All these guys do is provide a substrate that is impermeable to H2O and air so the polymer FETs don't degrade. Untill now, the only alternative was glass to provide a decent barrier.
A page-sized die will probably never yeild a microprocessor because electrons can only travell so far in a clock cycle, and syncronizing pulses across even a P4 die is no simple trick.
The real neat trick in this story comes from a compnay called Alien Technology. They make silicon transistors, dissolve the substarte and float them in solution. They then take a plastic roll (I think they work with rolltronics) that has holes for the transitors etched into it by UV exposure. The solution flows over and the little guys stick in the holes. They claim a decent fill rate, probably good enough for displays, and all that remains is to inkjet on the traces to link 'em all together.
Slashdot Mirror
All these guys do is provide a substrate that is impermeable to H2O and air so the polymer FETs don't degrade. Untill now, the only alternative was glass to provide a decent barrier. A page-sized die will probably never yeild a microprocessor because electrons can only travell so far in a clock cycle, and syncronizing pulses across even a P4 die is no simple trick. The real neat trick in this story comes from a compnay called Alien Technology. They make silicon transistors, dissolve the substarte and float them in solution. They then take a plastic roll (I think they work with rolltronics) that has holes for the transitors etched into it by UV exposure. The solution flows over and the little guys stick in the holes. They claim a decent fill rate, probably good enough for displays, and all that remains is to inkjet on the traces to link 'em all together.