Silicon on Insulator - The Perfect Material for Implantable Electronics?

The availability of SOI from silicon foundries is making SOI a viable option for implantable electronics devices. The field has some specific needs that are different to many conventional electronics applications. Low power operation is essential but with intermittent high power requirements and the need for long term reliability. Conversely, circuit operating speed requirements are often extremely low; including monitoring at only a few KHz. Data storage (memory) requirements may also be relatively low. Furthermore, the operating temperature range of implanted devices is low compared to many non-implantable applications. These requirements together are assessed against the unique attributes of silicon on insulator (SOI) as a semiconductor material of choice for this environment, compared to that of conventional ´bulk´ silicon.