Copyright CPI 2013. All rights reserved

The Future for Printed Electronics

Jon HelliwellNational Centre for Printable Electronics

24 October, 2013

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

• 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

Printed Electronics

• 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…

©iRAP Inc (Market data for Food and Beverages)

© timestrip

© TheMajorLearn

©IDTechEX Inc

Consumer goods market for e-packaging devices in millions of units

© Thin Film Electronics© Ballantines

It will grow because of the number of applications…

© Dupont

© TheMajorLearn

© Raflatac

© Photobucket

© Heliatek

© Toppan

© PolyPhotonix

© Molecular Vision

© CBS

Solar Cells

Lighting

MedicalSmart CardsBrand protection

Smart Textiles

Display Screens

© MC10

Packaging Brand Awareness

MotionDisplay

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

Printers’ view:

•Low resolution coating and printing

•Less demanding process control

•Bringing production cost low enough to make viable is the big challenge

© Packaging World

Pizza box with voice chip built in© OE-A

Timers

Talking pill bottle

© Flexmedia

Interactive T-shirt

Anatomy of the ultimate Smart Label

Shipper Coded Information

Illuminated branding

B&W Information Active Display

©ABC, HP, OnVu, Enfucell, ASU

Tilt indicator

Freshness indicator

Temperature history

Printed LED

Printed Battery

Driver chip

RFID tag

Reflective display

Antenna-transmitter – user content

Even some Science Fiction is not far away…

Predator (©20th Century Fox) Minority Report (©20th Century Fox)

Minority Report (©20th Century Fox)Airbus 2050 vision

Colour changing panels for vehicles are imminent.

Image processing is the biggest challenge for textiles

Fully transparent touch screens could be made within the decade.

Most of the technology already there, challenge is integrating it with the aircraft

Electronic newspapers are here. Flexible printing within the decade.

TOSHIBA GE

SAMSUNG

UDC

OSRAM

DISPLAYS LIGHTING

Organic Photovoltaic Technology Development

Polymer Photovoltaic Architectural Glass

Collaborative programme with European materials/glass supplierExcellent 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

54 6

De-risking investment

2 3 7 8 91

Research ProductionThe Innovation Gap

BasicIdea

ConceptDeveloped

Proof ofConcept

Process Validation

In Lab

Process Validation

Production Scale

ProcessCapabilityValidated

CapabilityValidatedEconomic

Run

Capability Validated

RangeOf Parts

Capability Validated

Over LongPeriod

Technology Push

Universities don’t have the experienceIndustry doesn’t have the time

Consequence: Research fails to reach Market

Market NeedProduct ChallengesBetter productsInnovative effectsHigher yields

Business ChallengesLower material, operating and

fixed costsFaster production ratesMore sustainable products

Flexible displays and flexible manufacturing

Origami display concept (http://www.epapercentral.com/epaper-origami-dvd-player-concept-design.htm)

Flexible/Foldable display

User advantages:• Unbreakable• Large display in small format• Lightweight

Flexible R2R digital manufacturing

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.