Sensors

A new generation of image sensors that are more sensitive to light than the conventional silicon versions has been developed by researchers from Technische Universität München (TUM). These sensors also have the added bonus of being simple and cheap to produce.

SolarPrint has developed its DSSC technology in an incremental fashion going from the lab into pilot production, from small cells to modules, developing scalable processes and reproducible production steps.The key technical challenges that SolarPrint is addressing for the commercialisation of DSSC are: (a) Power output (especially in low light conditions), (b) Product lifetime, (c) Manufacturability & scalability. In addressing these challenges, a multidisciplinary approach is followed across cell chemistry, electrical and process engineering. The focus remains on maximising power output and improving lifetime of the indoor DSSC product in a scalable way.

A company that is creating smart label solutions based on printed electronics.

MC10 were founded in 2010 in the Boston area to commercialize conformable and/or stretchable electronics. The company has its roots in Prof John Roger's lab at the University of Illinois. The company has so far raised approx. $60 million venture capital funding. Their first product is a wearable sensor sold under the Reebok brand.

Fujifilm Dimatix has very high market penetration of inkjet printers and print heads for printed electronics. Its activity is profitable. However, inkjet printing has not been adopted so far for much commercial production of printed electronics, with other printing options being preferred but the company is also using its PZT technology in other applications.

Sharp Laboratories of America is the US R&D center of Sharp Corporation. In its early years, Sharp Labs started providing fabrication services to some of their key partners. This activity evolved into contract research and the launch of a new entity: Sharp Technology Ventures (STV).

Plastic Logic have developed a process to manufacture organic thin film transistors (OTFT) active matrix backplanes on plastic substrates. The backplanes can be used in displays or sensor applications.

Electrophoretic display maker expands into new applications.

Henkel became involved in this market in 2008 after buying Acheson.

A consortium led by Thin Film Electronics ASA has announced the concept prototype of an integrated printed electronics tag which records, stores and later displays critical temperature information.

MicroGen is developing products based on its proprietary piezoelectric vibrational energy harvester technology. These MEMS devices are micro-power sources that can either be used to extend battery lifetime or in some cases eliminate the need for batteries altogether.

Amo GmbH is a research foundry. They focus on providing R&D services in the area of nanofabrication. They are currently working on graphene transistors too (not the fabrication part) and have reported promising results.