Arm researchers have created a flexible 32-bit computer chip made from plastic

guest · Jul 24, 2021

Arm researchers have created a flexible 32-bit computer chip made from plastic
July 22, 2021
https://siliconangle.com/2021/07/22...d-flexible-32-bit-computer-chip-made-plastic/

Researchers from Arm Holdings Ltd. and PragmatIC Semiconductor Ltd. say they have created the first true computer chip that uses plastic rather than silicon as its base material.

By using plastic, the researchers said, the chip is more flexible and could potentially usher in a new era called the “internet of everything” where microprocessors are used in everyday objects such as clothes and food packaging.
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The research, published today in the journal Nature, notes that silicon has been the base element of semiconductors since the earliest days of digital computing. That’s thanks to two fundamental characteristics – silicon is the second-most common element on the planet, meaning it’s both cheap and in plentiful supply, and it can function as both an energy conductor and an energy insulator, depending on how it’s implemented.

One of its main limitations is that it’s incredibly rigid and brittle, which means, for example, it cannot easily be integrated into biology.
The PlasticARM processor, the researchers explained, is designed to overcome those limitations.
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The researchers described their creation as “the world’s most complex flexible integrated circuit built with metal-oxide TFTs” that have been printed onto a plastic film. TFTs are thin-film transistors that can be built onto more flexible surfaces. By using plastic film as a base surface, it’s possible to manufacture chips more affordably and apply them in unique ways, they said.

“Making processors available in different forms so they can operate under different conditions is the key to creating more intelligent new applications going forward,” said Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. “Arm’s progress with plastic chips is a key step as it brings digitization to a new variety of use cases, in a less sensitive and easier to implement material. It will be interesting to track the first commercial use cases of these plastic-based chips.”
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