Flexible Electronics on Deck at IBM

Semiconductors will someday be just about everywhere including flexible computer screens, watches, smart cards, ID tags, theater tickets, and even money. Back in June , we heard about Hitachi's integrated circuit that is slim enough to embed in paper and won't break if the paper is folded. Now, it looks like IBM has been working on similar technology with a scientific advance in materials that it says could lead to the development of low-cost, low-power flexible organic electronics. This discovery could let manufacturers create computing devices by printing or spraying a thin-film of semiconductors onto plastic and other materials. The key to the development is a substance called pentacene, a molecule made of carbon and hydrogen. Devices like transistors and lasers can be fabricated on a single crystal of the stuff. IBM says that among other things, its new technology could lead to monitors that you could roll up and stick in your pocket. You can Read the entire release .