End-Use Applications for PE is Key Focus of Speakers at PE USA 2010

By David Savastano

There is a lot of discussion as to the opportunities in printed electronics (PE), but the key to PE’s ultimate success will be the adaptation of the technology in the marketplace.

During the first day of Printed Electronics USA 2010 and Photovoltaics USA 2010, hosted by IDTechEx at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA, a number of major companies offered insight as to how PE is making a difference for their business, as well as potential uses for printed electronics.

From aerospace to the military and advertising to toys and more, printed electronics has a strong story to tell.

For example, Jeff Duce, design engineer for Boeing, discussed “Applications, Needs, and Requirements for Printed Electronics in Aerospace.” Boeing currently uses printed electronics on one of its platforms, and PE can provide a lighter weight alternative to other current parts.

“A 1 percent weight reduction equates to billions of dollars is operating costs savings for carriers, and would help us sell more planes,” Duce sad.

Duce added that possible new applications for PE can be found in entertainment displays, integrated wiring, sensors, part ID and authentication and structure and health monitoring.

“There are 120 seats on a 737, and if the displays are thin film, that saves a lot of weight,” Duce said.

For printed electronics to succeed for Boeing, lifetime of parts is essential.

“Our products must survive 20+ years in a harsh environment,” Duce concluded.

Eric Penot, digital media director, JCDecaux, focused on “Digital Out-Of-Home Advertising: Show Me Good Products.” Penot noted that JCDecaux sells €2 billion in outdoor advertising annually, and the ability to provide a modern look, as well as changing messages during the day appeals to brand owners.

“We are desperately in need of products for displays,” Penot said. “Our customers want advertising impact. For us, big is beautiful. Image quality is also important, as is reliability. The lowest power consumption as possible is also important.”

Luis Rodrigo Pineiro, manager, technology exploration for Crayola, asked what PE can bring to its products for children ages 2 to 14.

“PE manufacturers need to help us understand what makes your technology special,” Pineiro said. “Think about how you can augment or create new experiences for our consumers.”

Dr. Marc Vermeersch, head of Department. Solar & New Energies for TOTAL S.A. – Gas & Power, analyzed “Printed Organic Photovoltaics: Disruptive Technology in a Great Energy Company.”

Dr. Vermeersch compared the growth of the efficiencies of the leading solar technologies, and while organic photovoltaics (OPV) is behind much older technologies, its growth curve is practically identical. This indicates that efficiencies are likely to increase significantly, which would make OPV very competitive.

“Printed OPV is the major disruptive innovation of the decade,” Dr. Vermeersch said. “The physical properties of OPV are essential. The flexibility, the ability to be transparent, the abundance of raw materials and potential for mass production at low cost are major advantages.”

Dr. Mike Woodhouse, solar energy materials scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL), also discussed opportunities for solar cells.

“By increasing both domestic demand and the flow of private capital to the manufacturing sector, the U.S. an become the next dominant market for PV,” Dr. Woodhouse said.

On the packaging side, Michael Londo, director of open innovation, MWV Packaging, analyzed “Why Companies are Looking to Smart Packaging,” discussing potential drivers for PE and a look at some commercial examples.

Dr. Vivek Subramanian, associate professor, Dept. of EECS at University of California, Berkeley, analyzed opportunities for printed sensors is his talk on “Sensors for Smart Packaging.” By printing sensors for applications ranging from food storage to medical applications, the sensors would be customizable, lightweight, flexible, robust and could be produced as a completely integrated unit.

“Printed electronics is inherently application-driven, and printing has interesting system-level advantages” Dr. Subramanian said.

James Zunino, ARDEC project officer/materials engineer, US Army ARDEC, provided his “Overview of Materials Printing Capabilities and Prototype Development for U.S. Army Applications.”

Zunino said that PE can have a wide range of applications, from flexible displays, antennas, fuzing, flexible detonators and logic and memory. By using PE, te Army would be able to reduce mass and cost considerably. For example, the Army already uses printed sensors on its Apache helicopters, and is doing research in many f these fields.

On the display side, Chul-Ho Kim, senior research manager, LG Display, talked about opportunities for utilizing printing in “The Printing Technology for Display.”

“Thin film transistor LCD processes need to be changed to low-cost technologies, reducing the use of photolithography and vacuum deposition,” Kim said, adding that manufacturers shod be able to use printing processes.

Bryan Morry, executive director of The Kraft Group, talked about “The Magic of Magink,” and how the New England Patriots use 30-fot high Magink pylons and touch screens to attract fans to the team’s Hall of Fame Museum.

“We achieved the look we wanted, and created a user experience hat was different for the fans,” Morry said. “We are constantly trying to improve the experience for our fans.”

The printing side was also well represented, as Mark Litecky, vice president of sales for Soligie, talked about “Enabling Customers to Realize New Products,” ad how PE already is used on products ranging from government passports to iontophoretic drug display patches,

Dr. Gordon Smith, CTO for GSI Technologies, showcased the opportunities for smart cards in his talk on “One Time Passcode Cards Created Through Printed Electronics.”