Organic Contributions
The bio-sensor array chips allow living cells to communicate with CMOS circuits. The chip provides 16,384 capacitive sensors in a 128x128 array on an area of 1x1mm. Extra-cellular signals from neural tissue are detected at the order of 0.1mV-5mV (peak-to-peak). Infineon's project partner, the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, performed the first biological lab measurements using cells from a snail brain.
On the organic electronics front, Infineon has developed processes for making high-quality transistors and circuits using conventional chipmaking techniques, including deposition, photolithography and printer patterning techniques. These processes work on flexible organic polymer materials and even on paper substrates. The paper presentation at ISSCC describes the development of circuit models and circuit design for the special requirements of polymer electronics. An extrapolation assuming some reasonable future technology achievements shows the potential of the technology to reach circuit speeds of up to 150kHz.
For clothing use, Infineon has developed packaging technology that allows the clothes to be washed or dry-cleaned without removal of traditional electronics. One demonstration system is an MP3 player integrated into a jacket. In addition, Infineon will present a silicon-based micromechanical thermoelectric power generator that can harvest electrical energy from temperature differences.
