Roll-to-roll (R2R) processing on film substrates has been demonstrated to have the potential for achieving high throughput manufacturing of organic electronic systems at low cost. However, the ever-growing mobile devices market accompanied by the developments in information and communication technologies require high performance systems at very low power operation, sometimes on larger substrates having sizes in the range of a few metres. Organic electronics often fall short of fulfilling the required computing performance and power requirements of most of the common use cases. Hybrid integration of inorganic monocrystalline silicon chips on polymer films is a means to fulfil the aforementioned requirements. In this context, it is opportune to report our recent activities on R2R processing of plastic films for hybrid integration of flexible electronics. Hybrid integration can be performed with conventional, rigid surface mount devices as well as flexible, ultrathin bare silicon chips. The first section of the paper is dedicated to a brief overview of R2R manufacturing of electronic devices with an example of production of radio frequency identification tags as well as to a discussion emphasising the targets for hybrid integration. Then, detailed descriptions about our processes for R2R manufacturing of metal wiring lines on films and hybrid integration are included. Three-dimensional integration of films and a temperature sensor label manufactured using hybrid integration process are also elaborated on. Furthermore, key results from fatigue reliability assessment of R2R metallised wiring lines are reported. Finally, some of the challenges in transferring the R2R processes for hybrid integration on film substrates from research labs to industrial manufacturing are highlighted.

Because of their low height, the low assembly topography and their mechanical flexibility, ultra thin chips (about 20 µm) offer a wide field of possible applications. During the last years, we have successfully investigated in production, handling and assembly processes for such thin ICs. The chip handling and assembly processes had to be adapted to the very thin material, beginning with the development of special “Dicing by Thinning” process. A new pick and place process using thermal releasable tapes has been developed. For the chip assembly and contacting various methods depending on the application are available. The complete process chain from wafer processing up to the assembled ultra thin IC together with some application examples is discussed

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Polymer electronic is expected to be a promising technology for low-cost and large-area electronic systems to support information and communication technology, sensor networks, life sciences, medical and bio-sensing devices, which can not easily be addressed by traditional chip technology.Solutions of polymer or polymer based pastes offer advantages due to their easy processing possibilities which give the opportunity to coat and pattern them like a printing ink. Hence reel-to-reel manufacturing with endless substrates of foil is a key technology to fulfil the challenging cost demands of cheap flexible systems.However printing resolution and registration as well as the electrical performance of polymer materials request at present still a hybrid approach based on most-polymer materials and partially-printed technologies to reach reasonable performance of systems. The process integration presented is based on a photolithographic process for the first level based on metallized foils, which is used to pattern the first interconnect and electrode layer with low resistance and high resolution compared to printing. With two subsequent lacquering and three screen printing steps for example polymer field effect transistors as well as sensors and actuators are integrated to circuits.Moreover this approach enables the possibility to use such functional flexible foil substrates for the hetero-integration of cost-efficient systems merging thin silicon chips with further thin, flexible or printed electronic components, sensors actuators batteries displays and even micro-fluidics andpneumatics on a foil substrate. This paper prevents an overview over the hybride heterointegration approach for flexible electronic foil systems so-called polytronics developed at Fraunhofer IZM [1,2].