The TCF industry has recently experienced sluggish growth. The industry has transitioned from being supply-limited to being commoditized and demand-limited with supply currently outstripping demand. This is a commonplace characteristic of supply industry into consumer electronic devices: there is often a scramble for supplies as demand rapidly takes off but the industry soon over-invests, the capacity overshoots demand, and competition renders the component a commodity.

The unique new IDTechEx Research report, Microcontrollers and Single-board Computers 2016-2026, is the first to reveal the big picture developing from the close relationship between these devices. It provides newly researched forecasts leading to figures such as $300bn in 2026 for SBC alone.

The first generation of wearable devices are constructed using mature, rigid technologies put inside a new box that can be worn. These are often bulky devices that are not truly wearable in the sense that our clothes are. This is, however, beginning to change, albeit slowly.

Heat dissipation in electronics and optoelectronics is a major obstacle to further technology development. It limits further miniaturisation, power, performance and reliability.

While there are obviously similarities, different applications have different key requirements of the TIMs. In all cases, the TIM needs to minimise stress, prevent electromigration of its fillers, and maximise adhesion.

This article will discuss the emerging technologies, new opportunities and potential markets in the battery industry.

IDTechEx has been following the printed electronics market for fifteen years. In this article we provide ten brief updates across different parts of the industry.

This short video will focus on the expectations of printed electronics technologies in the automotive industry over the next decade.

$1.2 billion of electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are already selling each year, and they are becoming increasingly common to replace solders in a variety of functions, applications and industries.

The state of the industry in terms of market size by component type is summarized.

The conductive inks and paste business will generate a demand of 1800 tonnes. IDTechEx Research forecasts that this will grow to 2200 by 2026. This business has come alive again and is now a business where literally everything is changing.

IDTechEx Research projects that the graphene market will grow to $220m in 2026. This forecast is at the material level and does not count the value of graphene-enabled products. In many instances graphene is only an additive with low wt% values.

LG Display is currently the only manufacturer of large OLED panels. But it is not just the rivalry with LG that will drive Samsung to invest in OLED production capacity.

Microsoft has tested a prototype of a self-contained data center that can operate hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean, in efforts to reducing the need for expensive air-conditioning.

The automotive sector has always been a multi-faceted industry to understand; it has driven and adopted societal and technological change since its inception, and is probably a great example of a market that constantly evolves and re-defines itself, always innovating to meet consumer expectations.

As CES passed for another year we saw another wave of announcements and demonstrations without the topic reaching the limelight it will soon command.

Installing photovoltaics in roads seems a daft idea at first. It sounds expensive and unlikely to work unless cleaned, free of snow and ice and in direct sunlight - all too infrequent in most places. Indeed, roads are constantly dug up by utilities, repairmen and others. How do you do that with sheets of glass?

The UHD Alliance has launched a new standard for TV. Our analyst explains why it will help new display technologies based on quantum dots.

Printed and flexible electronics are beginning to proliferate, with a variety of components and devices coming to market. Several end-user verticals are expected to benefit from the host of advantages these technologies offer and the automotive sector is no exception.

The first industrial robot, Unimate, went into operation at a General Motors plant in 1961. Over the next few decades the use of industrial robot arms in the automotive industry matured.