With the USA importing up to 80% of its raw silver, imposed tariffs will dramatically affect the technology landscape for conductive inks. This article assesses emerging alternative inks and the required ink properties for specific applications.

Thursday 17 April 2025; Self-Healing Materials: Commercial Success or Academic Novelty? An introduction to self-healing materials and mechanisms; Materials science considerations for self-healing materials; Assessment of the applications driving self-healing materials R&D and the likelihood of commercial success

Miniaturization and increased capability are two of the main current trends within 3D electronics, which creates an opportunity for in-mold electronics (IME) to prove its capabilities as a new way to streamline products and create new aesthetics.

Photovoltaic technologies are gaining momentum as a result of solar power being one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources across the world. In 2021, solar installations were seen to overtake wind generation, and in 2023, approximately 450GW of new solar capacity was recorded.

The automotive industry is often an early adopter of luxury products, where both the increased performance and convenience are selling points to consumers. Self-healing materials can be used in a range of automotive applications, including tires, paints, and coatings. Use cases even extend to asphalt road surfaces, where damage can lead to issues for vehicles and drivers.

In 2023 alone, semiconductor giant TSMC reported consumption of a staggering 101 million m3 of water, highlighting the scale of thirst in this fast-growing sector. Furthermore, as node technology advances, so do the number of manufacturing process steps, and the usage of single wafer tools instead of batch tools, making the task of reducing water usage both challenging and even more critical.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects millions of people worldwide. The condition requires close and careful management to avoid severe health consequences. Today, people with diabetes have access to sophisticated automated insulin dosing (AID) systems that help in many aspects of diabetes management. IDTechEx forecasts that with further developments in AID systems, the diabetes management market can reach US$44 billion by 2035.

Thursday 27 February - The issues with conventional semiconductor manufacturing and circuit patterning; Barriers and opportunities for sustainable manufacturing processes; The search for green chemicals and PFAS alternatives for semiconductor circuit patterning; The impact of EUV lithography on sustainability; Research focuses and advancements in dry etching

The electronics market is vast, with integrated circuits (ICs) being the third most traded product globally, presenting significant opportunities for sustainable electronics innovation. Action is currently being undertaken by many well-known electronics manufacturers to improve the sustainability and efficiency of their products. This includes water management strategies for semiconductor manufacturing, with over 500 billion liters of water used annually by the industry.

Achieving the strongest, thinnest, and most conductive graphene would require manufacturers to grow a perfect single layer, which can be tricky. Carbon nanotubes are another type of carbon allotrope with the same chemical formula as graphene but a different visible structure. IDTechEx explores multiple applications for graphene within the wider market, alongside other carbon allotropes that have their own unique qualities.

Thursday 30 January 2025 - Introduction to diabetes and the role of medical devices in managing blood glucose; Roadmap of glucose sensing technologies including recent developments in continuous glucose monitoring; Discussion of insulin delivery options, including key challenges of each; Future of diabetes management technologies

Tuesday 28 January 2025 - The opportunity for 3D Electronics; What is In-mold Electronics; Commercial progress of In-Mold Electronics; 10 year outlook

With over 800 million people with diabetes in the world today, the market for diabetes management is substantial. IDTechEx forecasts the market for diabetes management technologies to exceed US$44 billion by 2035, with continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and insulin pump markets driving growth in the next ten years.

Greater integration of electronics within 3D structures is an ever-increasing trend, representing a more sophisticated solution compared to the current approach of mounting rigid printed circuit boards (PCBs) behind decorative surfaces. In-mold electronics (IME) facilitates this trend by enabling integrated functionalities to be incorporated into components with decorative thermoformed 3D surfaces.

Sensor technology comes in many shapes and sizes, designed to measure a wide range of metrics for a host of different applications. There are sensors to collect data from almost all physical parameters: motion, magnetic field, current, temperature, force-light intensity - the list goes on. These miniaturized components are everywhere, from our smart-phones and home appliances to within cars, factories, and satellites.

As applications for wearable technology grow, there are increasing opportunities for sensors that can detect more advanced metrics, be integrated into novel form factors, offer enhanced performance, or demand less power and space. Innovations in wearable sensor technology are expanding the envelope of biometrics accessible through watches and skin patches, addressing the rising demand for remote patient monitoring and decentralized clinical trials but also increasing consumer expectations.

Conductivity is a hot topic within the conductive inks sector, with a wide variation of requirements for it differing by application. The low current of capacitive touch sensors and the need for resistance in PTC (positive temperature coefficient) heaters means the conductivity requirement for these applications is low. On the other hand, power electronics stand at the far end of the spectrum, with high conductivity required for high efficiency and optimum results.

Conductive inks are a diverse and versatile technology, with differing price points to suit various applications. Conductivity, stretchability, cost, and durability are just some of the factors of consideration for manufacturers when selecting ink types and materials, and IDTechEx's latest report, Conductive Inks Market 2024-2034: Technologies, Applications, Players, deep dives into the many combinations available.

Silver-flake-based inks currently dominate the conductive inks market, but the outlook for non-silver inks is set to change dramatically over the coming decade, with a CAGR of 24%. Stretchable/thermoformable inks and copper inks will seize the largest market share, driven by applications such as in-mold electronics, wearable electrodes, and RFID & smart packaging.