UK Firm QinetiQ is using a new technique to grow circuits that, besides being relatively cheap, is also relatively friendly to the environment. In the process a flexible surface, like plastic, is printed with a special ink, then soaked in an electroless chemical solution, causing the metal to grow on the ink. While they won’t be growing silicon microprocessors any time soon, QinetiQ plans to primarily focus on producing large batches of RFID tags, although other technologies, like Frequency Selective Surfaces, which can bounce some radio waves and let other through. The real question is, as usual, when can we use this process at home?
