Japanese & European engineers have developed world's lightest and thinnest organic circuits, which they say could be used in a wide range of healthcare applications. These new ultrathin organic transistor integrated circuits are lighter than a feather and are being developed under guidance of Professor Takao Someya and Associate Professor Tsuyoshi Sekitani of the University of Tokyo. Their project is sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) in association with Siegfried Bauer's group at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.


The newly developed circuits are very lightweight, flexible, durable and can conform to any surface. They are just 2 microns thick and weigh only about 3g per sq.m - about 30 times lighter than the office paper. The bend radius of the circuits is about 5 microns - which means they can be scrunched up into a ball, without breaking or developing cracks. Because of these properties of these circuits, the researchers call them "imperceptible electronics" - the circuits which can be placed on any surface and even worn without causing any restrictions to the user movements.

When placed on a rubber surface, these circuits can withstand up to 233% tensile strain, while retaining full functionality. The prototype demonstrated by the researchers featured a 12x12 array of sensors on a 4.8 x 4.8 cm circuit. It had two layers - IC & a tactile sensor layer. The researchers are now working on expanding the capabilities of these circuits.

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