May 16, 2023 (Tuesday) Professor Simone Fabiano

Toward brain-inspired organic electronics:

materials, devices, and challenges

Future brain-computer interfaces will require electronic circuits that can process signals in a localized and highly individualized manner within living tissues and the nervous system. However, traditional neuromorphic systems using silicon face challenges in bio-integration due to circuit complexity, poor biocompatibility, and low energy efficiency. Emerging technology, such as organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs), offer a potential solution to these limitations. With their ability to strongly couple ions and electrons, OMIECs enable efficient signal transduction, making them an ideal interface for electronics and biological systems. This presentation will explore the use of OMIECs to develop organic electrochemical neurons and synapses that possess ion-modulated spiking capabilities. We will discuss the ease of their integration with biological nerves and demonstrate neurosynaptic circuits that can modulate spiking through neurotransmitters, amino acids, and ions. These soft, flexible organic electrochemical neurons and synapses operate at low energy and respond to multiple stimuli, signaling a new era for printed organic electronics.

Bio:

Simone Fabiano is an associate professor and docent in Applied Physics at Linköping University, Sweden. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Palermo in 2012. During his doctoral studies, he was a visiting scholar at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He then held postdoctoral positions at both Linköping University (2012-2015) and Northwestern University (2016-2017) before returning to Linköping University to establish his research group. In 2020, he founded n-Ink AB, a spinout company that focuses on developing n-type organic conductive inks, where he serves as the Chief Scientific Officer. His group at Linköping University primarily focuses on developing organic dopant-free conductors and mixed ionic-electronic conductors for printed electronics and neuromorphic hardware applications. He has received several awards, including the Swedish Research Council Starting Grant in 2017 and Consolidator Grant in 2023. He is also a Wallenberg Academy Fellow.