Printed, Flexible and Organic Electronics

It has been a slow path to commercialize smart packaging. Despite strong needs such as the aging population, tougher legislation, huge waste, more demanding consumers and concerns about safety and crime; commercial success has been mixed.

The second and final day of Printed Electronics USA in Santa Clara really illustrated how far the technologies had progressed and the huge variety of players in the field. The event, organized by IDTechEx, was the best and biggest edition of the series so far. Amongst the attendees were company founders, directors, engineers, academics, but also students and patent attorneys. In particular, there were a large number of end users attending the show.

Leading designers of printed electronics collaborate on printed electronic demonstration give-a-way

On Dec 5 Printed Electronics USA 2012 will open in Santa Clara, CA. More than 100 exhibitors have already confirmed their involvement in what will be the largest event on the topic. Here are a few of the key show highlights.

As Asia has dominated in displays, photovoltaics, semiconductor manufacture and other technology sectors, so too will it dominate in making and integrating better components and consumer electronics using the new materials that are enabling devices to be lighter, more robust, flexible, more power efficient and higher performance. Some of these most exciting material developments and their uses are covered at Printed Electronics Asia 2012.

Graphene promises to offer excellent material properties in almost all applications. Its extraordinary performance has led many to call it the 'superlative' or 'wonder' material. However, the reality is different.

A new IDTechEx report requested by several of the world's largest chemical companies looks at the families of element and compound that will be most widely used in the new electronics and electrics.

Graphene is one of the most exciting new materials currently being developed. It brings superlative performance to supercapacitors, batteries, touch screens, logic, sensors, displays, composites and much more thanks to its electrical, thermal and mechanical properties.

Today, only one type of film - Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) - is used for almost all transparent conductive films with a market size of over $2 billion this year.

There have been three billion-dollar success stories in printed and organic electronics so far - and in each Asia has been a key driving factor.