Stretchable Thin Film Mechanical‐Strain‐Gated Switches and Logic Gate Functions Based on a Soft Tunneling Barrier

Mechanical-strain-gated switches are cornerstone components of material-embedded circuits that perform logic operations without using conventional electronics. This technology requires a single material system to exhibit three distinct functionalities: strain-invariant conductivity and an increase or decrease upon mechanical deformation. Herein, mechanical-strain-gated electric based on thin-film architecture features insulator-to-conductor transition when mechanically stretched demonstrated. The changes by nine orders magnitude over wide range tunable working strains (as high as 130%). approach relies nanometer-scale sandwiched bilayer Au thin film with ultrathin poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomeric barrier layer; applied strain alters the electron tunneling currents through barrier. Mechanical-force-controlled achieved realizing strain-controlled basic (AND OR) universal (NAND NOR) gates in system. proposed can be used fabricate logics arbitrary complexity for applications including soft robotics, wearable/implantable electronics, human–machine interfaces, Internet Things.