The countries and technologies that matter most in printed electronics

As the constantly updated IDTechEx database of organisations active in printed and potentially printed electronics passes 700 detailed profiles, it is clear that only eight countries out of more than three hundred in the world house over 80% of the organisations in this field.

 

 

We believe that Japan and Korea have so many giant corporations with multi-faceted programs in this field, their expenditure on the subject is more important than the above ranking implies. So what technologies are hot? Transistors are the engine of the new electronics just as the silicon chip is the engine of the traditional electronics. We do tend to encounter the leading edge aspects of printed transistors outside Europe in the main. By that we include vertical transistors, light emitting transistors, n type printable polymer semiconductors, printing really high k dielectrics (ie inorganic) etc but that needs checking with numbers.

 

As we pass 1500 projects logged in those 700 organisations, the pattern of targeted devices by organization is as follows globally, counting many devices for some organizations with broad programs:

 

Although inorganic transistors (defined as being where the semiconductor is inorganic) are attracting increasing attention, that still involves less than 1% of organizations and projects investigated. Devices in the "Other" category such as laminar batteries, lasers, sensors, memory and so on are fairly evenly split between organic and inorganic solutions, probably with organic versions in the ascendant for now. Perhaps 40% of the projects to develop devices relate to inorganic ones and the rest to organic ones but with composites being an increasingly encountered complication for the analysts.

 

The split between value of sales of the necessary inorganic and organic materials is another matter, however. Most so-called organic devices have inorganic electrodes and interconnects. On the other hand, so called inorganic devices increasingly appear on the organic flexible substrates (polymer film and sometimes paper) that the market demands rather than glass or stainless steel. With all those offsetting factors and big differences in pricing, it may be that inorganic materials are also about 40% of the materials expenditure for the next few years. For detailed analysis and investigations focused on your needs contact p.harrop@idtechex.com.

 

For more read Organic & Printed Electronics in East Asia , Organic and Printed Electronics in North America  and Organic & Printed Electronics in Europe .

 

Also read Organic & Printed Electronics Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2007-2027  or attend Printed Electronics USA .