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Flies of creativity: The new method will create electronics for cyborg insects with AI
Russian experts have studied the properties of diamane, a carbon—based material that, depending on the processing method, can exhibit the properties of both an insulator and a conductor. These features open up prospects for its application in the creation of nanoscale electronic components. In addition, carbon electronics are highly compatible with living tissues, which potentially allows the creation of hybrid systems combining biological and artificial elements. Cyborg insects with AI, organisms with external control capable of performing tasks in hard-to—reach places, including search, exploration and environmental monitoring, may become one of the possible directions. At the same time, experts note that the study was carried out using computer modeling methods and the technology is still far from being widely used.
A material with the properties of a conductor and insulator
Scientists of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI conducted a study of a unique two—dimensional material - diamane. The results obtained can make a breakthrough in the creation of next-generation electronic devices, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science told Izvestia.
— Diamond is a "two—dimensional diamond". Its structure consists of two layers of graphene (a carbon "film" with a thickness of one atom. — Ed.), interconnected by strong chemical bonds, as in ordinary diamond. This gives the material outstanding hardness and unique electronic properties," said Professor Konstantin Katin, head of the Laboratory of 2D Nanomaterials in Electronics, Photonics and Spintronics at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.
According to him, during the study, scientists using sophisticated computer modeling found out that when heated above a certain threshold, a chain reaction is triggered in the material. First, one hydrogen atom breaks off from the surface, and a similar process occurs on the opposite side of the structure. Then the process becomes irreversible, and the hydrogen atoms near the defect begin to leave their places one by one.
In those areas where hydrogen is removed from the diamane structure, the material that previously did not conduct electric current is converted into two layers of graphene with high conductivity. This makes it possible to create nanometer—scale conductive and insulating regions on the same material using local effects, such as laser heating or irradiation. In fact, this technology can become the basis for "printing" microcircuits.
As Konstantin Katin explained, modern chips usually consist of several materials: silicon, copper, aluminum, oxides and other components. Undesirable effects may occur at the boundaries between them, whereas using a single material with the ability to switch between a conductive and insulating state looks more promising.
Scientists have also found that the presence of only eight hydrogen atoms is sufficient to preserve the diamond structure of diamane. Such areas of about 0.3 nm in size can become the basis for the creation of superminiature electronic components and the development of fully carbon-based two-dimensional nanoelectronics.
— The point is that we are working with two-dimensional material. Such thin structures can be accommodated in a much larger number than traditional microcircuits in a single device. This will result in gains in speed, responsiveness, and productivity. Thus, the development will be useful wherever ultra—fast computing is in demand," Konstantin Katin shared.
At the same time, carbon is the basis of organic matter. In this regard, one of the advantages of carbon microelectronics is its combination with wildlife. This opens up prospects for the creation of biointegrable devices. They can become the basis of hybrid systems combining biological and artificial elements. For example, miniature neural interfaces for controlling insect movements.
How will cyborg insects be created?
Such technologies underlie the concept of cyborg insects, living organisms with embedded electronic components, including miniature sensors, processors, cameras, and AI elements. In the future, such "live drones" can be used to work in hard—to-reach places, for example, when examining rubble, ruins and ventilation shafts. Possible tasks include search operations, environmental monitoring and exploration.
In general, the best computing systems created by nature are the brains of living organisms. Therefore, carbon electronics may have special prospects for future technologies combining natural and artificial intelligence, Konstantin Katin noted.
— Diamond has unique properties. A sharp change in electrical resistance in a material during phase transitions can be used in electronics to create high—speed sensors, switches, and nanoelectronic devices," Konstantin Tsarik, director of the Probe Microscopy and Nanotechnology Scientific and Educational Center at the National Research University MIET, told Izvestia.
In his opinion, thanks to mathematical modeling, scientists have well described the structural properties of the material. However, there is a lack of a practical recipe for the formation of a diamane film the size of a silicon substrate. There are many enterprises in the world that develop carbon electronics and even offer prototypes of devices to the market, but it is too early to talk about their mass production due to technological difficulties.
According to Olga Kozhukhovskaya, CEO of the autonomous non-profit organization Consortium of Printed Circuit Boards, carbon electronics has good prospects, since such materials make devices more compact, flexible and energy efficient. But rather, such developments will complement silicon-based technologies and occupy their own niches. Russia has a strong scientific staff, but so far there is not enough production base to scale.
— The advantage of the proposed solution is the ability to combine conductive, semiconductor and dielectric properties in two—dimensional structures. But this is not a replacement for traditional devices, but a direction for specialized, so—called post-silicon electronics," explained the editor-in-chief of IT-World.RU and IT Expert magazine Andrey Vinogradov.
He noted that the strength of the research lies in the fact that a specific mechanism has been proposed for the formation of regions with different electronic properties in one material. This will make it possible to design nanostructures without complicated combinations of dissimilar materials. The weak point of the development is that the results are obtained by modeling methods.
To develop the technology, it is necessary to develop methods for reproducible synthesis of materials, defect management at the atomic level, integration with existing technological processes and verification of the reliability of future devices, the expert concluded.
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