Flexible and foldable high-performance barrier or encapsulation technology had long represented a technology challenge. The industry spent a decade and a half optimizing the approaches and the processes to achieve large-area production-grade results. The development however has not ended. Indeed, the commercial journey towards flexible and foldable devices is only just beginning. As such, the development of flexible barrier technologies still has far to travel.

IDTechEx has studied the printed electronics market since 2002. Of course, we're not just looking at materials that are printed, but also devices that are flexible, organic, large area—in reality, there isn't a good phrase to encompass the huge set of enabling materials, processes and components that are radically changing electronics as we know it. The phrase "not conventional electronics" doesn't really cover it, as some aspects of printed electronics are mature today, having been used for many years.

Tiny infrared lasers offer 3D sensing functionality for consumer electronics like smartphones and robots like self-driving cars. In this article, the technology consulting firm IDTechEx demonstrate how advances in laser technology and decreases in laser price enable novel applications in optical sensing.

The evolution of diode laser price and performance is rapidly opening new markets. In this article, the technology consulting firm IDTechEx demonstrate how advances in semiconductor laser technology enable novel applications in laser material processing and industrial manufacturing.

Every year IDTechEx Research publishes an article that reflects the latest trends in the conductive ink industry. These articles are based on IDTechEx Research's report "Conductive Ink Markets 2019-2029: Forecasts, Technologies, Players", which is the result of ongoing research over the past eight years. This year IDTechEx will give an update on multiple less mature trends which offer high growth potential.

The new version of the IDTechEx report "E-textiles 2019-2029: Technologies, Markets and Players" includes brand new data about e-textiles revenue. The main forecast in the report focuses on specific product revenue across different sectors (including biometric monitoring, heating, lighting and other e-textiles), but for the first time, this report includes additional historic data and short term estimates for the total revenues of companies working in the space.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 11 July 2019 titled Manufacturing with Direct Diode Lasers

The technologies seeking to unseat ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) are by now themselves old, at least in the sense that they have been around for a decade and a half. They seem to have been forever in the waiting mode, anticipating the arrival of their major breakthrough. A key differentiator has long been higher flexibility and foldability over ITO. The question now is how will different technology options fare given that the paradigm shift towards flexible displays is finally upon us despite the recent product launch delays?

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 20 June 2019 titled 3D Sensing & Imaging with Laser Diodes: Electronics, Automotive & Industrial.

Graphene industry is entering a new phase, a phase of growth. The industry has accumulated significant experience over the past 10-12 years to bring about this phase. In this article, IDTechEx Research offer opinions about the recent past and future outlook of the graphene industry based on the report 'Graphene, 2D Materials and Carbon Nanotubes: Markets, Technologies and Opportunities 2019-2029'.

TactoTek transforms how electronics are designed and produced with injection molded structural electronics.

IDTechEx have released the latest edition of the most comprehensive report on the e-textiles industry. "E-Textiles 2019-2029: Technologies, Markets and Players" compiles over 6 years of work. There are over 200 companies in the database supporting the report, and IDTechEx analysts have conducted primary research on over 100 companies in order to collate the data and contents for the report itself.

Power electronics is a growing market thanks to electrification of many industries including the automotive industry.

EXTENDED VERSION - Nations and industry are preparing for the opportunities 5G investment will bring, says Dr Luyun Jiang, IDTechEx technology analyst on 5G. As featured in the 5G Report by Raconteur distributed in 'The Times'

Since 2014/2015 IDTechEx Research noticed that the centre of graphene research and commercial activity was shifting to China. This trend had shown itself in publication and patent numbers, as well as in investments and capacity announcements. The precedent was also there: China had stepped in late but became a leading territory in commercialising carbon nanotubes.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Wednesday 15 May 2019 titled Smart Packaging: Many Needs, Many Solutions, But What Will Win?

IIDTechEx Research asks if the graphene competitive landscape will be drastically reconfigured. These are interesting times for graphene. Multiple significant applications have arrived in the market. Revenues are growing for many and companies are finally seeing average order sizes grow thanks to a few high volume (multi-tonne) lead conversions. This looks like the first stage of the growth phase.

Stretchable conductive inks have been in the commercialization mode for multiple years now. Arguably, it all started as a technology push. The big trend at the time was wearable technology and e-textiles. And, naturally, ink and paste suppliers did not want to be left behind. In this article we look at why conductive inks could have a compelling proposition to this market, at some of the reasons which have hindered market progress, and at the current state of progress.

IDTechEx is hosting a free webinar on Thursday 9 May 2019 titled 5G: A Market Overview.

The automotive industry has emerged as a significant market opportunity for suppliers of conductive pastes and similar materials. It has the potential to one day rival in significance the irreplaceable photovoltaic market. Almost every major paste supplier with a global profile is re-organising its team and its product portfolio to capture this rising trend.