1. Printable Electronics: New Products and Opportunities for North East Companies

2. Agenda What are ‘Printable Electronics’? How big is the Opportunity?
What are the Manufacturing Challenges?
How do companies in the North East benefit?

3. + What are ‘Printable Electronics’?
Printed electronics (also called organic electronics or polymer electronics)
Nothing to do with organic food or alternative lifestyles!
“Organic” refers to electronics based on carbon chemistry, instead of conventional silicon. Organic electronics can be printed in a cheaper, greener process +

4. What are ‘Printable Electronics’?
Components of Plastic Electronics
Organic molecules and polymers:
Semi-conducting or light-emitting properties;
Inorganic materials
Metal nanoparticles / Metallic inks
Wide variety of substrates (application-specific)
Process technologies
Traditional high-technology manufacturing industries (such as liquid crystal displays)
Printing industries.

5. What are ‘Printable Electronics’?
The organic electronic materials are often polymers which can be dissolved and printed using the basic processes of the printing industry.
This gives rise to the prospect of manufacturing electronic circuits using low-cost printing processes on any substrate surface, whether rigid or flexible.
It will lead to the creation of a whole new range of products such as conformable and rollable electronic displays, large-area efficient lighting and low-cost solar cells.

6. What are ‘Printable Electronics’?
Print using Ink Jet or other Print Technologies:
Printed Electronics
Print large areas:
Large Area Electronics / Organic Large Area Electronics
A lot of the prototypes in labs or commercial products using the technology actually mix the organic and inorganic technologies to create hybrid devices e.g.
Organic components with inorganic conductors.
Inorganic conductors can be printed as inks which contain nano-sized particles of silver that sinter into conductive tracks when heated.
Print on a flexible substrate (plastic foil):
Flexible Electronics
Build devices from layers of deposited / printed thin films:
Thin Film Electronics

7. What are ‘Printable Electronics’?
Plastic electronics
Printed electronics
Organic electronics
Thin film electronics
Flexible electronics
Large Area electronics

8. How to Make Printable Electronics
© Solarcon
© Flisom
© Sony
© Digital Trends
Start with base materials
Metallise contacts
Print semiconductor and insulator layers
Makes a “backplane” of pixels
Print light emitting “OLEDs”
Add driver circuitry
Encapsulate and protect
Package and driver circuitry

9. Different to conventional electronics!
Flexibility
Lower transistor speed (no plastic Pentium, but good for some applications)
Semiconductor can be printed from ink – potential for volume printing
Potential to avoid expensive vacuum process steps
Potential to avoid expensive high temperature process steps
Ability to print transparent devices
…… but still links to conventional electronics, (driver circuitry, printed functionality)
© Coatema
© Photobucket

10. Applications Solid State Lighting E-Books Display Screens Solar Cells
© Dupont
© Plastic Logic
© Photobucket
© Solarcon
Art
Smart Textiles
© Polyphotonix
© PolyPhotonix
Toys
© Novalia
© TheMajorLearn
© Toppan
© Molecular Vision
Medical
Smart Cards
Security

11. Petec’s Key Technology Areas
© Visionox
© Sony
© GE
© Thorn
© Flisom
© UniSolar
© Aveso
© Molecular Vision
PETEC Process and Materials Technologies
Flexible Displays
Solid State Lighting (SSL)
Solar Cells
Integrated Smart Systems (ISS) and Sensors

12. Technology overviews Displays Solid State Lighting
OLED Displays
Electrophoretic Displays
Touch Screen Technologies
Solid State Lighting
Organic Photovoltaics
Barrier
Integrated Smart Systems

13. Displays
There is a lot of activity in this area mainly because the end markets are real and of high value (e.g. flat screen TVs and e-readers).
It’s fair to say that most progress has been made in this area and a number of test products are on the market

14. Organic components for displays
Organic Thin Film Transistors
Materials for device development (semiconductors, binders etc)
Used for driving a display
Organic LED
Used to create the images
Common to these two
Cost of materials and process
Lifetime/stability
Flexibility
Substrates

15. Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Displays
OLEDs are made from light-emitting polymers and emit light when an external voltage is applied.
They require only a small amount of power and they are made as thin films using printing techniques.
They can also be printed on flexible substrates (e.g. plastic foil).

16. Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Displays
Consequently, OLEDs can be used to make flexible displays, which could be relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
A lot of resource is being applied to the development of these displays for use in commercial products because OLED technology is now efficient and robust, and the end-use markets are large and well understood.

17. OTFT Backplane 7 layers, 48,000 pixels, fan out to 200 x 240 pads
Test Element Groups (TEGs) for:
OTFT (after stages 2,5,7) and in groups of 10
VIA chains
Serpentines
Capacitors
Process takes ~2 days beginning to end

18. OTFT Backplane 106ppi e-paper backplane Produced on a glass substrate
0.1mm
1cm
1mm
106ppi e-paper backplane
Produced on a glass substrate
6 micron minimum feature, 5 micron design rule (overlay accuracy)
3” (75mm) diagonal, 48,000 transistors

19. OTFT Backplane OTFT Backplane (PETEC) Frontplane lamination (ASU)
Drive electronics (“E-ink broadsheet kit” via ASU)
Row/column driver chips (subcontract via ASU)
Flexible connector “tape” (subcontractor via ASU)
Complete e-ink display demo

20. Touch Screen Technologies
IMS Research hold a comprehensive course on these technologies
Opaque touch
Dominated by the controller chip suppliers
Atmel, Cypress, Synaptics, etc.
One technology (projected capacitive)
Sensor is typically developed by the device OEM
Notebook touchpads are the highest-revenue application
Synaptics ~60% share; Alps ~30% share; Elan ~10% share
Sensors are all two-layer projected capacitive
Transparent touch on top of a display
Dominated by the touch module manufacturers
(100+ worldwide)
13 technologies

21. Touch Screen Technologies by Materials and Processes
© Source: IMS Research 2011

22. Solid State lighting – Material Choice
Two main routes – “polymer” and “small molecule”
Polymer OLED
Complicated, expensive material synthesis
Then cheap manufacturing (spin coating or printing)
Examples PPV-MEH
Small Molecule OLED
Cheaper, easier material synthesis
Then expensive vacuum deposition
Examples are chelate metal complexes, e.g. ruthenium bipyridine
© Philips

23. OLEDS: Examples First versions from universities in 1987
© GE
© Ellumin8
© GE
© Philips
Commercially available for very leading-edge applications (Sony TV)
Sony XEL-1
© Sony

24. Advantages / Disadvantages of OLED
Positives
Low power, can run from batteries
Tunable colours
High efficiency
Bright
Can be made on flexible surfaces
Can be made thin
Can be large area
Negatives
Lifetime!!!
Currently expensive, as:
Technology is in its infancy, still difficult to manufacture
Complex device – needs correct carrier layers, anode/cathode

25. Large Area Coating Equipment (‘LACE’)
8” square panels
2 Slit die coaters: +/- 2% on nm, Aq and solvents
Evaporator: metals and organics
Encapsulation
Robotic transfer throughout
Capable of ~10 panels per 8hr day

26. LACE: Schematic Ambient coating module (aqueous)
Double head slot die coater
Solvent coating module
Ambient coating module (aqueous)
Single head slot die coater
Evaporator (metal and organic)
Encapsulation module

27. Organic Photovoltaics: Case Study
United Kingdom CO2 Sources
7x energy needed to power the home falls on its roof, if only the energy could be harvested
The European SRA predicts a 6% world market share (total market around $40bn) for Organic Solar Cells by 2023, with 45,000 resultant jobs and CO2 reduction of 13 million tonnes
Petec helped Tata to research new polymer materials, develop a supply chain, and bring a product to market

28. Reasons OPV can be made transparent, for applications in window glass
OPV can be flexible, and portable, for applications like this:
OPV can be printed much more cheaply in a roll

29. OPV Road Map Goals
Improved encapsulation/sealing (WVTR 10-3 – 10-5 g/m2/d)
(Barrier issue also impacts OLED, displays, etc)
Lifetime increased to 5, then 15 years
Efficiency towards 12% in long term
Reduced manufacturing costs through large area R2R production technology
Move to more transparent materials
© UniSolar
© Flisom

30. What does this barrier WVTR number mean?
Imagine a polymer sheet the size of a football pitch: How much water would pass through this over a MONTH at various barrier performance levels?

