David Savastano, Editor09.21.20
Conductive inks and pastes play a critical role in flexible and printed electronics, and as the market for these products expands, the size of the conductive ink business grows with it. For example, IDTechEx places the conductive ink market at $2 billion, while in its recent report, Transparency Market Research (TMR) estimated that the conductive inks and pastes market will reach $3 billion by 2027.
“Complex inkjet printing systems are growing popular in the market for conductive inks and pastes,” TMR analysts noted.
“Companies are benefitting with the introduction of these systems since they help in the development of multi-layer PCBs with narrow tracks that are compatible with most surface-mount devices. As such, PCBs are predicted for aggressive growth during the forecast period.
“The ever-increasing trend of wearable electronics is projected to generate new revenue streams for companies in the conductive inks and pastes market,” TMR’s analysts added. “Wearable technology has given rise to specialty inks that can be washed and stretched, which suits various manufacturing requirements of device companies.”
“The emergence of hybrid flexible electronics (FHE) is another key driver contributing to the growth of the conductive inks and pastes market,” TMR’s analysts concluded. “Companies in the market for conductive inks and pastes are making FHEs increasingly mainstream with the help of ultrathin and flexible packaged complex ICs.”
Conductive ink suppliers said they’re seeing increasing interest in flexible and printed electronics as well.
John Hannafin, global product manager, Sun Chemical, said there has been an increasingly steady demand for incorporating electronics in to commonplace items, such as wearables, smart packaging and smart labels.
“This has created a demand to develop materials which provide flexibility and can be processed at high speeds using non-traditional printing methods, such as flexographic printing,” Hannafin added.
Brewer Science marketing manager Nick Skelton said that as a material design and manufacturing company with a long history of supplying the most advanced device manufacturers globally, he sees a similar pathway for printed and flexible electronics.
“We see a similar opportunity as we have recognized several gaps in the materials currently available for applications and devices, especially with respect to reproducibility,” Skelton said.
Chris Booher, chief marketing officer for ChemCubed, said that ChemCubed is seeing more examples of printed electronics reaching commercialization based on certain material and printing technologies. He added that depending on the complexity of the application and the critical performance requirements, some technologies are quicker to adopt.
“For example, the high throughput of screenprinted electronics enables a more efficient return for less critical, more commodity types of applications,” observed Booher. “However, the more critical applications such as multi-layer circuits that will replace components for automotive or aerospace require not only higher-performing materials, but also a more stringent process of reliability testing in order to qualify for commercialization. The process of material testing, proof of concept, reliability testing and approval to commercialize may take between 18 months minimum to as long as seven years. There is no doubt that many industries are moving toward printed electronics technology at an ever-increasing rate, but it is clear that the PE industry is in its infancy.”
Kerry Adams, market segment manager, DuPont Advanced Materials, said he is definitely seeing more in the way of commercialization.
“The reward is coming to the innovators in the field as materials deliver more and more functionality in demanding applications and components,” added Adams.
C3Nano CTO Dr. Ajay Virkar said that during the last few years, the consumer electronics world been witnessing the transformation of flexible touch-enabled display prototypes exhibited in conferences into real final devices fully commercialized and out in users’ hands.
“This commercialization started with companies like Royole releasing the world’s first foldable phone/tablet and followed by larger manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei, Motorola, Xiaomi and others,” Dr. Virkar added. “In 2020, we will see more of these devices fully commercialized and will also witness the emergence of new classes of flexible devices such as full-screen touch-enabled foldable laptops. Having worked on a flexible touch and cover lens solution for years and having partnered with some of the market leaders in downstream processes, we are very excited to be a part of the new trend and believe the opportunities and applications ahead are limitless.”
Stephan Gachet, VP sales for Genes Ink, noted that since late 2018 and 2019, the market has understood the benefits of printed electronics, driven by the need for raw material use reduction (subtractive and etching processes are material consuming and becoming banned for ecological reasons), the need to reduce the electronic circuitry size and weight, and the ability brought by printed electronics to reduce devices’ form factor.
Ken Klapproth, VP of marketing for CHASM Advanced Materials, Inc., said that customer interest in AgeNT, CHASM’s transparent flexible printed electronics material, has grown more than 10 times over the past year.
