Phototriggerable Transient Electronics: Materials and Concepts

Transient electronics is an emerging field of technology where the controlled, programmable vaporization of a device is needed because retrieval is not possible or a different form of disposal is desired. Decomposable polymers are of interest and may be used to form electronic components and packages. The ability to trigger these polymers to depolymerize and vaporize at ambient conditions can lead to many applications. Low ceiling temperature polyaldehydes have been evaluated for transience. Incorporation of more volatile monomer units significantly increase the evaporation rate of decomposition products. The stimulus for disappearance is a photochemical reaction that has been extended from the ultraviolet to the visible region. Chemical amplification of the trigger source has been demonstrated with acid amplifiers.