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Researchers at Linköping University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology demonstrated a transistor made with treated balsa wood in 2023. It could control electrical current, but it was a slow, centimetre-scale laboratory prototype—not a wooden replacement for the silicon transistors in computers. The device also relied on conductive polymer, an electrolyte and electrodes, not wood alone.
What is a wooden transistor?
A transistor is an electronic component that controls current. In the 2023 demonstration, wood formed the porous structure of an electrochemical transistor. The researchers reported that it could regulate current, switch power on and off, and hold a chosen output level. The work was described as the first wood transistor in Linköping University’s account of the project.
The peer-reviewed paper, “Electrical current modulation in wood electrochemical transistors,” was published online on 24 April 2023 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Linköping University’s announcement describes the demonstration, and IEEE Spectrum’s technical feature reports further details about the prototype.
How does a wooden transistor work?
1. The researchers prepare the wood
They used balsa wood and removed its lignin, leaving a porous cellulose framework. This treatment is essential: the demonstrated device was not simply a piece of untreated wood wired into a circuit.
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2. Conductive polymer fills the wood’s channels
The team filled channels in the porous structure with PEDOT:PSS, a conductive polymer. The resulting conductive wood pieces were arranged to form the transistor.
3. An electrolyte enables gate control
An electrolyte and electrode configuration let the gate control current through the device. In other words, wood supplied the treated framework, while the polymer and electrochemical components made current modulation possible. Calling it “wood-based” describes the structure, not a device made only of wood.
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What could the prototype do?
Linköping University reported that the prototype could regulate current, retain a selected output level, and switch power on and off. Its reported switching took about one second to turn off and about five seconds to turn on. IEEE Spectrum described it as about 3 centimeters across and operating below one hertz. These are measurements of this particular prototype, not performance specifications for wood-based electronics generally.
Those results show current control, but also the gap between the demonstration and practical computing hardware. A device around 3 centimeters across and operating below one hertz is not a substitute for the small, fast transistors used in processors. The comparison is about the prototype’s scale, speed and research maturity; it does not establish how a future wood-based device might perform.
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Is it a practical technology or a product?
The work is a basic research proof of concept, not an established product or consumer buying category. The cited accounts do not identify a commercially available wooden transistor. Although the researchers discussed possible future directions such as electronic plants and switches for sensors, batteries or solar cells, these are speculative applications, not demonstrated uses of this prototype.
Project lead Isak Engquist, senior associate professor at Linköping University’s Laboratory for Organic Electronics, explained the research motivation: “We didn’t create the wood transistor with any specific application in mind. We did it because we could. This is basic research, showing that it’s possible, and we hope it will inspire further research that can lead to applications in the future.”
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