“The touch interactivity consumers experience with smartphones is becoming expected from automobiles to appliances and everything in between. Consumers are demanding smarter, more intuitive, and more stylized devices where they can simply pick them up, be proficient without training, and use intuitive gestures to control. Any complexity and electronics need to be hidden,” Klapproth added.
Reaching Commercialization
With more products reaching consumers, new demands are being placed on conductive inks and pastes. Booher said that in the case of ChemCubed, the company is focused on high-performance material applications, those requiring high conductivity prints through digitally printed deposition technology (inkjet/aerosol jet).
“We have commercial end-users that are producing printed circuit boards and/or variations of printed circuit technology within an advanced design of an electronics packaged component,” Booher continued. “They are producing in small to medium batch sizes at this time with our proprietary printer technology while researching the next investment scenarios of an engineered automation line that would incorporate the printing process.
“Other applications are simpler designs such as flexible wiring harnesses that replace traditional wire ribbons or wiring within electronics for the benefit of a more compact design,” added Booher. “For sure, there are more uses at this time in design/development or prototyping applications, but we are heavily involved in the testing phases for other long-term developments for printed versions of antennae, NFC/RFID, shielding and display applications.”
Dr. Virkar noted that C3Nano is a supplier to more than one of the foldable/flexible devices that have launched onto the market.
“Tremendous engineering and innovations across the supply chain have gone in designing these devices and to actual commercialization of robust products,” Dr. Virkar observed. “The flexibility coupled with the optoelectronic performance of our materials were the main reason they were selected for these consumer devices.”
“You will shortly see on the market connected glasses that will use Genes Ink nano-silver inks,” said Gachet. “Other products that will be commercialized are in the field of IME (in mold electronics) and medical sensors.”
“The rollout of 5G wireless offers performance benefits for consumers but creates technical challenges for carriers,” Klapproth observed. “The same millimeter wave technology enabling higher frequencies also creates interference problems with obstacles such as buildings, trees, and even rain. More antennas closer to points of use are needed to ensure line of sight connections to users. The unique properties of our AgeNT transparent CNT Hybrid material enabled a national wireless carrier to deploy municipal wifi using transparent 5G antennas that unobtrusively blend in with their surroundings.”
Promising Markets for Flexible and Printed Electronics
Flexible and printed electronics are finding new opportunities in many segments, including automotive, healthcare, in-mold electronics, sensors, and more.
“There are exciting developments utilizing our conductive inks in a wide range of markets, including temperature controllers in industrial manufacturing engineering,” said Hannafin. “New advancements offer even more user-friendly interfaces, programming and readability. For example, these products use conductive inks as part of an in-mold electronics solution to improve user experience with enhancements, such as smooth touch keypads that create a stronger seal on the controller and withstand wear and tear.”
Adams said that the automotive market has always led the way in new technology, and printed electronics is no exception.
“The opportunities created by formable, stretchable materials allowing 3D structural electronics for auto interiors is enormously appealing for designers,” Adams added. “Touch control, lighting, heating and sensors can all now be seamlessly integrated into molded interior parts. Connectivity is also a major theme with flexible electronics playing a big part in sensors and antenna structures.”
Adams said he is seeing movement in the healthcare field as well.
“Healthcare was the first large volume user of printed electronics with the blood glucose test strip and is poised to be a driver going forward, especially with wearable health devices,” Adams observed. “New flexible, stretchable and washable inks and substrates allow comfortable, accurate wireless monitoring – pregnancy, new baby and ICU monitoring are all products
emerging onto the market enabled by printed electronics.”
ChemCubed’s Booher said that some of the most promising markets are those that continue to research materials and processes that will enable the continued miniaturization of components and consolidation of feature functions for a product, including automotive, aerospace and consumer electronics.
“In automotive, the trend of electrifying the vehicle yields more opportunity for printed electronics,” Booher said. “The interior surfaces may incorporate more display and touch control features that may be accomplished by PE technology. Aerospace applications include exterior and interior surfaces that would incorporate passive circuitry, as well as other designs that will contribute to weight reduction efficiencies. Consumer electronic applications include next-generation displays that continue to utilize designs that are thinner layers and/or flexible formats. PE technology offers the possibility to manufacture features to the micron-level tolerances required.”
Hannafin said that there is a lot of curiosity towards electronic packaging and smart labels, and brand owners are increasingly expressing interest.
