MECHANICALLY FLEXIBLE GAS PLASMA LOGIC GATES FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE APPLICATIONS

Author

• Naga Sidhartha Pandari, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Engineering Science

First Advisor

CHAPPANDA, KARUMBAIAH

Abstract

Logic gates capable of operating reliably at elevated temperatures while maintaining mechanical flexibility represent a transformative advancement toward next-generation computing circuits designed for extreme environments. However, achieving the simultaneous realization of mechanical flexibility and high-temperature resilience without compromising the operational speed has remained a significant challenge. In this work, we present for the first time the realization of mechanically flexible, low-cost gas plasma-based logic gates and computing circuits that exhibit remarkable immunity to high-temperature variations. By utilizing gas plasma as the active channel, all fundamental logic operations that include NOT, AND, NAND, OR, NOR, XOR, and XNOR were successfully implemented. Furthermore, the capability to construct more complex logic systems was demonstrated through both parallel and cascaded configurations of these fundamental gates. The robustness of the developed plasma logic gates was thoroughly validated under mechanical and thermal stress conditions. The devices maintained stable operation at bending radii as small as 3 mm. Additionally, they demonstrated outstanding thermal tolerance, functioning effectively up to 500 °C on flexible substrates. These gates also delivered exceptional performance metrics, achieving a switching speed of 80 ± 13 ns and an operational lifetime exceeding 20 billion logic cycles. Overall, these findings establish the feasibility and reliability of gas plasma-based logic computing architectures for high-speed and high-temperature electronics, paving the way for a new generation of flexible computing platforms suitable for operation in harsh and extreme environments.