A new market research report titled ‘Printed Electronics: Reality vs. Hype’ is being offered by Research and Markets. According to the report, the market that has a huge potential for novel market applications though it is still in the nascent stage.
The report predicts that the printed electronics market will grow at a CAGR of 58% between the period 2010 and 2016 of which the printed electronics lighting segment will hold the majority share. However, the industry will require more attractive applications and prototypes suitable for manufacture to ensure concrete growth.
There are nearly 1,100 to 1,400 companies operating in the printed electronics industry of which most of the companies are based in Asia with focus on OLED displays. Companies based in North America are mainly concentrating on printed electronics solar products with huge venture capital investments. Some amount is also invested in printed electronics logic, memory & sensors (LMS) segment. Germany and the UK are the leading printed electronics markets in Europe.
Inorganic and organic chemicals and inks used in the production of wires and transistors, printing techniques, substrates and thin-film transistors and other device structures are the major technology building blocks of the printed electronics industry. The printed electronics market does not have a clear supply chain as in the case of the CMOS industry. Several production methods can be utilized for various applications. For instance, printed electronics transistors can be printed through spin coating, screen printing, nano-imprint, flexography, roll-to-roll, gravure and inkjet. It is also a highly fragmented market and each application should focus on one or two production techniques in order to reduce the cost of applications.