Semiconductors

When considering the prospects of an emerging technology, it is easy to make broad-brush claims. For example, stating that 'greater numbers of connected devices, commonly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), will increase demand for printed sensors' seems an uncontroversial statement.

Radar uptake in vehicles will continue its increase, driven both by an increase in the number of adopting cars and by the radar content per vehicle. Both trends are driven by the increasing adoption of ADAS and will be sustained and strengthened in the longer term by the emergence of highly automated or autonomous driving.

The new IDTechEx report, "Materials Opportunities in Emerging Photovoltaics 2020-2040", is based on interviews by multi-lingual, PhD level IDTechEx analysts across the world and 20 years tracking the research and applications. They predict $38 billion dollars in 2040 without colliding with the silicon-in-glass "power station" business. There will be many opportunities for premium pricing of its new specialist materials.

The 5G market is expanding rapidly, with the first installations already being demonstrated. The increasing deployment of 5G will generate innovation and growth opportunities in thermal management.

Asked to picture a printed sensor, you might well imagine a paper test strip for measuring blood glucose concentration. After all, such test strips comprise the majority of the printed sensor market, with billions used each year by diabetics around the world. However, this ubiquitous application masks a highly complex, fragmented and in some cases rapidly growing market that spans applications ranging from image sensing to wearable electrodes.

Flexible hybrid electronic (FHE) promises to combine the functionality of conventional rigid electronics with the flexibility of printed electronics. A prototypical FHE circuit, in which an integrated circuit is combined with multiple other elements, includes (for example) printed sensors, an antenna, a thin film battery and even thin film PV. Not all components need to be included, or even printed, for a circuit to count as FHE, but it must include as a minimum both printed and placed functionality.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free 30-minute webinar on Wednesday 29 April 2020. Miniaturised Gas Sensors for Environmental Monitoring will be presented by IDTechEx Technology Analyst, Dr Luyun Jiang.

While flexible electronics have been around for years, either as flexible PCBs or genuinely printed electronics, there has always been a trade-off between flexibility and capability. A new report from IDTechEx discusses the innovation trends, opportunities and challenges in the FHE market.

Conductive ink business is inherently wonderfully diverse, which has allowed the industry to rejuvenate itself time and again and to remain relevant through generations of product lifecycles. This diversity, however, presents a market segmentation, evaluation, and prioritization challenge for many small and large players across the world.

The new IDTechEx report, "Zero-Emission Electric Vehicle Charging: Off-Grid 2020-2040" examines how the electric vehicle business is finding it profitable to respond to criticism that clean vehicles should not be charged with fossil fuel electricity.