April 3, 2008 — Binghamton University inaugurated its Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) facility this week. A collaborative effort by Binghamton University, Endicott Interconnect Technologies and Cornell University, the CAMM plans to pioneer microelectronics manufacturing research and development in a roll-to-roll (R2R) format. These efforts are expected to generate flexible, rugged, lightweight electronic components and innovative products for applications in areas such as military and homeland security, lighting, energy and power generation, displays, and product identification and tracking.

The CAMM is a component of Binghamton University’s New York State Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging. Plans for the CAMM were initiated in 2005 when the United States Display Consortium (USDC) selected Binghamton University to manage this new initiative. The USDC provided $12 million in equipment to establish the CAMM, which is hosted by Endicott Interconnect Technologies and draws collaborative resources from Cornell University.

“Binghamton University is a world leader in small scale systems integration and packaging research,” said Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur.
Currently, most advanced electronics components are produced on silicon or quartz wafers, or on plates of specialized glass in a “batch” process that has been the backbone of the integrated circuit (IC) and flat panel display (FPD) industries. A R2R process, which integrates electronics on flexible plastic means, in theory, that components can be produced more efficiently, at higher yields and at a lower cost than is common practice today and opens up potential new application areas for flexible electronics.