Nanodiodes on a Digestible Substrate

Biodegradable and edible electronics will need electronic components for signal modulation and wireless communication; hence, non-linear and high frequency components will be required. Here, a method to fabricate nanodiodes on isomalt (a sugar substitute) substrates is reported. Coplanar electrodes of Al and Au with nanogap separation were fabricated on top of isomalt through design of an adhesion lithography process specifically to accommodate the low melting point and high solubility of the substrate. Lateral diodes with rectification ratios of 103 were created by depositing indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) using a target with an atomic ratio of In2O3:Ga2O3:ZnO (1:1:1) on top of the electrodes without an annealing step.