SmartKem secures cash to develop printable transistor inks

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 26 Apr 2011

UK start-up SmartKem, a developer of printable organic semiconductor inks for flexible electronics, has gained funding to develop its materials for thin-film transistors (TFTs) for displays including OLED and flexible LCD devices.

The company, led by ex-Datalase chief Steve Kelly, aims to commercialise its ink technology by 2012 through licensing partnerships with chemicals producers and other industrial firms supplying the plastic electronics industry.

The recent funding round for the start-up comes from Porton Capital and Finance Wales.

Says Kelly: 'We're a small, independent SME, not a university spin-off or a research incubator of a large organisation, and so we need to pursue a flexible business model. In time we expect to register on the radar of the larger materials firms in the organic electronics industry.'

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Kelly's background is in printing, where he has managed start-ups. He set up SmartKem after he started following developments in organic semiconductor technology several years ago. Three years after German chemicals producer Merck bought the OLED and polymer electronics business of UK-based advanced materials company Avecia in 2005, a mutual acquaintance put Kelly in touch with a senior ex-Avecia scientist, and SmartKem was set up in 2009.

In-depth patent landscape research confirmed to Kelly and his colleagues that the emerging plastic electronics industry could sustain and potentially benefit from another source of inks for high-mobility air-stable printable polymer chips.

Kelly observes: 'There is still a gap today for good printable transistor technology.'

Initial focus will be on p-type transistor materials. As it secures revenues from the display and electronics market SmartKem will develop laser reactive organic semiconductor materials to form the basis of new manufacturing systems.

Kelly adds: 'We see a lot of crossover potential between photonics and electronics. Printing processes could be improved in terms of achieving better registration and uniformity. Using light sources as part of an "inkless printing approach" could overcome some of these issues.'

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