“The US and European markets appear to be ahead of the curve, and it is likely that production volumes will grow as the traditional packaging converter base starts developing more manufacturing capabilities for electronics at lower costs,” added Hannafin. “For that to happen, the market also needs to determine which functions are to be implemented. This will be largely determined by a combination of cost and benefit analysis as well as consumer acceptance. We also see opportunities develop for in-mold electronic applications for automotive through applications for headlamp/tail lamp heaters, in-dash displays, and mechanical switch replacements.
“Additionally, medical diagnostics and patient tracking appear to be leading the way,” added Hannafin. “Non-invasive monitoring of glucose and some cardiac functions are creating a lot of demand. The Internet of Things and the commensurate infrastructure is already being built to support the anticipated demand. This infrastructure will also enable the consumer brand groups to support item-level tagging and smart surfaces which drive the consumer experience in the retail space. Medical device sensors will likely lead in terms of short-term growth followed closely by the consumer brand space. We are already seeing innovative new printed sensors in each of these markets.”
Dr. Virkar said that this is just the start for flexible electronics as an increasing number of applications will soon see the benefits.
“We are already seeing a lot of activities in the healthcare market for wearable electronics and sensors,” noted Dr. Virkar. “We are actually working on a very interesting biomedical application which has already entered some early-stage clinical trials. The automotive industry is also aggressively moving towards the development and manufacturing of electric cars, which means more need for innovative sensors and displays, so we are expecting a lot of activity in that field as well. We have a few projects with select partners targeting these automotive applications.”
“IME is attracting a lot of interest from the automotive industry, and the transition to electric vehicles will also create a demand for power electronics where silver inks and printed electronics have a role to play,” Gachet added. “IoT is also a promising market as form factor reduction is a key element for market deployment. New developments are also growing in the medical industry, where the need for connected on-skin sensors pushes for use of printed electronics.”
Klapproth noted that CHASM has recently seen increasing demand for transparent heaters in the automotive, transportation, consumer electronics, and even the livestock industry.
“Optical cameras are becoming the technology of choice for collision avoidance, intrusion detection, security, inspection, and process control systems,” Klapproth added. “Cameras can be used to detect precise objects and AI processing can create 3D environment maps in real-time, enabling drones to fly without collision and autonomous cars to discern a pedestrian from a bicyclist or even a pothole from a guard rail. All of these systems will need to remain active even in harsh weather, so keeping their field of view clear from ice, rain and condensation is imperative.”
“Complex inkjet printing systems are growing popular in the market for conductive inks and pastes,” TMR analysts noted.
“Companies are benefitting with the introduction of these systems since they help in the development of multi-layer PCBs with narrow tracks that are compatible with most surface-mount devices. As such, PCBs are predicted for aggressive growth during the forecast period.
“The ever-increasing trend of wearable electronics is projected to generate new revenue streams for companies in the conductive inks and pastes market,” TMR’s analysts added. “Wearable technology has given rise to specialty inks that can be washed and stretched, which suits various manufacturing requirements of device companies.”
“The emergence of hybrid flexible electronics (FHE) is another key driver contributing to the growth of the conductive inks and pastes market,” TMR’s analysts concluded. “Companies in the market for conductive inks and pastes are making FHEs increasingly mainstream with the help of ultrathin and flexible packaged complex ICs.”
Conductive ink suppliers said they’re seeing increasing interest in flexible and printed electronics as well.
John Hannafin, global product manager, Sun Chemical, said there has been an increasingly steady demand for incorporating electronics in to commonplace items, such as wearables, smart packaging and smart labels.
“This has created a demand to develop materials which provide flexibility and can be processed at high speeds using non-traditional printing methods, such as flexographic printing,” Hannafin added.
Brewer Science marketing manager Nick Skelton said that as a material design and manufacturing company with a long history of supplying the most advanced device manufacturers globally, he sees a similar pathway for printed and flexible electronics.
“We see a similar opportunity as we have recognized several gaps in the materials currently available for applications and devices, especially with respect to reproducibility,” Skelton said.
Chris Booher, chief marketing officer for ChemCubed, said that ChemCubed is seeing more examples of printed electronics reaching commercialization based on certain material and printing technologies. He added that depending on the complexity of the application and the critical performance requirements, some technologies are quicker to adopt.
