Last week, $20 million in federal funding was awarded to a Binghamton University-affiliated project that works on the development of high-tech flexible electronics.

The Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) is located in Endicott. CAMM is a partnership between BU, Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Cornell University and FlexTech Alliance. Developed in 2005, the Center has scientists and engineers working to design and develop flexible electronic manufacturing.

Mark Poliks, the technical director of CAMM, said flexible electronics are extremely small and often flimsy, but can perform the same jobs that larger electronic devices do.

“Flexible hybrid electronics use flexible substrates like thin polymer films,” he said. “They use printed electronics to sometimes make circuits, and very small pieces of silicon chips for processors that have the performance and flexibility so we can make these hybrid devices.”

According to Robert Malay, a graduate student in the systems science and industrial engineering department who has been working at CAMM for two years, the research done at CAMM covers a variety of fields.

“While all the research remains under the flexible hybrid umbrella, we’ve done different projects ranging from electronic device manufacturing, like antennas, electronic switches and pixel displays, to materials characterization for battery components, to assisting in prototyping different materials and devices for our research partners,” Malay said.

The interdisciplinary nature of the initiative allows many students to get involved. “I took a polymer chemistry course with Dr. Poliks while I was an undergraduate, and a mutual acquaintance of ours got us back in contact when he was looking to take on more students,” Malay explained. “I did a semester of undergraduate research with him and enjoyed the field so much that I wanted to continue.”

Poliks helped write the proposal for the award, and said he hopes that the money will allow them to expand their product development in new FlexTech Alliance labs across New York, as well as broaden research opportunities for students.

“We’re hoping to engage and develop products not just here in Binghamton, but in our partnering companies all over New York state,” Poliks said.

Poliks and the team of researchers and developers have already had a number of successful projects that included hybrid flexible electronics. One of these projects is called a human performance monitoring system, which measures heart rate, temperature and heartbeat signal with a wearable patch, and communicates the information to a cellphone.

According to Poliks, the material is so thin and flimsy that it must be manufactured carefully only in rolls or frames, and often are laminated to be secure for use.

“It’s like the worst Saran Wrap material you’ve ever dealt with,” Poliks said. “It’s laminated so that it’s stiff and protected.”

Malay also said the research is a great opportunity for students at BU who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

“Any students in a STEM field, graduate or undergraduate, could find a niche here,” Malay said. “I work very closely with two physicists. Also working with us is a mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer and a chemical engineer. And that’s just within our research group.”