Printed, Flexible and Organic Electronics

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.

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.

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