Transparent Sensor Arrays for Microscopy Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensor arrays are complex, rigid, and expensive, making them incompatible with compound microscopes and fluorescence imaging, and they require a large number of wires for access, which is impractical for large-scale applications.
Innovation Solution
A transparent sensor system with a flexible polymer substrate and a transparent sensor array featuring transparent transistors and interconnects, allowing for a compact and economical design that can be used with compound microscopes and reducing the number of wires needed by sharing connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional semiconductor processing technology (silicon-CMOS) is used to create sensor arrays, then the sensor arrays achieve reliable sensor access and signal processing, but they become physically rigid, opaque, and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters from traditional opaque silicon-CMOS to transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) such as ITO, AZO, and IZO. This parameter change maintains electrical conductivity while achieving optical transparency and flexibility, allowing the sensor array to be both reliable and compatible with microscopy applications
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures combining transparent conducting oxide layers with flexible substrate materials. This creates a composite system that integrates the electrical functionality of semiconductors with the optical transparency and mechanical flexibility of polymer substrates, resolving the contradiction between reliability and physical complexity
2Quantity of substance
If wire sharing techniques are used to access sensor arrays, then the number of wires is reduced to N+M for N×M sensors, but the system becomes complex and impractical for large-scale applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from planar wire sharing to three-dimensional vertical stacking of sensor elements. By arranging sensors in multiple layers above and below the substrate, the system achieves N×M sensor access using only N+M transparent interconnects, dramatically reducing wire count while simplifying the interconnection architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent interconnects serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide electrical connectivity for sensor access, maintain optical transparency for microscopy, and enable vertical stacking architecture. This multi-functionality reduces the need for dedicated wire layers while simplifying the overall system design
3Ease of manufacture
If opaque materials are used in sensor arrays, then traditional semiconductor processing is enabled, but compatibility with compound microscopes and fluorescence imaging is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the optical parameter of the conducting materials from opaque to transparent by selecting transparent conducting oxides with appropriate band gaps. This allows the sensor array to maintain semiconductor-like electrical properties while achieving >90% optical transparency in the visible and UV ranges, enabling compatibility with compound microscopes and fluorescence imaging
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different material properties to different regions: the channel regions use transparent materials for optical access, while the gate and contact regions maintain electrical functionality. This local differentiation allows the sensor array to be both manufacturable with standard processes and transparent for microscopy applications
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor device including a substrate that is transparent and/or flexible, and a transparent sensor array disposed on the substrate. The transparent sensor array includes transparent sensor circuits and transparent interconnects electrically coupled to the transparent sensor circuits. Each of the transparent sensor circuits includes a transparent transistor. A transparent slide may include a transparent sensor circuit disposed on a transparent substrate. The slide may be prepared for observation of a specimen by placing the specimen in fluidic communication with the transparent sensor circuit. A flexible sensor device may include an array of transparent sensor circuits disposed on a flexible substrate. The flexible sensor device may be placed on the surface of an object to determine parameters at locations adjacent to the surface of the object. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit may include using a multilayer etch mask of electron-beam resist and photoresist.