Flexible electronics are set to bring about revolutionary changes in the design and conceptualisation of electronic devices in the consumer, medical and military sectors. This emerging field has demonstrated huge potential for cost reductions, as printed manufacturing techniques are being developed for volume production.
A study conducted by Frost & Sullivan, entitled ‘Emerging Trends in Flexible Electronics’, reveals that there has been dramatic evolution in flexible electronics since the discovery of organic conductive polymers. Their benefits, such as light weight, ruggedness, low costs, possible transparency of electronics and ease of integration, promise to open the doors for new applications in areas where conventional electronics have not been effective.
“While organic semiconductors used in flexible electronics are not a rival to conventional silicon, they offer new avenues of applications that rigid circuits and electronics have not been able to penetrate,” notes Frost & Sullivan research analyst, Sharmishta S. “These include flexible displays for packaging or defence applications, flexible sensors for portable diagnostics and flexible RFID tags for brand protection of products.”
The range of applications for flexible electronics extends from portable military devices to car interiors, where electronics can be integrated into the contours of the application.
The market is witnessing the formation of strategic partnerships between material suppliers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and R&D institutes to accelerate technology development and build collaborative value chains. However, product commercialisation and time to market will depend largely on leveraging the manufacturing strength of Asia.
Collaboration in research has enabled the pooling of resources of companies and research institutes to produce new materials, enhance the performance levels of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and facilitate the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge. The flexible electronics research environment has seen active funding initiatives from governments, defence establishments, investment banks and large business organisations.
“While there is a continued focus on the development of flexible devices, initiatives have been made to address manufacturing issues,” explains Sharmishta. “As the field is nascent, there are still requirements to be satisfied in terms of materials performance, lifetimes, testing and validation to stand the rigors of continuous use in applications.”
Promising manufacturing techniques for different applications include inkjet printing, vacuum deposition and imprint lithography for different applications depending on the resolution, cost and throughput requirements. Proactive printing companies are widening their horizons and expanding their business to incorporate printing electronics on flexible substrates.
For more information contact Patrick Cairns, Frost & Sullivan, +27 (0)21 680 3274, patrick.cairns@frost.com, www.frost.com
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