The idea grew out of a long-term research effort to develop multifunctional fibres that incorporate different materials into a single long functional strand. Until now, those long strands could only be created by arranging the materials in a large block or cylinder, called a preform, which is then heated and stretched to create a thin fibre that is drastically smaller in diameter, but retains the same composition.
Now, for the first time, fibres created via this method can have a composition which is completely different from that of the starting materials — an advance that lead researcher, Yoel Fink refers to as a kind of 'alchemy' - turning inexpensive and abundant materials into high-value ones. The new findings are described in a paper in the journal Nature Communications co-authored by graduate student Chong Hou, and six others at MIT and in Singapore.
The fibres are made from aluminium metal and silica glass, abundant low cost materials, which are commonly used to make windows and window frames. The aluminium metal and silica glass react chemically as they are heated and drawn, producing a fibre with a core of pure, crystalline silicon — the raw material of computer chips and solar cells — and a coating of silica.
The initial discovery was a complete surprise: In experiments designed to test the possibility of incorporating metal wires inside fibres, Hou tried a variety of metals, including silver, copper, and aluminium — and in the latter case, the result was not what they expected.
“When I looked at the fibre, instead of a shiny metallic core, I observed a dark substance; I really didn’t know what happened,” says Hou, who is the lead author of the paper. Upon analysis, the researchers found that the core had turned to silicon — in fact, very pure, crystalline silicon.
“My initial reaction might have been to discard the sample altogether,” Fink says, after seeing that the experiment 'failed' to produce the expected result. But instead, Hou began to examine the specimen and apply rigorous analysis, soon realizing that the mundane result he expected was replaced by a surprising one — which is how this discovery came about.
It turned out that the chemical reaction in the fibre was a well-known one: At the high temperatures used for drawing the fibre, about 2,200 degrees Celsius, the pure aluminium core reacted with the silica, a form of silicon oxide. The reaction left behind pure silicon, concentrated in the core of the fibre, and aluminium oxide, which deposited a very thin layer of aluminium between the core and the silica cladding.
“We can use this to get electrical devices, like solar cells or transistors, or any silicon-based semiconductor devices, that could be built inside the fibre,” says Hou. Many teams have tried to create such devices within fibres, he says, but so far all of the methods tried have required starting with expensive, high-purity silicon. Using an inexpensive metal provides a new approach to generating a silicon-core fibre.
Fink, who is a professor of materials science and electrical engineering and head of MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics, says this represents the first time that a fibre is drawn which is radically different from its preform, opening up new opportunities in fibre materials and fibre devices through value-added processing.
“We want to use this technique to generate not only silicon inside, but also other materials,” Hou says. In addition, the team is working to produce specific structures, such as an electrical junction inside the material as it is drawn. “We could put other metals in there, like gold or copper, and make a real electrical circuit,” Hou adds.
Fink adds that this is a new way of thinking about fibres, and it could be a way of getting fibres to do a lot more than they ever have. As mobile devices continue to grow into an ever-larger segment of the electronics business, for example, this technology could open up new possibilities for electronics — including solar cells and microchips — to be incorporated into fibres and woven into clothing or accessories.