Starting to build an ecosystem: Printed Electronics

Printed Electronics: Starting to Build an Ecosystem Ross Bringans Invited keynote talk Printed Electronics Europe, Dusseldorf, April 2011

About PARC
Research as a business
Research with client companies and governments
Partnerships with new ventures
New business creation
Licensing and technology transfer
Palo Alto Research Center – incorporated in 2002 (formerly Xerox PARC )

The vision for Printed and Flexible Electronics
There will be new applications that need flexibility
And new applications that benefit from flexibility
A destabilizing technology will be created
There are likely to be new winners

Our Perspective
Flexible Electronics is an exciting opportunity
New technology capabilities
New business opportunities
And: it is happening
Applications will drive the technology
People want solutions – not technology
And they want convergence of functions
Challenges
Commercial: How can we launch the industry?
Government: Where is the best leverage?

PARC’s Approach
Make “standard” technologies flexible
Amorphous and poly-crystalline Si
Exploit printing technology
Inkjet
Gravure
Develop organic electronics
Demonstrate with applications
Displays
Sensors
Systems
Explore hybrid approaches

Example: All-Additive Printed Arrays Demonstration of all-printed TFT backplanes for displays J. Soc. Info. Display 2007, 7, 485-490 Gate line Data line Semiconductor Pixel pad 340 um 680 um

Example: Printed Sensor Tape
Monitor pressure, acceleration, sound, light
Signals recognized, processed, sent to memory
Non-volatile memory holds data for one week
Off-board readout system
Monitoring environment to prevent traumatic brain injury. (DARPA) source: MicroVision

Ring oscillator Shift Register Amplifier APL, 94, 233307 2009 JAP, 106, 094504 2009 Memory Sensor Tape: Printed Circuits

Sensor Tape - Next step: integration MEMS sensors V DD V out V in bias Printed organic amplifiers Pressure signal after amplifier Pressure signal without amplifier Printed memory cells switch Memory initial written

OK – We Have Lab Prototypes…Now What?
Use them as test vehicles
We have done this for:
Substrate manufacturers
Materials suppliers
Combine them with other technologies
& make Demonstrators
Develop more components
Is that enough?

Mature Manufacturing Ecosystem Research Establish feasibility
Opportunity discovery
Product concept
Development Lab scale prototypes Product Realization Manufacturing prototypes
Materials
Process
Equipment
Evolving product design Production Ramp

Printed Electronics Ecosystem: Immature with Major Gaps Research Establish feasibility
Product concept
Development Lab scale prototypes
Materials
Process
Equipment
Product Realization Manufacturing prototypes
Product concept
Materials
Process
Equipment
Production Ramp Gap Gap

Printed Electronics Ecosystem: Bridging Some of the Gaps Research Establish feasibility
Product concept
Materials
Process
Equipment
Product concept
Materials
Process
Equipment
Test Vehicles Production Ramp

Printed Electronics Ecosystem: Bridging Some of the Gaps Research Establish feasibility
Product concept
Materials
Process
Equipment
Product concept
Materials
Process
Equipment
Partner Production Ramp

A couple of our examples

Example: Printed Thermistor
1. PARC and Soligie: Infrastructure partnership Device Fab and Printing Infrastructure partnership Your idea Your success

Current Product: Thinfilm Memory TM
20 bit Non-Volatile Rewritable Memory (NVRAM)
Printed
One pad connects to one ’bit’
20 bits represent a table with over 1M entries
Available now
2. Thinfilm and PARC: Technology partnership

Thinfilm memory technology
Plus printed electronics and organic transistors technology
Printed transistors enable:
Fully-printed 128-bit compact memory
Thinfilm Working with PARC on Next Gen 128 bits Printed memory Printed TFTs Printed Rewritable Addressable Memory

Technology Partnership 128 bits Printed memory Market Printed Rewritable Addressable Memory Technology Partnership Printed TFTs

Summary
The Printed Electronics industry has a huge future
But we need to accelerate the uptake
Taking Printed Electronics to the next level is challenging
Applications need volume
Volume needs applications
Does the industry wait for a few companies with enough money
and demand to drive the development of a particular device,
AND the industry itself?
Partnerships are going to be *key*
The ecosystem is starting to shake out

Thank You

Starting to build an ecosystem: Printed Electronics

by PARC, a Xerox company on Apr 11, 2011

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