Advanced Materials

The new IDTechEx report, "Sensors 2021-2041" uniquely analyses the whole subject in the light of such seismic changes as the COVID-19 virus. The sensor business is in turmoil. The industries that spend most on sensors are changing as are the sensors.

IDTechEx spoke with 6K Energy, part of 6K Inc., including with Bruce Bradshaw, Chief Marketing Officer, and Dr Richard Holman, VP Battery Products. 6K have developed plasma technology for synthesising various powders.

Zymergen have recently launched a transparent polyimide film, that is manufactured from biological precursor materials. The film is targeted at printed/flexible electronics applications.

Sunew in Brazil is leader in OPV. CEO Tiago Alves told IDTechEx late 2020 he has more than 80% market share in the OPV market.

CondAlign has developed a technology for making anisotropic conductive films, in which electrically and/or thermally conductive particles are aligned by applying an electric field during film manufacture.

Imagine the environmental benefits if we could all simply paint solar cells onto the roof of our houses, or onto any surface for that matter. We could do this using perovskite solar cells, but, due to their instability, they have not yet been widely introduced. Now, researchers from the Graphene Flagship have developed hybrids of graphene and molybdenum disulphide quantum dots to stabilise PSCs.

In the past two decades, the car market has declined twice: first due to the 2008 economic crisis, and then due to falling sales in China. Most recently, the lockdowns implemented to combat the coronavirus pandemic, causing auto-production plants to close globally and a loss of consumer spending will lead to an unprecedented 23% decline in 2020 (IDTechEx prediction).

The metal additive manufacturing market will be negatively impacted by the 2020 pandemic. Despite this short-to-mid-term setback, the industry is forecast to rise and exceed $10Bn within the next 10-years. The emerging and established printer players grab nearly all of the headlines, but most of this forecast annual revenue will be in material sales in which there is great untapped potential.

Kyulux is a Japanese company that has developed a new light emission technology and associated materials for OLED displays. Called Hyperfluorescence™, their approach promises increased color purity and more efficient emission without the need for iridium containing phosphorescent materials.

Gamma Alloys are producers of metal matrix composites (MMC); they have recently pivoted to focus their attention on additive manufacturing. IDTechEx caught up with Mark Sommer (CEO).

Nearly every sector is proposing the use of artificial intelligence. Materials science R&D is relatively late to this trend, and there are many industry-specific hurdles, but the opportunities are beginning to be realized and the potential impact is significant.

How layers of 2D materials are stacked can have a profound effect on the properties. The twist angles can be the only difference between relatively mundane performance and the capacity to behave as a superconductor.

Tuesday 11 August - The electric car market is facing fresh, unforeseen challenges in 2020, and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, electric vehicles with a higher upfront price are a hard sell. How is the industry, and how are governments, responding? Are electric cars de-railed from their pre-coronavirus trajectory?

IDTechEx Analyst Khasha Ghaffarzadeh interviews Thomas Swan Business Director Michael Edwards

IDTechEx Analyst Khasha Ghaffarzadeh interviews Sixth Element Sales Director Bernhard Münzing

IDTechEx Analyst Dr Khasha Ghaffarzadeh interviews Sixonia CEO Martin Lohe

IDTechEx currently have a number of printed electronics related webinars available to watch on-demand today. These include presentations on materials informatics, micro-LED displays and electronics reshaped. There is also another chance to view our virtual conference - Opportunities for Printed & Flexible Electronics.

Citrine Informatics has launched their materials informatics platform

Researchers have discovered that electrochemical doping with ionic liquid can significantly enhance the optical and electrical properties of transparent conductors made of single-walled carbon nanotube films.

TG0 has developed a novel method of touch/pressure sensing, which relies on incorporating conductive material within injection molded plastic components. Touch location, gestures and pressure are then interpreted via signal processing and machine learning. Unlike other touch sensing methodologies multiple discrete electronic sensors are not needed.