The Future for Printed Electronics

What is Printed Electronics? Organic and printed electronics broadly refer to electronics based on carbon chemistry, instead of conventional silicon. Conventional Electronics Printed Electronics

Different to conventional electronics! Traditional Electronics Printed Electronics Made in batches on wafers in cleanroom Devices run fast Layers added in furnace, vacuum or crystal growth High resolution Expensive processing Rigid silicon wafers or glass Devices are small Not transparent Established A cohesive industry Can be printed on a roll (or batch processed) non-cleanroom Devices run slowly (no plastic Pentium) Layers added by printing (or vacuum) Lower resolution Cheap processing Flexible films paper plastic, or rigid (glass) Devices small or large Can be transparent Early Stage Technology Diverse industry

Printing Processes in PE Cleanroom Spincoating, Inkjet, Photolithography, Vacuum coating Applications (TVs, E-readers, logic...) Non-Cleanroom Gravure, flexo, offset litho, rotary & flat bed screen (Smart packaging.)

Why the big deal? Printed Intelligent Packaging is expected to result in a huge industry. And still early enough for new, small players to join in. Future millionaires are out there Consumer goods market for e-packaging devices in millions of units TheMajorLearn timestrip IDTechEX Inc Thin Film Electronics Ballantines irap Inc (Market data for Food and Beverages)

It will grow because of the number of applications Packaging Brand Awareness Display Screens Lighting Dupont Raflatac MotionDisplay CBS Smart Textiles Photobucket Solar Cells PolyPhotonix Brand protection Smart Cards Medical Heliatek TheMajorLearn Toppan Molecular Vision MC10

The Importance of Integration With printable electronics not able to make everything, we look to Integrated Smart Systems - functional items produced by the integration of electronic components with circuits prepared by traditional printing processes +

Focus on Integrated Systems Flexmedia Packaging World Interactive T-shirt Talking pill bottle Pizza box with voice chip built in OE-A Printers view: Low resolution coating and printing Less demanding process control Bringing production cost low enough to make viable is the big challenge Timers

Anatomy of the ultimate Smart Label Illuminated branding Printed LED Printed Battery Temperature history Driver chip Freshness indicator Tilt indicator Antenna-transmitter user content B&W Information Active Display Shipper Coded Information RFID tag Reflective display ABC, HP, OnVu, Enfucell, ASU

Even some Science Fiction is not far away Predator ( 20 th Century Fox) Colour changing panels for vehicles are imminent. Image processing is the biggest challenge for textiles Minority Report ( 20th Century Fox) Fully transparent touch screens could be made within the decade. Airbus 2050 vision Most of the technology already there, challenge is integrating it with the aircraft Minority Report ( 20th Century Fox) Electronic newspapers are here. Flexible printing within the decade.

DISPLAYS LIGHTING TOSHIBA GE UDC SAMSUNG OSRAM

Organic Photovoltaic Technology Development Polymer Photovoltaic Architectural Glass Collaborative programme with European materials/glass supplier Excellent Results / IP generated. World s largest OPV single cell.

So with all this potential why aren t we millionaires yet?

Challenges: Materials Inks cost, availability for print processes, drying, test standards Raw material costs Economies of scale, ink cost Process environment Moisture, air stability Test standards Drying Durability Application Barrier Development

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

How does CPI fit in this? Founded in 2004 as an independent company limited by guarantee as a public/private partnership Government investment in assets and buildings: Sustainable processing facility 30m Printable electronics facility 30m Thermal technologies centre 2.5m National Biologics Manufacturing Centre 38m Founded in recognition that University based research needs to be converted into manufacturing solutions The UK has a wealth of excellent University based laboratory solutions but the necessary investment to bring the technology to market has long been a weakness

De-risking investment Technology Push Universities don t have the experience Industry doesn t have the time Consequence: Research fails to reach Market Market Need Product Challenges Better products Innovative effects Higher yields Business Challenges Lower material, operating and fixed costs Faster production rates More sustainable products Research The Innovation Gap Production 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Basic Idea Concept Developed Proof of Concept Process Validation In Lab Process Validation Production Scale Process Capability Validated Capability Validated Economic Run Capability Validated Range Of Parts Capability Validated Over Long Period

Flexible displays and flexible manufacturing Flexible/Foldable display Flexible R2R digital manufacturing User advantages: Unbreakable Large display in small format Lightweight Origami display concept (http://www.epapercent ral.com/epaperorigami-dvd-playerconcept-design.htm) Supplier advantages: No mask costs Quick design change Lower material cost when additive Lower equipment cost (throughput increase by roll speed and width) To achieve both of the above, we need appropriate semiconductor, conductor and insulator materials for the new processes (S2S or R2R). Materials characteristics essential - low temperature, flexible

R2R challenges for displays Front to backside contact of soft or wet coatings on plastic film High resolution patterning and management of severe pattern distortion

Roll vs Spool processing of film

Prototype system design

Prototype system trials

Digital Lithography project 2 year proof of principle project to develop digital lithography on freestanding plastic film (started Q2 2013) Heidelberg world leading supplier of direct write mask exposure tools for up to 1.6m x 1.4m substrates CPI UK National Printable Electronics Centre, leading capability in low temperature, high performance OTFT backplanes OTFT AMOLED developments Demo system will be installed at CPI to trial capabilities vs mask based projection lithography

Roll-to-Roll Atomic Layer Deposition The move to R2R processing also applies to Barrier Coating Technology The materials used to print these devices can be highly sensitive to moisture and/or air: a barrier is required to protect them The best commercial barriers are expensive: often more expensive than the devices they re protecting! CPI has invested in a R2R barrier coating line from Beneq based on Atomic Layer Deposition technology (ALD). ALD gives very good barriers, but is generally a batch technique CPI will have one of the few R2R ALD lines and will use it to develop the cheap barriers needed to commercialise OLED and PV technology

Summary Printable electronics is an exciting new technology, with applications in a huge range of markets This new technology creates opportunities for traditional industries, such as printing, to enter these markets CPI s Printable electronics platform supports innovation and development work in this new technology There are still technology challenges to overcome, however there can be big wins for companies who get there first.