Bio-Digital Convergence

Architecting the
Bio-Digital Convergence

MycelioTronics is developing living mycelium substrates that bring semiconductor-grade patterning to biologically grown, carbon-neutral platforms — a new class of hardware for sustainable sensing and adaptive electronics.

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Core Pillars

What Makes MycelioTronics Different

The Living Substrate

We replace rigid fiberglass and epoxy laminates with grown Ganoderma lucidum mycelium — a carbon-neutral, fully compostable platform that forms into shape rather than being machined from synthetic stock.

Neuromorphic Logic

Research in fungal ethology shows that living mycelial networks exhibit adaptive growth, spatial sensing, and short-term memory-like behavior. Our nano-etched interfaces aim to couple conventional electronics with these network dynamics, exploring organic “mushristor” elements for low-power, adaptive computation rather than forcing synthetic materials to imitate biology.

Autonomous Self-Healing

Mycelial networks can re-route and regrow around physical damage. By preserving viable tissue under controlled conditions, we investigate limited self-repair of conductive pathways and structural continuity — a property unavailable to conventional FR-4 and most rigid bioelectronics platforms.

The Substrate Revolution

Conventional FR-4 vs. MycelioTronics

Feature Conventional FR-4 MycelioTronics
Substrate Material Synthetic fiberglass / epoxy Ganoderma lucidum mycelium
Structural Logic Rigid, non-organic dielectric Biological morphogenesis; 0.5 mm PE grids
Environmental Impact Persistent e-waste Carbon-neutral; fully compostable
Manufacturing Loads Energy-intensive; helium cooling Lower thermal budget; no helium dependency target

Technology

Nano-Etching & Patterning

A subtractive, direct-write process designed to integrate conductive pathways onto living substrates while preserving biological viability.

Close view of mycelium network structure

01. Substrate Engineering

Leveraging the natural surface morphology of Reishi mycelium with 0.5 mm polyethylene separation grids to create stable, manufacturable panels.

Thin-film deposition and metallization process

02. PVD Metallization & Nano-Etching

Copper or gold films applied via physical vapor deposition adhere to the biological scaffold. Feature sizes target the 1–10 µm regime.

Preserving viability: Conventional semiconductor processes rely on high temperatures and aggressive chemistries incompatible with living tissue. Our approach uses ultrashort-pulse (femtosecond) laser ablation to define conductive pathways while minimizing the heat-affected zone, aiming to keep underlying mycelium functionally intact for adaptive and sensing applications.

Precision laser processing equipment

03. Laser Ablation

Ultrashort-pulse lasers define conductive pathways with minimal thermal transfer to the surrounding biological matrix.

Future Applications

Decentralized Edge Sensors

Sensors That Respond

Fungal hyphae exhibit high sensitivity to environmental cues — surface topography, humidity, chemical gradients — and adjust growth patterns accordingly. By integrating nano-etched circuits with these reactive networks, we are exploring decentralized edge sensors that do more than passively sample data: they can modulate their own structure and electrical response in ways conventional silicon platforms cannot.

Strategic Positioning

Funding & Institutional Alignment

Federal Research Initiatives

MycelioTronics is preparing applications for National Science Foundation programs focused on advanced materials, sustainable manufacturing, and bioelectronics. Our work sits at the intersection of living systems and semiconductor packaging — areas of growing priority for next-generation computing and sensing architectures.

Private & Consortium Support

We are engaging foundations, industry partners, and venture collaborators who see the long-term value of living substrates. These relationships accelerate the path from laboratory characterization to functional prototypes and packaging-level integration.

The Consortium

Expert Collaborative Network

The consortium operates as a parallel feedback loop across fungal materials science, PVD metallization, and biomass characterization — synchronizing progress in real time across experimental domains.

Research Director

Dr. Sergio Caparedo

Leads baseline biomass characterization and organic substrate optimization, ensuring the biological foundation meets the dimensional and reliability requirements of semiconductor-adjacent manufacturing.

Principal Investigator

Josh Hihath

Drives integration of biological substrates with electronic systems, focusing on interface design between living materials and functional circuitry.

Technical Lead

Sagnik Basuray

Oversees development of nano-etching protocols and physical vapor deposition processes, balancing patterning precision with preservation of mycelial viability.

Consortium Access

Join the Bio-Digital Frontier

Request access for research collaboration, technical updates, and consortium communications.

Community Architecture

Collaborative Message Board

A shared channel for consortium members to exchange updates on fungal logic experiments, PVD runs, and biomass characterization.

Active Channels

  • # federal-funding-strategy
  • # pvd-metallization-logs
  • # fungal-memristive-logic
  • # biomass-characterization
  • # general-announcements
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Secure Communications

Consortium Webmail Portal

Institutional Gmail access for consortium members will be provided through a secured gateway once OAuth credentials and compliance controls are in place.

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Contact & Institutional Alignment

Secure the Future of Bio-Digital Hardware

MycelioTronics Consortium Research collaboration & institutional inquiries via the access form above.
Strategic Context MycelioTronics explores pathways that reduce reliance on energy-intensive substrate processes and scarce process gases such as helium, contributing to more resilient and sustainable electronics manufacturing.