Both in low and high voltage, the transistor is an important component in an electronic circuit. With the arrival of advanced technologies, there are millions in our active components, from microprocessors to memories. Something to give an idea to the Swedish University of Linköping and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, which have achieved the feat of making the first wooden transistor functional.
This “semi-biological” component is the first of its kind. Never had a team of researchers succeeded in making such a wooden transistor operational like this. By definition, the material is not a conductor, it is an insulator. Even if it can share weak electronic current via its fluids, as told by Antoine Gautherie of Journal du Geeka dead wood cannot.
© Linköping University / Van Chinh Tran
But then, why attempt the impossible? And how to go from an insulator to a conductive material capable of taking the form of a transistor? “We didn’t have a specific goal in mind”explained Isak Engquist, one of the professors of the Swedish university and member of the project. “This is a proof of concept only” he added. Despite its inefficiency, the wooden transistor did not deteriorate the current nor interrupt it.
Despite everything, this demonstration is far from being without interest and without hope for the future. It can even be understood as a call to other researchers to continue research. It has become imperative to find solutions for the production of these components, which are very polluting today. Despite recycling, the quantities of electronic waste will explode in the coming years and the need for resources will increase to another scale.
The architecture of wood for components, in future biotechnology projects?
© Linköping University / Van Chinh Tran
By zooming a little on balsa, a tropical wood selected for the experiment, we quickly discover that the transistor may look big, its transformation involved going to exploit the infinitely small. Its structure, homogeneous and regular for the researchers, nevertheless involves applying a very precise and delicate process, in channels of barely 20 µm.
© Linköping University
To transform wood from an insulator to a conductive material, the researchers added a plastic called PEDOT, instead of lignin, the name of the polymer that makes plant cells resistant and rigid, as explained by our colleague from Journal du Geek. We will still have to achieve an architecture of a few nanometers to be able to compete with our current microprocessors and other active components, but from now on, we will never be able to say that it is impossible.