31. What does this mean ?
OLED
Displays
& Lighting
Raw Film
Food Packaging
Photovoltaics
100 10 1
1 X 1O-2
1 X 1O-4
1 X 1O-6
Solving the barrier issue described as a “brick wall” for the industry

32. Integrated Smart Systems (‘ISS’)
ISS covers the printing of any form of electronics using standard printing processes that are well known to the print industry.
ISS products incorporate a mixture of devices such as sensors, displays, lights, speakers, printed batteries & communication devices.
These are currently manufactured using hybrid circuits – a mixture of silicon and printed electronics. Using these techniques, any printed item can become interactive. Potential applications for this technology are pretty much unlimited. +

33. ISS: Coming Soon! Printing equipment to produce circuits
Pick and place type methods of attaching components
Inline/offline converting equipment for cut/crease/lamination

34. ISS: Applications
Duracell PowerCheck battery tester

35. Other areas of interest to ISS
Electrochromic ink displays
Printed Batteries
Printed Memory
Printed Sensors
Printed RFID tags

36. How Big is the Opportunity?

37. How Big is the Opportunity?
The global market for printed and potentially printed electronics is currently $2.2bn (IDTechEx) but
Most are not printed and are on glass substrates

38. How does this split? (Mostly) Data © IDTechEx
OLED Displays $1 Billion. Vacuum Processed on
glass. Mainly Cellphones
Photovoltaics $360 million. Most are CIGS –
vacuum processed on glass
Other inks: $420 million. RFID tag antennas,
membrane circuits, bus bars etc.
Sensors: £130 million. Glucose test strips, ECG
sensors, touch screens.
E-paper displays: £180 million
Inorganic AC Electroluminescent displays: $80
million.
Others: $30 million: Printed batteries, Logic ,
Memory, Electrochromic displays.
(Mostly)
Data © IDTechEx

39. What are the Projections?
Data © IDTechEx

40. ISS: An interesting opportunity
Combines the established Print/Packaging Industry……..
……with the established packaged electronic components industry
Market projections: global industry of $2.75bn in 2015
Production of almost 400bn units by 2020.
It is likely that a significant proportion of these would be ISS in nature.

41. Conclusion…….
………a growing industry that complements Si-based electronics and which has a number of entry points!

42. Manufacturing Challenges
Harvard Business Review, July-Aug 2009 on “Why Won’t the Kindle 2 be made in the USA?”
(Source Pisano and Shi 2009, “Restoring American Competitiveness”, Harvard Business Review, July-Aug 2009 p )
Electrophoretic display made in Taiwan
Flex connector made in China
Injection mould made in China
Wireless card made in S Korea
Controller board made in China
Li battery made in China
Where can the U.K. and Europe gain value?

43. The Opportunity
The UK and the EU have both released strategic agendas for research into printable electronics. Identified as an area with high potential growth for innovation, leading to sustainable revenue and job creation
The reports conclude that Europe can succeed in key areas, winning FDI:
Original R&D and IPR for materials and manufacturing, particularly OLED
Bulk materials manufacturing
Process equipment
May be opportunities for manufacturing smaller screens – e.g. mobile devices

44. Challenges: High Volume Production
Flexible substrates
Alignment
Distortion
Still some vacuum steps!
Batch vs. Continuous Production
Move to roll-to-roll (R2R) processes
© PolyIC

45. Challenges: Materials
Raw material costs
Economies of scale
Durability
Application
Barrier Development
However, durability should be matched to the requirements of the application

46. Challenges: Stimulating market pull
OEMs are very interested in the display and lighting potential of organic electronics.
However, many companies are unaware of the potential benefits of the technology and so do not naturally ‘pull’ the technology: presently there is more of a technology ‘push’.
Collaborative trans-national projects (e.g. FP7 CSA actions) are designed to unlock the full potential of the technology.
In the UK, the Plastic Electronics Leadership Group supports and promotes the UK Plastic Electronics industry and seeks to stimulate market pull.

