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Biodegradable Microchips Developed


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If there is one thing you do not expect to turn into fertilizer, it is our computers and other electronics, but that may be changing though, thanks to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These researchers have worked to replace the plastic substrate material commonly used with a biological material with suitable properties.

The bulk of a computer chip is not the circuitry but the substrate that supports it all. What the researchers have done is replaced the usual substrate with one made of cellulose nanofibril (CNF), which is flexible and biodegradable. Like paper, it is made from wood, but where the fibers in paper are on the micrometer scale, there are on the nanoscale for CNF. One of the issues the researchers had to overcome with it was preventing it from absorbing moisture from the air. This was achieved by applying an epoxy coating, which also improved its surface smoothness.

A chip made from this material could, when it needs to be disposed of, could be put somewhere that fungi could find and grow on, enjoying their cellulose dinner. Before that happens though, the chip would be able to perform comparably to modern chips.

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison



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