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Plastic may spell the end of the silicon microchip
UK Financial Times ^
| January 2, 2007
| Peter Marsh
Posted on 01/03/2007 12:30:28 AM PST by FairOpinion
click here to read article
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It's significant, that they are actually going into production, even if small to start with.
The potential is enormous.
To: AntiGuv; SunkenCiv
To: FairOpinion
Neat. I wonder why they chose Dresden?
3
posted on
01/03/2007 1:00:37 AM PST
by
Jaysun
(I've never paid for sex in my life. And that's really pissed off a lot of prostitutes.)
To: Jaysun
Neat. I wonder why they chose Dresden?Hiroshima and Nagasaki were already taken?
To: FairOpinion
It sounds neat, especially the possibility of the casual use of sopisticated electronics in cheaper items.
To: TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were already taken?
Makes sense. My wife is from Germany. We visit there fairly often and get a couple of newspapers a month mailed over. It's far from what I would call a good place to do business. They're a lot like France. It's virtually impossible to fire someone and the taxes are criminal.
6
posted on
01/03/2007 2:34:25 AM PST
by
Jaysun
(I've never paid for sex in my life. And that's really pissed off a lot of prostitutes.)
To: Jaysun
*relatively* cheap skilled labor but still close to home (remember, they're from England, not Taiwan)
Existing semiconductor industry infrastructure (Infineon and AMD have big fabs there)
Probably, government incentives (what do you think brought Infineon and AMD there?)
7
posted on
01/03/2007 3:45:27 AM PST
by
Nervous Tick
(I'm conservative, but I held my nose and voted Republican anyway.)
To: FairOpinion
I became aware of a Japenese start-up company that was developing plastic substrate a few years ago in California.
They bought a building, did a lot of recruiting, I got the interviews, hit it off with the CEO really well, then the tech bubble burst... I don't know what happened with it...
To: Nervous Tick; Jaysun
One more: it's all about "intellectual property protection" for them at this point. They're more assured of hanging on to their IP in a country like Germany than in a country where the costs of doing semiconductor mfg are lower, but the IP protections are shakier. Like, say, Taiwan, or (shudder) China.
9
posted on
01/03/2007 3:52:57 AM PST
by
Nervous Tick
(I'm conservative, but I held my nose and voted Republican anyway.)
To: FairOpinion
P.S. It was a plastic emulsion melt...
To: FairOpinion
"It's significant, that they are actually going into production, even if small to start with." The only place this stuff should be used is in "use it once and toss" products like RFID, given the fact that plastic ages and deteriorates so quickly. For "real" electronics, I think I'll stick with silicon.
To: Nervous Tick
Probably, government incentives (what do you think brought Infineon and AMD there?)
I wasn't aware that they were there. I'll see what my wife and her parents might know and get back with you.
12
posted on
01/03/2007 4:25:43 AM PST
by
Jaysun
(I've never paid for sex in my life. And that's really pissed off a lot of prostitutes.)
To: Nervous Tick
One more: it's all about "intellectual property protection" for them at this point. They're more assured of hanging on to their IP in a country like Germany than in a country where the costs of doing semiconductor mfg are lower, but the IP protections are shakier. Like, say, Taiwan, or (shudder) China.
That makes sense. And, who knows, unemployment in Germany is such that they might have made a deal with them (tax incentives and suchlike) to come to Dresden.
13
posted on
01/03/2007 4:27:14 AM PST
by
Jaysun
(I've never paid for sex in my life. And that's really pissed off a lot of prostitutes.)
To: FairOpinion
The premise of this article in my opinion is just plain wrong. Si integrated circuits are much faster because of smaller geometries and higher electron mobility. Memories and microprocessors are sold on density and speed which plastic IC's cannot offer. The best they could do in my opinion is low cost-slow speed applications.
14
posted on
01/03/2007 4:52:44 AM PST
by
Freep EE
To: FairOpinion
Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
15
posted on
01/03/2007 4:59:48 AM PST
by
xp38
To: Wonder Warthog
If you want flexibility then you cannot use silicon.
16
posted on
01/03/2007 6:51:06 AM PST
by
misterrob
(Jack Bauer/Chuck Norris 2008)
To: Freep EE
It really depends on the application. Silicon is not the furture for flexible electronics. Organic and printable electronics are. PE circuits attack a different problem than traditional silicon does. It is also going to be fractionally cheaper to make these circuits when you consider the cost to build an Si foundry is now measured in the billions of dollars.
17
posted on
01/03/2007 6:55:15 AM PST
by
misterrob
(Jack Bauer/Chuck Norris 2008)
To: misterrob
"If you want flexibility then you cannot use silicon. Who said anything about "flexibility"?? I'm talking about reliability and longevity. "If" the "plastic circuit" pushers can actually DEMONSTRATE the such circuitry has equivalent long-term reliability to silicon, then I'll be interested--otherwise, it's only good for the "use it once and toss it" applications.
As a chemist, I know how SHORT the useful life of most plastic products typically is--eco-propaganda to the contrary.
To: Wonder Warthog
Flexible circuits open up areas that traditional silicon cannot. You might not see the value in e-paper, flexible displays, signage or rfid but plenty of other people do. And while it is true that reliability of said devices is not there it will be.
It isn't about PE/TF/PV vs Silicon. That's the wrong conversation to be engaged in.
19
posted on
01/03/2007 8:11:47 AM PST
by
misterrob
(Jack Bauer/Chuck Norris 2008)
To: FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Swordmaker; martin_fierro; HAL9000
Thanks FairO. Fascinating that plastics can be used this way; I wonder if this is better, considering that these plastics may be made from petroleum products... ;')
sidebar:
http://www.ultraconductors.com/
20
posted on
01/03/2007 8:24:19 AM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(Ahmedumbass and the mullahcracy is doomed. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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