Hybrid Systems-in-Foil—Combining the Merits of Thin Chips and of Large-Area Electronics

This paper reports on the status of a comprehensive ten-year research and development effort toward hybrid system-in-foil (HySiF). In HySiF, the merits of high-performance integrated circuits on ultra-thin chips and of large-area and discrete electronic component implementation are combined in a complementary fashion in and on a flexible carrier substrate. HySiF paves the way to entirely new applications of electronic products where form factor, form adaptivity and form flexibility are key enablers. In this review paper the various aspects of thin-chip fabrication and embedding, device and circuit design under impact of unknown or variable mechanical stress, and the on- and off-chip implementation of sensor, actuator, microwave, and energy supply components are addressed.