Abstract
A promising approach to improve the performance of microelectronic devices is to build three-dimensional (3D) chips made of stacked circuits. However, a major hurdle lies in the fabrication of dense arrays of electrical interconnections between these layers, where accessibility is limited1,2. Here we show that the directed growth and self-organization of actin filaments can offer a solution to this problem. We defined the shape and orientation of 3D actin networks through both micropatterning of actin nucleation factors and biochemical control of actin filament polymerization. Networks growing from two opposing layers were able to interpenetrate and form mechanically stable connections, which were then coated with gold using a selective metallization process. The electrical conductivity, robustness and modularity of the metallized self-organized connections make this approach potentially attractive for 3D chip manufacturing.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the ‘Chimtronique’ programme of the CEA. It has been performed with the help of the ‘Plateforme technologique amont’ of Grenoble, and with the financial support of the ‘Nanosciences aux limites de la Nanoélectronique’ Foundation. We thank J-C. Gabriel for constructive discussions, F. Perraut for technological advice and C. Suarez for his support in biochemistry.
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R.G., C.G. and P.L. carried out the experiments. D.P., L.B. and M.T. directed the project. R.G., L.B. and M.T. wrote the manuscript.
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The CEA and the CNRS have filed an application for a patent on the technology described in this manuscript, of which R.G., L.B. and M.T. are inventors.
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Galland, R., Leduc, P., Guérin, C. et al. Fabrication of three-dimensional electrical connections by means of directed actin self-organization. Nature Mater 12, 416–421 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3569
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3569
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