Latest Printed Electronics News & Analysis from IDTechEx

170 years ago, Faraday appreciated the different electrical properties of nano gold over bulk metal in electrical devices, so applying nanotechnology to these things is scarcely new. However, the huge sums now being applied to improvement of lithium traction batteries in particular are now leading to work on a much larger scale and thin film technology, nanotechnology and printing are in increasingly important part of this. Potential is considerable. LG of Korea, one of the leaders in traction batteries, forecasts 4.6 million electric cars produced in 2015 and IDTechEx forecasts 3.8 million for that year - hybrid and pure electric. The conference "Lithium Battery Technology and System Development" in London 9 March 2010 was concerned with "breaking barriers for electric vehicles". Professor John Owen of the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton in the UK described work on interdigitated laminar electrodes to overcome the problems of ionic and polymeric electrolytes that are resistive. His team is involved in a pan European project working on this that involves Swedish, Dutch and French organisations, Varta Battery and St Jude Medical.  (15 Mar 2010)

The demands placed on new, high-tech materials are continually increasing, and existing material systems are reaching their limits. Due to their exceptional electrical and mechanical properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene and their composite materials offer high potential for use in diverse applications such as photovoltaics, sensors, semiconductor devices, displays, conductors, smart textiles and energy conversion devices (e.g., fuel cells, harvesters and batteries). (12 Mar 2010)

Bayer MaterialScience LLC, a subsidiary of Bayer AG and part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business, has acquired Artificial Muscle, Inc. (AMI) of Sunnyvale, California. AMI is a pioneer and leader in the field of electroactive polymers for the consumer electronics industry. (11 Mar 2010)

How many times have you misheard a crucial train departure time? Multiple cone speakers in public speakers interfere with each other, creating audio anomalies. A new 'flat flexible laminate', loudspeaker technology directs the sound into the space it needs to be heard, reducing distortion and ensuring key announcements are heard. (10 Mar 2010)

Interest in Printed Electronics from major consumer brands worldwide is constantly increasing. A testimony to that is the ever-growing number of end-users presenting at the latest IDTechEx Printed Electronics conference this coming April, as well as the variety of industries they represent. (10 Mar 2010)

MuTracx BV, a technology spin-out from Océ Technologies, have secured additional funding of US$11.3M for the Lunaris project. Lunaris is an industrialized solution for the jetting of etch resist for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) inner layers. The additional funds have been raised from multiple sources and bring the total post spin-out funding to US$17.5M. (09 Mar 2010)

Mitsubishi aim to begin full-scale mass production with a launch of illumination appliances in 2011. (09 Mar 2010)

Scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are developing the electronics for a third-generation artificial retina. (08 Mar 2010)