Scientists Create Silk Electronics

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And now we go to Taiwan, where scientists have found that silk can be used to make electronic transistors. The discovery could lead to the development of flexible, super-fast electronic paper and touch screens.

Scientists at Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University have come up with a way to use silk, made by silkworms, in electronics.

Hwang Jenn-Chang and a group of doctoral students at the Materials Engineering lab at Tsing Hua University have discovered that silk can be used as an organic thin-film transistor for flexible electronics - such as e-paper, radio-frequency identification tags, and LED displays.

According to the scientists, silk could become a flexible and low-cost material for the key components in electronic devices.

The researchers boiled silkworm cocoons in a sodium chloride solution to extract proteins - or fibroin - then dissolved the proteins in phosphoric acid to produce liquid silk.

The liquid silk forms a membrane which the researchers say can easily be made into insulators in transistors.

Hwang says the team had experimented with both organic and inorganic materials, but discovered the advantages of silk within just a few trials.

[Hwang Jenn-Chang, Materials Engineering Professor, Tsing Hua University]:
"I think it's a gift from heaven. In late 2009, one of my students, Chung-Hwa, he proposed to use silk as an insulator for organic thin-film transistor, I think that was a good idea and we went for it."

The government-funded project began in August 2009, and the team managed to stabilize the silk transistor's performance by March 2011.

Hwang says the technology is not only environmentally friendly, but also has high performance.

[Hwang Jenn-Chang, Materials Engineering Professor, Tsing Hua University]:
"I think the advantage of silk fibroin is the flexibility and even rollability, so is very suitable for flexible electronics. What we found is that silk fibroin can improve pentacene organic thin-film transistor, the speed can be improved by twenty times at least."

Hwang is in the process of applying for patents worldwide, and expects his team's invention to reach consumers within three years.

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[LadyArtemis1975]

this is such a cool idea if it works it would be a cheaper and renewable way to produce electronics WONDERFUL!!!!!

[submissions72]

@binplhh Oh military wise OFCOURSE!! I mean..if we don't spend money on military..then what else would we spend it on..maybe healthcare for the poor? NO way..lets spend it on military and attack other countries and claim it DEFENSE. That's no defense.....is this something to boast about that we spend most money on defense? Really?

[binplhh]

@submissions72  I was actually assuming you're too young to know what you're talking about. Whether you like it or not The USA is currently the most developed country in the world; technology-and-military-wise. Here are some stats ( from 2009 ) for military defense spending: USA - $515,400,000,000

China - $59,000,000,000

Russia - $43,200,000,000

[submissions72]

@binplhh Are you assuming that I am Chinese? Because I am not, I am actually American. jokes on you.

[binplhh]

@submissions72 What else are you gonna give us? Your fav sites with pokemon movies?

[sethzky77]

RFID chips huh?  No thanks.

[WavesOfTrolls]

@submissions72 ignorant idiot is stupid

i think you meant japan because china is not nearly as advanced as the u.s. right now

[Sincrol]

@submissions72 too bad thats not CHINA. its TAIWAN.

[aznguymetal]

@submissions72 Nope they can't beat American, only if the China government open up further and not censor everything.

[mispistoleros]

@submissions72, get serious. if it doesn't benefit party officials and their families, it doesn't happen.