Abstract Embedding circuit-level functionality directly into fibers would fundamentally reconfigure how we construct, integrate, and wear intelligent systems. Here, we report a scalable microfluidic encoding strategy to fabricate integrated circuit fibers (IC fibers) that support multiple essential electronic functions within a continuous, deformable architecture. By dynamically encoding modular functional layers within each fiber, we fabricate four distinct types of integrated circuit (IC) fibers, each emulating a core electronic function: electroluminescent IC (EL-IC) fibers for light emission, resistor and capacitor IC (RC-IC) fibers for analog signal processing, organic electrochemical transistors IC (OECT-IC) fibers for digital logic operations, and electroquasistatic IC (EQS-IC) fibers for wireless, contactless sensing and control. In a departure from conventional methods that embed discrete devices, our approach redefines the fiber itself as the active circuit element. We demonstrate that the fibers can be woven, sewn, or arranged into textiles capable of full-color displays, real-time analog filtering, logic gating, free-space spatial tracking, and remote robotic control. This fiber-as-circuit architecture offers a foundational platform for reimagining textiles not as passive substrates, but as active computing media.
Wang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.