The sets were talking about are groups of logic circuits that handle some specialized task, like adding numbers or comparing them.

FORBES: Chips that change their spots

Making flexible circuitry is difficult because logic circuits are traditionally made of transistors etched into a crystalline silicon wafer, which is rigid.

ECONOMIST: Just press print

The lot also includes some handouts that cover Ferractor-based systems, which Univac used in their logic circuits as a magnetic alternative to the vacuum tubes used in earlier computer designs.

FORBES: More Geek Goodies Than You Can Shake a Pneumatic Tube At

Admittedly, this unusual memory requires an internal light source, but the amount of illumination required is tiny and consumes less power than the logic circuits that are used to read data in and out.

ECONOMIST: Just press print

At the same time, a different set of IBM researchers in Switzerland have discovered a way to make individual molecules act like "switches" without altering the framework of the molecule, which could lead to molecular logic circuits.

ENGADGET: IBM researchers get closer to nanotech hard drives

In what appears to be an early proof-of-concept for DNA computing, scientists at Columbia University and the University of New Mexico have created a basic computer, called the MAYA-II, which has a molecular array of YES and AND logic gates made up of 100 DNA circuits.

ENGADGET: Meet MAYA-II, the new DNA computer that can play Tic-Tac-Toe

Cirrus Logic ( CRUS) and Skyworks Solutions will supply various circuits.

FORBES: Riding iPhone 4 Using ETFs

Conventional CMOS image sensors mount the pixel section and analog logic circuit on top of the same chip, which require numerous constraints when wishing to mount the large-scale circuits such as measures to counter the circuit scale and chip size, measures to suppress noise caused by the layout of the pixel and circuit sections, and optimizing the characteristics of pixels and circuit transistors.

ENGADGET: Sony's new cameraphone CMOS jams bigger gear into the same space (video)