Plastic transistors, which can potentially be spray-painted onto everything from walls to cars, have the power to change the whole way we think of the human-machine interface. Among the possibilities: rooms that change color on command and pillboxes that tell you when to take your medication.
Cambridge University spin-off, Plastic Logic Ltd., a leading developer of plastic electronics is developing and exploiting a portfolio of intellectual property based on inkjet printing of active electronic circuits using advanced plastic materials to form thin film transistors that can be used in many plastic electronic applications. A range of different types of polymers, inherently conductive and semi-conductive such as polyethylenedioxythiophene/polystyrene sulfonic acid (PDOT/PSS), polydioctylfluorinecobithiophene (F8T2), and plastic insulators dissolved in common solvents are used in the Plastic Logic process. Additionally, nano-particulate metal systems are used for high conductivity interconnects.