Freescale's latest Internet of Things chip is as thin as a blade of grass

Smart cards could get smarter and fitness bands more fit with a new chip from Freescale Semiconductor that's as thin as a blade of grass.

The company's latest sliver of silicon for low-powered devices like payment cards, wearables and medical sensors is just 0.34mm thick. It's the kind of chip that's needed for the Internet of Things, where a little bit of processing goes a long way but there's not much space or power to do the work.

The Kinetis K22 is an MCU (microcontroller unit), a low-power embedded chip with built-in memory that can be programmed to carry out specific tasks. An MCU isn't as powerful as the microprocessors in devices like PCs and phones, with full OSes and displays, but it can power smaller, dedicated devices that don't have to be charged every night. Some MCUs also include radios for systems like Bluetooth Low Energy, said Steven Tateosian, manager of microcontroller systems at Freescale.