single framework linking fabrication methods to real-world medical applications.
Their roadmap traces the full manufacturing pathway for ultra-thin crystalline silicon devices. It begins with established, high-temperature, on-wafer processes such as oxidation, doping, and lithography, before moving to techniques for releasing and transferring the resulting silicon nanomembranes onto flexible substrates. From there, the review surveys a growing range of applications, from wearable health monitors and electrophysiological sensors to implantable systems for neuromodulation and prosthetics.
In the near to medium term, the researchers see the technology enabling continuous health monitoring through wearable and implantable devices that track electrical signals from the brain, heart, and peripheral nerves, alongside thermal, mechanical, and biochemical data. Because crystalline silicon is fully compatible with mature CMOS processes, such systems can integrate sensing, signal processing, and wireless communication on a single, compact platform.
That integration, the authors argue, is critical if bioelectronic devices are to operate reliably outside laboratory settings and over long periods inside the body. Existing flexible electronics based on polymers or organic materials often struggle to match silicon’s performance, stability, and scalability.
The longer-term implications extend beyond monitoring. Ultra-thin silicon could underpin closed-loop bioelectronic systems that both sense and respond to physiological signals in real time. Potential applications include personalised neuromodulation therapies, advanced brain–computer interfaces, bio-integrated prosthetic limbs, and transient implants designed to dissolve harmlessly in the body once their function is complete, eliminating the need for follow-up surgery.
Dr Cho said his interest in the field was driven by a central question that has shaped his career: how to bring the performance of modern electronics into long-term, stable contact with the human body. “Our aim was to organise what is already known into a coherent technical roadmap that researchers and manufacturers can actually use,” he said.
The review reflects growing interest worldwide in technologies that sit at the intersection of electronics and biology, as ageing populations and rising rates of chronic disease drive demand for continuous monitoring and targeted therapies. By grounding its vision in established silicon manufacturing techniques, the authors suggest their approach could be scaled more readily than alternatives that rely on less mature materials.
Incheon National University, one of South Korea’s largest public universities, has positioned bioelectronics as a strategic research area, with Dr Cho’s group focusing on wireless implantable devices and brain signal acquisition. The authors conclude that ultra-thin crystalline silicon is well placed to move advanced bioelectronics from experimental demonstrations to clinically relevant products, provided that manufacturing, integration, and application development continue to advance in tandem.
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