Producing the goods

Plastic electronics does not rely on existing supply chains; instead, it must create its own, in many cases based on new materials and components.

Since the commercialisation of the new technologies, with the manufacturing of OLED smartphone displays starting things, there has been a shift towards Asian firms and sites.

However, a number of companies have recently announced pilot production sites in other locations, with manufacturing of organic photovoltaics and OLED lighting products much more likely to exist outside of Asia, where there are more opportunities within the supply chain.

A lesson learnt

Plastic Logic has come back from its failed Que device with a new outlook, a new product and a new CEO, as it learns from past mistakes.

The Que, an e-paper business tool sitting between an e-reader and a tablet, was gazumped by the Apple iPad, and its launch was duly cancelled in 2010. Plastic Logic failed to build its new technologies into its selling points, leaving it at the mercy of competition.

Today, the company has a new CEO and a new device, the PL100, an e-reader for the academic market. Following investment by the Russian government, Plastic Logic has a new outlook as it aims for success.

Encapsulation technology is moving up the agenda for device development, as manufacturers of displays and organic photovoltaics start to consider a flexible future.

Barrier film technology has often been overlooked by other active layers being developed. OLED display frontplanes, organic semiconductors and energy harvesting layers are among those receiving more coverage.

Plugged in: encapsulation looks at this vital component of the plastic electronics market, and examines the benefits for the industry, and products within. +Plastic Electronics examines the current need for encapsulation technologies and its progress towards flexible electronics, and the efforts being undertaken to adapt packaging barriers for plastic electronics, as well as work which is underway to achieve necessary standards of robustness. It also looks at the progress made in proving and scaling up atomic layer deposition as a commercial production tool for encapsulation materials.

The latest Market Watch examines the transparent conductive materials market, looking at the growth opportunities in the displays and organic photovoltaics sectors, which will both require novel transparent electronic materials to make further progress.

Most displays on the consumer market are LCD, so the industry is looking for the next big thing that will keep revenues coming in, and to pique the public interest. Yet these displays need a unique selling point, and the recently launched LG 55-inch OLED television offers thinness. However, a truly flexible display would have a much more dramatic effect. Current transparent conductive oxides used are often based on indium tin oxide (ITO), which is brittle and therefore unable to be used for fully flexible displays, meaning alternatives need to be developed.

In the solar market, with companies looking to improve their economics, one avenue being explored is building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Glass in skylights, facades and canopies already exist, but using BIPV in windows is one idea to turn the market around, and that will require a better, more conductive yet transparent film. The potential is there for the industry, as the development continues.

.

In the news this issue, the OLED television market received a boost at CES 2012, as both LG and Samsung launched 55-inch displays. The LG unit was announced in July 2011; however the Samsung offering was a surprise, with rumours suggesting only a 32-inch screen. The televisions are expected to do better in the market than Sony's 11-inch XEL-1 system, which, despite its small size, sold for a very high price. Industry experts expect the 55-inch displays to build interest in the technology, and as production begins to offer higher yields, shipments will also grow.

Organic photovoltaics are developing all the time, with efficiency records constantly being broken. Companies are now beginning to set up pilot production lines, in an effort to produce trial products and launches in niche markets. One such company is UK based Eight19, which announced in January 2012 its production line, featuring roll-to-roll lines for manufacturing its plastic solar cells, as being the largest of its kind in Europe. Meanwhile, Germany based Heliatek has launched a new funding round to provide funding for expansion of its existing facilities for additional manufacturing lines.

Also in the news, the integrated printed electronics market is signalling the establishment of a supply chain, as recent announcements, such as Thin Film Electronics development and licensing partnerships, suggest that a number of mature elements are now being combined.

The Flexible Electronics and Displays Conference and Exhibition, organised by the FlexTech Alliance, was held in Phoenix, Arizona, US in February 2012. The event provided a measure of reason amid all the talk about flexible displays coming onto the market during the year.

Companies presenting included the US Air Force Research Laboratory, E Ink and Plastic Logic, who noted the progress being made in thin-film transistor technology for flexible displays.

The event continues to bring together companies from the flexible electronics market, with the aim of establishing coordinated efforts in the production of reliable, cheap products that can be produced in volume.

The 5th LED / OLED Lighting Technology Expo, held in Tokyo, Japan, was an opportunity to look at where the industry was heading, after a very active year in 2011. Companies from across the lighting supply chain came together to present on both forms of lighting.

Developers such as Osram, Panasonic and Konica Minolta were present, while Universal Display provided an overview of industry developments, based on its experience in serving the industry. The scale of the event suggested that there is plenty of interest in OLED lighting, while the consensus is that increased yields and volumes will aid its impact in the market.