David Savastano, Editor11.10.10
The field of printed electronics is clearly evolving, and it is interesting to hear the perspective of people who have long been involved in the field. From time to time, Printed Electronics Now is going to interview some of the leaders in the field, and present their viewpoints.
This week, we spoke with Dr. Christer Karlsson, technology director/chief technical officer, Thin Film Electronics (Thinfilm). Dr. Karlsson has a Ph.D. from Linköping University in 1994 and served six years as researcher, project manager and deputy research director at the National Defence Research Establishment, Linköping, Sweden. He joined Thinfilm in the year 2000 and has served as project manager, group manager and technology director. Dr. Karlsson was born in 1964 and is a Swedish citizen. Thinfilm is developing technology combining its memory products with other devices to create complete printed systems. The company has announced partnerships with materials companies, select production partners and PARC, a leader in printed logic research, all with the goal of commercial development of 128-bit addressable memory arrays.
Printed Electronics Now: What is your background in the field of PE and technology?
Dr. Karlsson: I have worked with polymer electronics since 2000, and printed electronics for the past three to four years, as we see the greatest applications for our rewritable polymer memory in printed applications.
Printed Electronics Now: How has the printed electronics industry evolved in recent years?
Dr. Karlsson: The leaders in the field have moved from materials and process development to product and systems engineering. While there is still a lot of basic research needed, the commercial focus in the industry is increasing significantly.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the key advancements that have allowed for these changes to occur?
Dr. Karlsson: Recent improvement in material properties, including in polymer semiconductor mobilities, and in scalable production methods, are clearly important. Equally so is the building of an ecosystem of specialty chemical and material suppliers, and for Thinfilm, qualified production partners. The commercial focus I referred to earlier is key: doing the right things to bring a product to market is different than fundamental research on a bigger long term goal.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the technical hurdles that need to be overcome to move PE forward?
Dr. Karlsson: The biggest hurdle is competition from traditional industry. Developing cost-efficient processes is key. We believe in an ‘innovation from below’ model – creating a cost-position that traditional processes cannot match.
Technically, we see two categories of devices: those that rely on organic materials, and those using inorganic compounds. With polymers and other organic materials, their intrinsically lower stability is a limitation, while for inorganic compounds, the limitation is often that many such materials require processing temperatures that lead to higher-cost processes and substrates.
Printed Electronics Now: Where do you see the field of printed electronics heading in both the near term and, say, 10 years from now?
Dr. Karlsson: Initial applications will be in niche markets, for example interactive toys and games using Thinfilm memories, while in 10 years we believe that PE has the power to change how we live. Ubiquitous disposable electronic devices with built-in power sources, display, logic and memory that interact with our NFC-enabled communications tools will be commonplace. One should be careful in overestimating what can be done in two years, but be even more careful in underestimating what can happen in five to 10 years.
Printed Electronics Now: What is your background in the field of PE and technology?
Dr. Karlsson: I have worked with polymer electronics since 2000, and printed electronics for the past three to four years, as we see the greatest applications for our rewritable polymer memory in printed applications.
Printed Electronics Now: How has the printed electronics industry evolved in recent years?
Dr. Karlsson: The leaders in the field have moved from materials and process development to product and systems engineering. While there is still a lot of basic research needed, the commercial focus in the industry is increasing significantly.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the key advancements that have allowed for these changes to occur?
Dr. Karlsson: Recent improvement in material properties, including in polymer semiconductor mobilities, and in scalable production methods, are clearly important. Equally so is the building of an ecosystem of specialty chemical and material suppliers, and for Thinfilm, qualified production partners. The commercial focus I referred to earlier is key: doing the right things to bring a product to market is different than fundamental research on a bigger long term goal.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the technical hurdles that need to be overcome to move PE forward?
Dr. Karlsson: The biggest hurdle is competition from traditional industry. Developing cost-efficient processes is key. We believe in an ‘innovation from below’ model – creating a cost-position that traditional processes cannot match.
Technically, we see two categories of devices: those that rely on organic materials, and those using inorganic compounds. With polymers and other organic materials, their intrinsically lower stability is a limitation, while for inorganic compounds, the limitation is often that many such materials require processing temperatures that lead to higher-cost processes and substrates.
Printed Electronics Now: Where do you see the field of printed electronics heading in both the near term and, say, 10 years from now?
Dr. Karlsson: Initial applications will be in niche markets, for example interactive toys and games using Thinfilm memories, while in 10 years we believe that PE has the power to change how we live. Ubiquitous disposable electronic devices with built-in power sources, display, logic and memory that interact with our NFC-enabled communications tools will be commonplace. One should be careful in overestimating what can be done in two years, but be even more careful in underestimating what can happen in five to 10 years.