One interesting challenge I assume they faced here is that the properties of Silicon that are relevant for transistors can be (significantly?) affected by stres

One interesting challenge I assume they faced here is that the properties of Silicon that are relevant for transistors can be (significantly?) affected by stress/strain. So while it seems reasonable that you could thin down a digital circuit and have it continue to function correctly when bent, a CMOS sensor is a very analog device. I wonder if noise / dark current / other properties vary depending on where the stresses are applied.