Printed electronics

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Printed electronics is the term for a relatively new technology that defines the printing of electronics on common media such as paper, plastic, and textile using standard printing processes. This printing preferably utilizes common press equipment in the graphics arts industry, such as screen printing, flexography, gravure, and offset lithography. Instead of printing graphic arts inks, families of electrically functional electronic inks are used to print active devices, such as thin film transistors. Printed electronics is expected to facilitate widespread and very low-cost electronics useful for applications not typically associated with conventional (i.e., silicon-based) electronics, such as flexible displays, smart labels, animated posters, and active clothing.

The term printed electronics is often used in association with organic electronics or plastic electronics, where one or more functional inks are composed of carbon-based compounds. While these other terms refer to the material system, the process used to deposit them can be either solution-based, vacuum-based, or some other method. Printed electronics, in contrast, specifies the process, and can utilize any solution-based material, including organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, metallic conductors, nanoparticles, nanotubes, etc.

[edit] Standards development and activities

Several printed electronics industry leaders have established standards and roadmapping initiatives, which are intended to facilitate value chain development (for sharing of product specifications, characterization standards, etc.) This strategy of standards development mirrors the historical development, market introduction, and wide spread acceptance of silicon-based electronics over the past 50 years. As an example of this development of standards for printed electronics, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) [1] launched an initiative to develop standards to assist in the development of the technology. To date, the IEEE Standards Association has published IEEE 1620-2004 [2] and IEEE 1620.1-2006 [3], which will enable the continued maturity of printed electronics. In addition, similar to the well-established International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) [4], the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) [5] has published a roadmap for printed and organic electronics.