The美国S. Air Force Research Laboratory(AFRL) and美国半导体已经将传统制造技术与3D打印电路相结合，以生成柔性的硅芯片芯片。
除了它的材料品质,新芯片有一个memory more than 7,000 times larger than any comparable commercially available devices, making it suitable as a micro-controller to be integrated into other objects.
需要灵活的芯片
Silicon chips, found in almost every electronic device today, are often rigid and brittle. While this usually not a problem for computers and smartphones, which house the chips within a protective shell, the advent of “the internet of things” necessitates more flexible Silicon chips, as more and more objects are integrated with computer technology.
“当我们考虑将这些类型的设备置于灵活的外观状态时，僵化对我们不利，”explained Dr Dan Berrigan，AFRL材料和制造局的研究科学家。取而代之的是，灵活的芯片可以用作微控制器，并具有用于系统控制和数据收集的任何数量对象的板载存储器。
减少硅
“Working with American Semiconductor, we took Silicon integrated circuit chips and thinned them until they became flexible but were still able to maintain circuit functionality,” said Berrigan. “This now allows us to place the micro-controllers (essentially mini-computers) in places we couldn’t before.”
美国半导体的弹性硅 - 聚合物工艺能够生产具有最终硅厚度的柔性晶片，该硅厚度较薄，至2000Ångstroms（0.0002mm），这也可以conform to irregular surfaces.
然后可以将其与AFRL的3D打印电子功能结合使用。One such technology包括在基板上挤出可拉伸的银电子墨水，然后以数字方式拾取小型电子组件并将其放置在电路上。
The circuit with its components can then be placed on to a flexible mount capable of conducting electricity.
将灵活的硅充分利用
Berrigan继续说：“它能够打开和关闭系统，也可以从传感器中收集数据并将其保留在内存中……”“我们可以将这种类型的芯片包裹在燃油膀胱传感器上，以检测泄漏，使用它来监测弹药库存，甚至通过温度传感增强冷链监测。”
According to the AFRL, further applications for wearable devices with microchips could include monitors for hydration and fatigue, and in soft robotics for wounded soldiers or the elderly.
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Flexible silicon-on-polymer. Photo via US AFRL.
