This report provides the most comprehensive view of the topic, giving detailed ten year forecasts by device type and a 20 year outlook. The market is analyzed by territory, printed vs non printed, rigid vs flexible, inorganic vs organic, cost of materials vs process cost and much more, with over 200 tables and figures. Activities of over 700 leading companies are given.

 

The report specifically addresses the big picture - including all thin film photovoltaics, relevant display technologies and much more. Importantly, it includes not only electronics which are printed, organic and/or flexible now, but it also covers those that will be. Realistic timescales, case studies, existing products and the emergence of new products are given, as are impediments and opportunities for the years to come. It is all here.

The market for printed and potentially printed electronics, including organics, inorganics and composites, will rise from $1.92 billion in 2009 to $57.16 billion in 2019. The majority of the market in 2009 - 71% - is for electronics which are relatively mature - conductive inks (for membrane keyboards, Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), flex connectors, membrane keyboards), sensors (e.g. disposable blood glucose sensors for those with diabetes) and Organic Light Emitting Displays (OLEDs) which are on glass substrates and not printed as yet. These three products will be overtaken in terms of market value as hundreds of companies develop, for example, OLEDs on flexible substrates which are printed, Thin Film Transistor Circuits (TFTCs) etc.

 

Photovoltaics such as CIGS account for a market of $0.41 Billion in 2009, but even this is not the full picture. CdTe and aSi photovoltaics, which are not printed today and are not included in the above figures, are now a substantial markets and both have been demonstrated to be printed and/or flexible. Over the coming years they will also make an impact in this topic. In 2009, those two technologies result in $2.8 Billion of sales and in this report we look at their future impact in printed electronics too. IDTechEx bring you the big picture.

 

$80 million will be spent on e-paper displays and $60 million on electroluminescent displays. On the other hand, most effort is going into technologies that are barely commercial today. For example, over 500 companies are developing thin film transistor circuits, and revenues this year will be only $10 million. Most of these companies are working on organic semiconductors but that is changing - printed inorganic semiconductors have leapfrogged organics in terms of performance.

 

In particular, the following components are addressed, and for each one twenty year forecasts are given, along with companies and their activities, case studies, impediments to commercialization and timescales.

 

 

 

 

Source: IDTechEx

Of all the technologies covered in the $1.92 Billion market in 2009, only 35% of the components will be predominately printed in 2009, rising to 76% in 2019. Similarly, in 2009 only 18% of the components are on a non rigid substrate (such as sensors and EL displays), rising to 73% in 2019. The greatest opportunity is for devices which can be printed and are flexible.

 

 

 

Source: IDTechEx

If we look at the market size by territory, IDTechEx find that most work is taking place in Europe, the USA and Japan. In many respects Europe is in the lead. For instance, the first printed electronics factories are appearing there. However, we note that the creation of new companies is low given the huge academic effort going on there. The USA is proving better at creating new companies. In East Asia while the number of organizations working on the topic is slightly less than the other two continents, it disguises the fact that those companies tend to be huge conglomerates. By spend, we see that in 2009 53% of the market spend is in East Asia. This is because the biggest component - OLED display modules - are made there and bought by companies making devices, such as MP3 players. However, it disguises the fact that many of the devices are then sold to North America and Europe. Indeed some manufacturing will be moving to East Asia in due course but we also see a higher than expected market in Europe and USA given the dispersed manufacture capability of this new electronics.

In assessing the market size over the next few years, this report looks at the big picture - organic electronics and printed inorganics and the majority of devices which are combinations of both. Similarly, while most agree that printing of these electronics and electrics is the end game, many are created today by non printing techniques such as spin coating, and many use combinations of manufacturing techniques, such as inkjet printing and laser ablation. All these manufacturing techniques will be employed to some extent.

 

It is important, therefore to recognise that companies will focus on the end product, its cost, performance and suitability for the application, and if these criteria are met the end user will not be concerned about how it was made or using what materials. We therefore cover printing and non-printing technologies that form a route to products that will be primarily printed in due course.

The report covers case studies of where printed electronics has been used, why and the results. It looks at new products that are imminently emerging and their prospects for success. The technical barriers and commercial barriers are listed and prioritised, as well as progress to overcome these

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Currently there are three main ways the technology is being applied, as shown in the following image. There are applications where companies intend to compete on cost, such as replacing the silicon chip in an RFID tag to reach lower price points enabling much higher numbers of items that can be tagged; those that compete on other benefits such as flexibility or robustness, such as those involved in flexible e-book readers that intend to sell these as a premium over rigid versions. In both cases, creative product design is needed. We also see that printed electronics know how is being used in conventional electronics manufacture to reduce the cost, such as the move to inkjet printing of conductors enabling smaller circuits compared to etched versions.

 

 

 

Source: IDTechEx

The report contains a list of over 700 companies and research organizations involved in printed electronics and what aspects they are involved in. No one else has compiled such a comprehensive survey.

The report is the summation of extensive global research by IDTechEx since 1999. IDTechEx has profiled hundreds of companies in this field, and has visited companies and attended relevant events in Japan, Korea, China, Australia, Europe, North America and Canada. Users/potential users have been interviewed. Forecasts have been devised by looking at existing sales and assessing roadmaps to commercialisation taking into account technology and market challenges based on interviews with those in the industry. All stages of the value chain are looked at - and gaps identified and reported. Other important factors are addressed and interpreted in our forecasts, such as key materials running out, market needs and progress in East Asia. Please do not hesitate to speak to the authors for more detail about our methodology.

The report price also includes free access to the electronic version of the IDTechEx Encyclopedia of Printed Electronics with over 380 definitions and 30 illustrations. This 110 page report is normally sold for $1500.00.

 

In addition, all report purchases include one hour free consulting with a report author from IDTechEx, by email or telephone. This needs to be used within 3 months of purchasing the report.

 

Also the report (available in PDF or optional printed format) includes an excel spreadsheet of the forecasts for you to download and use.

All report purchases include up to 30 minutes telephone time with an expert analyst who will help you link key findings in the report to the business issues you're addressing. This needs to be used within three months of purchasing the report.

If you have any questions about this report, please do not hesitate to contact our report team at research@IDTechEx.com or call one of our sales managers:

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