IPC - an 'Association Connecting Electronics Industries' - is expanding into printed electronics.
To address opportunities and issues in flexible and printed electronics for its members, IPC has set up four standards subcommittees. Dan Gamota will lead IPC's printed electronics initiative. Gamota is a veteran of Motorola and was heavily involved in the company's printed electronics R&D. He has since set up his own business, Printovate Technologies.
IPC, the global industry association for printed circuit board and electronics manufacturing service companies, was founded in 1957 as the Institute for Printed Circuits, but has been widely known as IPC for several decades.
Materials
One subcommittee will examine base materials, substrates that form the base for electronics assembly, including plastics, metals and glass. Another will explore functional materials.
Researchers will study a broad range of additive materials such as a range of inks that have conductive, photovoltaic (PV) and dielectric properties. An objective is to detail the inks and other additive materials that will be used to create printed electronics-based devices and components. The subcommittee will research conductors and insulators. OLEDs and other organic light emitting materials will also be studied by the subcommittee.
Vocabulary
The two remaining subcommittees will provide design guidelines and final assembly requirements. The final assembly document will focus on the broad scope of requirements for systems that use printed electronics, ranging from throwaway applications to devices that need to be fairly rugged, such as new flexible and e-paper display technologies.
High on IPC's printed electronics initiative agenda is standardisation and agreement on descriptions and terminology relating to printed electronics. This is to ensure that, as the industry expands, all engineers working with printed electronics share a comprehensive vocabulary and terms.
The next issue of +Plastic Electronics magazine is an energy harvesting special, with a series of articles on the latest technologies and emerging markets for printed and organic solar, and other energy harvesting technologies.
To sign up for your copy immediately, click the link below, contact publications@pira-international.com or visit our subscriptions page.
Documents and links
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Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine
Subscribe to +Plastic Electronics magazine, published six times a year, for just £100/€110/$160. Find out more here
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IPC
The PCB and electronics manufacturing services association is moving into printed electronics
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OLEDs World Summit 2011
+Plastic Electronics will be appearing at the forthcoming OLEDs World Summit on 26-28 September in California, US
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Organic Photovoltaics 2011
Uniting technology developers, investors and users for a candid and comprehensive discussion of the opportunities and challenges affecting the organic photovoltaics industry
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EU project to deliver conductive inks for printed electronics
A project funded under the European Seventh Framework Programme will develop the low-cost conductive inks needed to produce high-volume printed electronic devices.
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