Flexible Transistors

MIT Technology Review 2001 – The implementation of pervasive computing-the spread of digital information throughout society–will require electronics capable of bringing information technology off the desktop and out into the world ( see ” Computing Goes Everywhere ,” ). To digitize newspapers, product labels and clothing, integrated circuits must be cheap and flexible-a tough combination for today’s silicon technology.

Even the cheapest form of silicon electronics-the cut-rate “amorphous” silicon used to drive laptop display screens-is too pricey. What’s more, it’s difficult to incorporate silicon electronics on bendable surfaces such as plastics.

Now, a 31-year-old materials scientist at IBM, Cherie Kagan, may have opened the door to cheap, flexible electronics that pack the mojo needed to bring ubiquitous computing closer. Her breakthrough? A compromise: transistors made from materials that combine the charge-shuttling power and speed of inorganics with the affordability and flexibility of organics. More