NanoMarkets, a leading
industry analyst firm based here that covers the markets for thin film, organic
and printable electronics, today announced the release of the first of four
report modules from the firm's Printed Electronics Materials Database. The report
issued this week provides NanoMarkets near-term outlook for the printed electronics
materials business and concludes that printed electronics is evolving rapidly
towards real commercial products and will therefore need materials that perform
well and are available in commercial quantities over the next year or so. Additional
information about the database including a prospectus is available at http://www.nanomarkets.net.
About the Report:
This new report identifies the business opportunities in five key
segments of the printed electronics materials business: conductive metallic
inks, printed organic materials, printed silicon, inks that use
nanomaterials and substrate materials. The report analyses the implications
for printed electronics of important developments such as the high price of
silver, the latest R&D in organic materials and nanomaterials, and the
imminent commercialization of both printed silicon and printed electronics
on paper. It also takes a look at what some of the most innovative
materials firms are doing to further the evolution of printed electronics.
In this report, NanoMarkets has identified three key trends that are
shaping the emerging printed electronics market:
- A growing number of materials are being turned into inks and thus bringing
the advantages of printing to more segments of the electronics industry. The
report discusses the new role played by inks made from silicon, carbon nanotubes
and innovative hybrid materials such as silver-plated copper, or dye sensitive
photovoltaic materials.
- The printed electronics industry is learning from the established semiconductor
industry. Silicon inks are emerging as a viable way to create thin-film transistors,
while transfer printing opens up new roads to fabricate sophisticated silicon
devices on flexible substrates. Printed silicon is a challenge to the organic
electronics paradigm, but also an inspiration as technology developers borrow
concepts such as CMOS and materials sets from the silicon world and transfer
them to organic electronics.
- Nanomaterials are establishing themselves as a way forward for printed
electronics in a number of ways. Inks using metallic nanoparticles promise
higher conductivities and lower curing temperatures, nanosilicon inks may
prove the best route to printed silicon, and carbon nanotube inks open up
interesting new possibilities for ITO replacements, lighting and even emissive
displays.