“For example, the high throughput of screenprinted electronics enables a more efficient return for less critical, more commodity types of applications,” observed Booher. “However, the more critical applications such as multi-layer circuits that will replace components for automotive or aerospace require not only higher-performing materials, but also a more stringent process of reliability testing in order to qualify for commercialization. The process of material testing, proof of concept, reliability testing and approval to commercialize may take between 18 months minimum to as long as seven years. There is no doubt that many industries are moving toward printed electronics technology at an ever-increasing rate, but it is clear that the PE industry is in its infancy.”
Kerry Adams, market segment manager, DuPont Advanced Materials, said he is definitely seeing more in the way of commercialization.
“The reward is coming to the innovators in the field as materials deliver more and more functionality in demanding applications and components,” added Adams.
C3Nano CTO Dr. Ajay Virkar said that during the last few years, the consumer electronics world been witnessing the transformation of flexible touch-enabled display prototypes exhibited in conferences into real final devices fully commercialized and out in users’ hands.
“This commercialization started with companies like Royole releasing the world’s first foldable phone/tablet and followed by larger manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei, Motorola, Xiaomi and others,” Dr. Virkar added. “In 2020, we will see more of these devices fully commercialized and will also witness the emergence of new classes of flexible devices such as full-screen touch-enabled foldable laptops. Having worked on a flexible touch and cover lens solution for years and having partnered with some of the market leaders in downstream processes, we are very excited to be a part of the new trend and believe the opportunities and applications ahead are limitless.”
Stephan Gachet, VP sales for Genes Ink, noted that since late 2018 and 2019, the market has understood the benefits of printed electronics, driven by the need for raw material use reduction (subtractive and etching processes are material consuming and becoming banned for ecological reasons), the need to reduce the electronic circuitry size and weight, and the ability brought by printed electronics to reduce devices’ form factor.
Ken Klapproth, VP of marketing for CHASM Advanced Materials, Inc., said that customer interest in AgeNT, CHASM’s transparent flexible printed electronics material, has grown more than 10 times over the past year.
“The touch interactivity consumers experience with smartphones is becoming expected from automobiles to appliances and everything in between. Consumers are demanding smarter, more intuitive, and more stylized devices where they can simply pick them up, be proficient without training, and use intuitive gestures to control. Any complexity and electronics need to be hidden,” Klapproth added.
Reaching Commercialization
With more products reaching consumers, new demands are being placed on conductive inks and pastes. Booher said that in the case of ChemCubed, the company is focused on high-performance material applications, those requiring high conductivity prints through digitally printed deposition technology (inkjet/aerosol jet).
“We have commercial end-users that are producing printed circuit boards and/or variations of printed circuit technology within an advanced design of an electronics packaged component,” Booher continued. “They are producing in small to medium batch sizes at this time with our proprietary printer technology while researching the next investment scenarios of an engineered automation line that would incorporate the printing process.
“Other applications are simpler designs such as flexible wiring harnesses that replace traditional wire ribbons or wiring within electronics for the benefit of a more compact design,” added Booher. “For sure, there are more uses at this time in design/development or prototyping applications, but we are heavily involved in the testing phases for other long-term developments for printed versions of antennae, NFC/RFID, shielding and display applications.”
Dr. Virkar noted that C3Nano is a supplier to more than one of the foldable/flexible devices that have launched onto the market.
“Tremendous engineering and innovations across the supply chain have gone in designing these devices and to actual commercialization of robust products,” Dr. Virkar observed. “The flexibility coupled with the optoelectronic performance of our materials were the main reason they were selected for these consumer devices.”
“You will shortly see on the market connected glasses that will use Genes Ink nano-silver inks,” said Gachet. “Other products that will be commercialized are in the field of IME (in mold electronics) and medical sensors.”
“The rollout of 5G wireless offers performance benefits for consumers but creates technical challenges for carriers,” Klapproth observed. “The same millimeter wave technology enabling higher frequencies also creates interference problems with obstacles such as buildings, trees, and even rain. More antennas closer to points of use are needed to ensure line of sight connections to users. The unique properties of our AgeNT transparent CNT Hybrid material enabled a national wireless carrier to deploy municipal wifi using transparent 5G antennas that unobtrusively blend in with their surroundings.”
Promising Markets for Flexible and Printed Electronics
Flexible and printed electronics are finding new opportunities in many segments, including automotive, healthcare, in-mold electronics, sensors, and more.
