Research Articles

A new IDTechEx report requested by several of the world's largest chemical companies looks at the families of element and compound that will be most widely used in the new electronics and electrics.

Graphene is one of the most exciting new materials currently being developed. It brings superlative performance to supercapacitors, batteries, touch screens, logic, sensors, displays, composites and much more thanks to its electrical, thermal and mechanical properties.

As more and more flexible devices are becoming available, the need for better performing barriers and encapsulation materials at lower cost points intensifies.

Wound (rolled) rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors (Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors) are similar in construction.

Lithium-ion is the winning type of rechargeable battery for the decade - there is almost a consensus. You can count about 150 manufacturers of these and IDTechEx has profiled nearly all of them.

Electric vehicles are not green just because they use electricity rather than fuel, but their green credentials critically depend on the materials used, the driving conditions and, most importantly, the carbon intensity of their electricity sources.

Although thermoelectric phenomena have been used for heating and cooling applications quite extensively, electricity generation has only seen very limited market in niche applications and it is only in recent years that interest has increased regarding new applications of energy generation through thermoelectric harvesting.

Uniquely, IDTechEx updates its reports on a continuous basis, so purchasers get the latest information. Nowhere is this more important than with electric aircraft in all their shapes and forms because progress is so rapid.

The latest RFID market research from IDTechEx finds that in 2012 the value of the entire RFID market will be $7.67 billion, up from $6.51 billion in 2011. This includes tags, readers and software/services for RFID cards, labels, fobs and all other form factors.

Energy harvesters and wireless sensors are not always deployed under "a walk in the park" operating environments. If anything, the most interesting applications for these technologies tend to be in sectors where conditions are harsh or devices are inaccessible once deployed.

Today, only one type of film - Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) - is used for almost all transparent conductive films with a market size of over $2 billion this year.

Recently IDTechEx attended the solid-state lighting workshop in San Jose, California.

There have been three billion-dollar success stories in printed and organic electronics so far - and in each Asia has been a key driving factor.

Conductive inks are a simple and unglamorous layer but they will constitute a hefty $2.86 billion market in 2012.

Highlights of last week's IDTechEx conference, Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe in Berlin, part two.

Highlights of last week's IDTechEx conference, Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe in Berlin, part one.

On Tuesday the 15th of May in Berlin, Germany, IDTechEx recognised innovation once more with the Energy Harvesting & Storage and Wireless Sensor Networks & RTLS awards, in a ceremony that took place on the first day of the IDTechEx conference on the topic.

EVS26 in Los Angeles this month reminded one of the children's chant, "When she was good she was very, very good but when she was bad she was awful". The networking opportunities were superb, the welcoming reception and the Gala Dinner being truly memorable.

Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors EDLCs are known by many other names but EDLC is the most popular on search engines.

This article shares some of the research carried out for the new IDTechEx report, Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors 2013-2023.

These naturally occurring, but mostly manufactured, piezoelectric materials are fast becoming a hot topic for exploration in energy harvesting, exhibiting 10 times as much voltage output compared with polycrystalline PZT(1) are utilized in applications where the emphasis is on high output and sensitivity.

Starting with more humble killer applications such as meter reading in buildings, WSN will grow rapidly from $0.58 billion in 2012 to $2.4 billion in 2022 according to IDTechEx research.

IDTechEx recently visited South Korea as part of a UK Trade and Investment mission. Here we summarise some highlights of the trip.

Designed to serve as an important link to assist communications between the various organisations active in Printed Electronics, it will carry a list of organizations segmented by their activity and alphabetically - compiled from our extensive database.

The annual printed electronics award winners were announced at the IDTechEx Awards Dinner in Berlin, Germany on April 3rd. The awards recognize outstanding progress in the development and commercialization of printed electronics, an industry that produces a huge amount of technical innovation which will be used in many products.

The gross sales of presenting companies at Printed Electronics Europe next week - including end users, integrators and providers, is more than €700 Billion annually. Attend the event in Berlin, on April 3-4 to learn how these organisations are progressing printed electronics.

Shipment of tablets with touch screen technology is expected to reach 100 million units in 2012.

The 4th IDTechEx Energy Harvesting and Storage event will be taking place on the 15th and 16th of May in Berlin, Germany and will cover recent progress and developments in energy harvesting, wireless sensors and related technologies.

Printed electronics manufacturing is becoming increasingly integrated as companies work on putting together different printing, lamination, substrate handling, curing and finishing processes.

At the forthcoming event, Printed Electronics and Photovoltaics Europe 3-4 April in Berlin, one third of the 94 presentations and masterclasses primarily concern organic compounds but two thirds primarily concern inorganic and composite devices. The organisers did not steer it that way: the customers did.

IDTechEx is once again meeting its promise to allow a wider community of e-mobility players to compare notes. As its name implies, {{Electric Vehicles Land Sea Air USA 2012|www.idtechex.com/evusa}} in San Jose California March 27-28 lets you meet people not present at events with a narrower product and geographical focus. This unique forum is vital to those widening their scope in the EV value chain, leaving behind those with tunnel vision.

This includes devices not yet printed today but which are moving towards being printed. Of this market, 30% of the devices studied are made predominately by printing, and 6% are on a non-rigid substrate.

Opening speaker at Electric Vehicles Land Sea Air USA 2012 in San Jose California March 27-28, Raghu Das of leading analysts IDTechEx says: "Unlike other events, we delight in slaying the myth that most of the market value is in cars.

The toolkit of technologies that energy harvesting and wireless sensors are making available, are enabling system integrators to come up with solutions in a variety of vertical markets.

Electronics and electrics on or in paper is being used for security, safety, crime prevention, brand enhancement and merchandising.

IDTechEx is currently in Silicon Valley having spent over a week in Tokyo at EV clients and events. Both are a bellwether of what is really happening on the ground with EVs because they have a relatively large number of early adopters.