47. Challenges: Building the Supply Chain
Materials Design
&
Invent
Materials Scale UP
Component
Manufacture
Device
Integration
© Flisom
© Solarcon
© DTF
Delivering printable electronics to market requires the bringing together of knowledge and organisations in a diverse range of fields…..
…..so how does PETEC help North Eastern companies?

48. PETEC PETEC is the National Centre for Printable Electronics.
It helps organisations
to develop and industrialise products and services based on organic semiconductors and printed electronics
Consultancy Services
Joint Development Agreements
Access to State of the Art Equipment
Testing of materials and formulated products

49. Where does PETEC operate?
TRL1 – Basic principles observed
TRL2 – Invention begins
TRL3 – Active R&D initiated
TRL4 – Basic components integrated
TRL5 – Improved integration, and test
TRL6 – Test in relevant environment
TRL7 – Prototype of operational system
TRL8 – Technology proven to work
TRL9 – Application operating in final form
Universities
Innovation Centres
Industry

50. Tool Capability
PETEC has an extensive set of industry standard tools available to companies on an ‘open access’ model.
Visit to follow a ‘virtual tour’ of the facility.

51. Networks PETEC is a core member of the PELG in the UK
It is a partner in two European projects (COLAE and Diginova) which are specifically based on networks
It is a member of ‘PECOE’ ( an agreement between five Centres of Excellence in the UK to work together
CIKC
Imperial College Centre for Plastic Electronics
OMIC
PETEC
WCPC
It is well connected to companies throughout the Plastics Electronics industry

52. Engagement From Innovation to Commercialisation PETEC OEMs CONSUMERS
Film
Suppliers
Materials
Device
Designers
Instrument
& Tool
Vendors
Academia
Trade
Associations
Consultancy
Funding
Bodies
Displays
SSL
Systems
Sedgefield
Scale-up & Prototype
Facility
Wilton
Development
& Test Lab
Wilton R2R Facility
CONSUMERS PV
Systems
2008
2005
2008/9
Sensors,
printed
electronics on
packaging

53. Customer Engagement By You: Equipment Hire For You: Contract Research
Customers’ staff are trained to operate the PETEC toolset and support the development. PETEC will train and supervise access and provide “on demand” consultancy advice to support the work content. Supplemented by incubator office accommodation.
For You: Contract Research
PETEC’s trained staff operate the PETEC toolset and support the customers’ development. PETEC retains full control of access and operation of the kit
With You: Collaboration, Joint Venture
PETEC’s staff work alongside 1 or more customer teams sharing resources and IP. Typically funded programmes (TSB, FP7)

54. Benefits to NE companies
PETEC was set up with public funding
Not only does it have international and national agendas, it is also focussed on helping SMEs in the North East region to engage with Printable Electronics

55. Benefits to NE Companies
Members of the PETEC team can provide up to £1000 (equivalent) support to regional SMEs, providing they are below their de minimis limit.
This can be taken as access to equipment, time with staff etc.
Team members will work with companies to determine the best support that can be given

56. Benefits to NE Companies
PETEC has already helped a number of regional SMEs to understand and engage with the Printable Electronics industry.
Please make use of this National facility: you have unique regional access to it.
Please contact us: we would be interested in discussing how we could help you!

57. Conclusions
Plastic Electronics is an exciting area with many opportunities
It complements conventional electronics technologies
There are a number of challenges that need to be met
PETEC is helping the industry to meet those challenges and helping to ‘make it happen’
SMEs in the North East that are interested in Printable Electronics could be supported directly by PETEC