“There are exciting developments utilizing our conductive inks in a wide range of markets, including temperature controllers in industrial manufacturing engineering,” said Hannafin. “New advancements offer even more user-friendly interfaces, programming and readability. For example, these products use conductive inks as part of an in-mold electronics solution to improve user experience with enhancements, such as smooth touch keypads that create a stronger seal on the controller and withstand wear and tear.”
Adams said that the automotive market has always led the way in new technology, and printed electronics is no exception.
“The opportunities created by formable, stretchable materials allowing 3D structural electronics for auto interiors is enormously appealing for designers,” Adams added. “Touch control, lighting, heating and sensors can all now be seamlessly integrated into molded interior parts. Connectivity is also a major theme with flexible electronics playing a big part in sensors and antenna structures.”
Adams said he is seeing movement in the healthcare field as well.
“Healthcare was the first large volume user of printed electronics with the blood glucose test strip and is poised to be a driver going forward, especially with wearable health devices,” Adams observed. “New flexible, stretchable and washable inks and substrates allow comfortable, accurate wireless monitoring – pregnancy, new baby and ICU monitoring are all products
emerging onto the market enabled by printed electronics.”
ChemCubed’s Booher said that some of the most promising markets are those that continue to research materials and processes that will enable the continued miniaturization of components and consolidation of feature functions for a product, including automotive, aerospace and consumer electronics.
“In automotive, the trend of electrifying the vehicle yields more opportunity for printed electronics,” Booher said. “The interior surfaces may incorporate more display and touch control features that may be accomplished by PE technology. Aerospace applications include exterior and interior surfaces that would incorporate passive circuitry, as well as other designs that will contribute to weight reduction efficiencies. Consumer electronic applications include next-generation displays that continue to utilize designs that are thinner layers and/or flexible formats. PE technology offers the possibility to manufacture features to the micron-level tolerances required.”
Hannafin said that there is a lot of curiosity towards electronic packaging and smart labels, and brand owners are increasingly expressing interest.
“The US and European markets appear to be ahead of the curve, and it is likely that production volumes will grow as the traditional packaging converter base starts developing more manufacturing capabilities for electronics at lower costs,” added Hannafin. “For that to happen, the market also needs to determine which functions are to be implemented. This will be largely determined by a combination of cost and benefit analysis as well as consumer acceptance. We also see opportunities develop for in-mold electronic applications for automotive through applications for headlamp/tail lamp heaters, in-dash displays, and mechanical switch replacements.
“Additionally, medical diagnostics and patient tracking appear to be leading the way,” added Hannafin. “Non-invasive monitoring of glucose and some cardiac functions are creating a lot of demand. The Internet of Things and the commensurate infrastructure is already being built to support the anticipated demand. This infrastructure will also enable the consumer brand groups to support item-level tagging and smart surfaces which drive the consumer experience in the retail space. Medical device sensors will likely lead in terms of short-term growth followed closely by the consumer brand space. We are already seeing innovative new printed sensors in each of these markets.”
Dr. Virkar said that this is just the start for flexible electronics as an increasing number of applications will soon see the benefits.
“We are already seeing a lot of activities in the healthcare market for wearable electronics and sensors,” noted Dr. Virkar. “We are actually working on a very interesting biomedical application which has already entered some early-stage clinical trials. The automotive industry is also aggressively moving towards the development and manufacturing of electric cars, which means more need for innovative sensors and displays, so we are expecting a lot of activity in that field as well. We have a few projects with select partners targeting these automotive applications.”
“IME is attracting a lot of interest from the automotive industry, and the transition to electric vehicles will also create a demand for power electronics where silver inks and printed electronics have a role to play,” Gachet added. “IoT is also a promising market as form factor reduction is a key element for market deployment. New developments are also growing in the medical industry, where the need for connected on-skin sensors pushes for use of printed electronics.”
Klapproth noted that CHASM has recently seen increasing demand for transparent heaters in the automotive, transportation, consumer electronics, and even the livestock industry.
“Optical cameras are becoming the technology of choice for collision avoidance, intrusion detection, security, inspection, and process control systems,” Klapproth added. “Cameras can be used to detect precise objects and AI processing can create 3D environment maps in real-time, enabling drones to fly without collision and autonomous cars to discern a pedestrian from a bicyclist or even a pothole from a guard rail. All of these systems will need to remain active even in harsh weather, so keeping their field of view clear from ice, rain and condensation is imperative.”
