Bridget Klebaur 11.27.13
PragmatIC Printing Ltd. announced a new family of flexible IC (integrated circuit) products designed to mirror the functionality of the de-facto standard 7400 series. PragmatIC’s flexible ICs are suitable for direct integration into a wide range of printed electronics solutions, enabling intelligence and interactivity in novel form factors without the need for expensive and rigid silicon chips.
Initial products are supplied on 25µm polyester film (thinner than a typical human hair) and are visually transparent other than the contact pads. Future versions under development reduce the thickness to less than 10µm (about the diameter of a red blood cell) and offer complete transparency.
PragmatIC will also supply versions of its flexible ICs assembled onto dual in-line package (DIP) mounts for easy handling during prototyping – for example, enabling pin-compatible “drop-and-replace” breadboarding of functionality.
This approach allows designs to be fully validated prior to moving into volume production as an optimized flexible ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), leveraging the advantages of PragmatIC’s imprinted logic platform to minimise footprint and cost.
PragmatIC has already shipped prototypes of its IC products to several blue-chip customers, and will release the first standardised products in 2014. These products will be available publicly via commercial distribution channels and directly from PragmatIC’s website. In addition, PragmatIC’s integration licensees receive preferential terms on these products.
“This is a significant milestone for the printed electronics industry, moving us another step closer to the proven design environment that has supported the dramatic success of silicon over the past several decades,” said Scott White, CEO of PragmatIC Printing.