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Plastic circuits: the next revolution in electronics may take the form of cheap, plastic circuitry that rolls off "printing presses" instead of conventional semiconductor tab lines. (Future Technology).
- Article from:
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Machine Design
- Article date:
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September 19, 2002
- Author:
- Teschler, Leland
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2002 Penton Media, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Soon you may be able to find state-of-the-art electronics sitting on the same kind of plastic now used for 2-liter bottles of Coke.
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) could indeed be the circuit-board material of choice in the not too distant future. The reason: Researchers are getting close to perfecting the manufacturing processes needed for "electronic newsprint" -- basically, a cheap display about the size of a magazine page or larger that's made out of plastic flexible enough to roll up like a newspaper. The plastic display doubles as a circuit board; the transistors and other components driving the display are deposited directly on the plastic. Prototypes of such ...