Hybrid Systems-in-Foil - Combining Thin Chips with Large-Area Electronics

This paper reports on the status of a comprehensive ten-year research and development effort towards 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 attached on or laminated in a flexible carrier substrate. HySiF paves the way to entirely new applications of electronic products where form factor, form adaptivity or 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 discussed.