Seiko Epson tips flexible processor via TFT technology

SAN FRANCISCO — At the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) here, Japan's Seiko Epson Corp. presented a paper on a flexible, 8-bit asynchronous microprocessor, based on a low-temperature, poly-silicon TFT technology.

The ACT11 processor is aimed at the emerging flexible microelectronics market. Flexible microelectronics is expected to become a platform for developing thin, low-power emissive devices.

The ACT11 is a flexible, 32,000-transistor device, which measures 27- x 24- x 0.2-mm and weighs just 140-mg. The two-metal-layer product features an 8-bit-wide channel, with 608 instructions, 16-MB of addressing space, and four interrupt sources.

The processor runs from 30-kHz to 500-kHz and operates from 3.5-to-7 Volts. It consists of 80 I/O pins.

It is manufactured by using a low-temperature TFT and surface-free process by laser annealing and ablation techniques. The company refers to its manufacturing technology as SUFTLA. Using this technology, a device is manufactured and then lifted off the glass substrate for transfer to a plastic substrate.