Sihong Wang’s lab at the University of Chicago focuses on developing new materials to underpin a full suite of devices. 

Drawing on innovation in the fields of semiconductor physics, solid mechanics, and material science, this work includes the creation of stretchable polymer semiconductors and transistor arrays, which provide exceptional electrical performance, high semiconducting properties, and mechanical stretchability.

Combining these advances with a new type of polymer that soaks up liquid on moist tissue and then sticks to the surface, the researchers have created an adhesive semiconductor that can effectively interface with the surfaces of living tissues, such as the heart. This is the first semiconductor and transistor that has bioadhesion as an intrinsic property – and opens up significant possibilities for biosensing

Several other critical components have been developed for collecting information from internal organs to send to the chips and displays.

Wang and his group have created another important new type of material: electroluminescent polymers. Highly efficient, the polymer emits light brightly and maintains performance while stretched – enabling fully stretchable high-performance OLED devices. Additionally, to extract useful health information from these devices, they also have created a semiconductor-based computing platform inspired by how the brain works.