UK firm Smartkem is working with Spanish electronics company FlexiIC to develop a version of CMOS that can make smart IoT sensors work better.

Smartkem has developed organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). It has signed an agreement with FlexiIC, a company providing innovation in the design of flexible integrated circuits and systems, to begin a two-year project to develop custom circuitry.

This will use using Smartkem’s OTFT technology and n-type oxide TFT to make low-power CMOS enabled sensor devices. The devices are expected to incorporate mixed signal and digital IPs, such as Risc-V cores, a circuit type that uses an open-source instruction set, as well as using machine learning (ML) to improve the processing of signals.

“This project with FlexiIC furthers Smartkem’s technology for potential use in the field of large area, low power consumption electronics suitable for the IoT,” said Smartkem CEO Ian Jenks. “The use of CMOS architecture in this application is significant as it consumes much less power, has better noise margins, generates less heat and has enhanced scalability compared to alternative PMOS architectures. We are excited to be involved in this ambitious project and, if successful, we believe that this project will demonstrate the utility of Smartkem’s technology in next-generation biosensors, force sensors, optical sensors, chemical sensors, item level tracking and other new areas of flexible electronics.”

FlexiIC co-CEO Eloi Ramon added: “Our innovative sensor acquisition platform offers affordability, adaptability and eco-friendliness, empowering diverse sensor applications with robust amplification and transmission capabilities to mitigate noise interferences effectively. The partnership in this project with Smartkem to provide custom circuits in foil with low power and a rapid turnaround from design through fabrication is vital to the success of system-in-foil devices.”

The project commencement is subject to receipt of the approval of grant funding by the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (CDTI), a Spanish public entity under the Ministry of Economy & Competitiveness.

Smartkem’s patented Truflex liquid semiconductor polymers can be used to make a type of transistor that can be used in a number of display technologies, including microLED displays. Smartkem’s organic inks enable low temperature printing processes that are compatible with existing manufacturing infrastructure to deliver low-cost displays that outperform existing technology.

Smartkem (www.Smartkem.com) develops its materials at its research and development facility in Manchester, UK, and provides prototyping services at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) at Sedgefield, UK. It has a field application office in Taiwan. The company’s IP portfolio includes 125 granted patents across 19 patent families and 40 codified trade secrets.

Founded by organic electronics researchers and chip designers from the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona, FlexiiC (flexiic.tech) provides innovation in the design of systems-on-chip (SoCs) for edge computing applied to smart systems and the IoT. The company innovates in the development of disposable electronics for life sensing by creating and integrating flexible, organic ICs and sensors using sustainable, functional materials.