(May 26, 2015) Portable
electronics - typically made of non-renewable, non-biodegradable and
potentially toxic materials - are discarded at an alarming rate in consumers'
pursuit of the next best electronic gadget.
In an effort to alleviate the environmental burden of
electronic devices, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has
collaborated with researchers in the Madison-based U.S. Department of
Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) to develop a surprising solution:
a semiconductor chip made almost entirely of wood.
The research team, led by UW-Madison electrical and computer
engineering professor Zhenqiang "Jack" Ma, described the new device
in a paper published today (May 26, 2015) by the journal Nature Communications.
The paper demonstrates the feasibility of replacing the substrate, or support
layer, of a computer chip, with cellulose nanofibril (CNF), a flexible,
biodegradable material made from wood.