Thin Film Electronics ASA
Encyclopedia
Thin Film Electronics ASA (Oslo Stock Exchange
: THIN) is a Norwegian
printed electronics
company, headquartered in Oslo
with its main R&D offices in Linköping
, Sweden
.
Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") produces rewriteable non-volatile memories
based on ferroelectric polymers
using roll-to-roll printing.
Thinfilm has been developing memories based on polymer materials since 1994; first as part of Opticom ASA
and then as an independent company. For the first ten years, the focus was on hybrid memory devices with polymer-based memory and silicon-based control circuitry, as developed jointly with Intel. From 2006, Thinfilm has concentrated its efforts on printed electronics.
Thinfilm successfully demonstrated roll-to-roll printed organic
memory in 2009, and was awarded IDTechEx' Technical Development Manufacturing Award the same year.
polymer is sandwiched between two sets of electrodes in a passive matrix. Each crossing of metal lines is a ferroelectric capacitor
and defines a memory cell. This gives a non-volatile memory
comparable to ferroelectric RAM
technologies and offer the same functionality as flash memory
.
Thinfilm's patented passive matrix dispenses with the need of active circuitry within the memory cell. It allows the memory to be separate from the read/write electronics enabling stand alone application without integration with printed logic. The passive array memory architecture also enables high density memories as well as the possibility to stack memory layers on top of each other.
Thinfilm is working with PARC, a subsidiary of Xerox
, to combine its memory technology with PARC's printed transistor
technology to enable fully printed memory systems.
October 2011, Thinfilm together with PARC announced a working prototype of the world's first printed non-volatile memory device addressed with complementary organic circuits, the organic equivalent of CMOS circuitry
.
Oslo Stock Exchange
The Oslo Stock Exchange serves as the main market for trading in the shares of Norwegian companies. It opens at 9:00am and closes 5:30pm local time...
: THIN) is a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
printed electronics
Printed electronics
Printed electronics is a set of printing methods used to create electrical devices on various substrates. Printing typically uses common printing equipment or other low-cost equipment suitable for defining patterns on material, such as screen printing, flexography, gravure, offset lithography and...
company, headquartered in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
with its main R&D offices in Linköping
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") produces rewriteable non-volatile memories
Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, in the most basic sense, is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory, flash memory, ferroelectric RAM, most types of magnetic computer...
based on ferroelectric polymers
Ferroelectric polymers
Ferroelectric Polymersare a group of crystalline polar polymers that are also ferroelectric, meaning that they maintain a permanent electric polarization that can be reversed, or switched, in an external electric field....
using roll-to-roll printing.
Thinfilm has been developing memories based on polymer materials since 1994; first as part of Opticom ASA
Opticom ASA
Opticom ASA is a Norwegian research and development company. The Opticom share was listed on the Oslo Børs in 1997 and on the main list from the start of trading in January, 2000...
and then as an independent company. For the first ten years, the focus was on hybrid memory devices with polymer-based memory and silicon-based control circuitry, as developed jointly with Intel. From 2006, Thinfilm has concentrated its efforts on printed electronics.
Thinfilm successfully demonstrated roll-to-roll printed organic
Organic electronics
Organic electronics, plastic electronics or polymer electronics, is a branch of electronics dealing with conductive polymers, plastics, or small molecules. It is called 'organic' electronics because the polymers and small molecules are carbon-based...
memory in 2009, and was awarded IDTechEx' Technical Development Manufacturing Award the same year.
Technology
The ferroelectricFerroelectricity
Ferroelectricity is a property of certain materials which possess a spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by the application of an external electric field. The term is used in analogy to ferromagnetism, in which a material exhibits a permanent magnetic moment. Ferromagnetism was...
polymer is sandwiched between two sets of electrodes in a passive matrix. Each crossing of metal lines is a ferroelectric capacitor
Ferroelectric capacitor
Ferroelectric capacitor is a capacitor based on a ferroelectric material. In contrast, traditional capacitors are based on dielectric materials. Ferroelectric devices are used in digital electronics as part of ferroelectric RAM, or in analog electronics as tunable capacitors .In memory...
and defines a memory cell. This gives a non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, in the most basic sense, is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory, flash memory, ferroelectric RAM, most types of magnetic computer...
comparable to ferroelectric RAM
Ferroelectric RAM
Ferroelectric RAM is a random-access memory similar in construction to DRAM but uses a ferroelectric layer instead of a dielectric layer to achieve non-volatility. FeRAM is one of a growing number of alternative non-volatile memory technologies that offer the same functionality as Flash memory...
technologies and offer the same functionality as flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
.
Thinfilm's patented passive matrix dispenses with the need of active circuitry within the memory cell. It allows the memory to be separate from the read/write electronics enabling stand alone application without integration with printed logic. The passive array memory architecture also enables high density memories as well as the possibility to stack memory layers on top of each other.
Thinfilm is working with PARC, a subsidiary of Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
, to combine its memory technology with PARC's printed transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
technology to enable fully printed memory systems.
October 2011, Thinfilm together with PARC announced a working prototype of the world's first printed non-volatile memory device addressed with complementary organic circuits, the organic equivalent of CMOS circuitry
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
.