Printable Electronics Bring New Era in Component Manufacturing

18.9.2009

Printable electronics is making novel applications possible for electronic, optical and optoelectronic components. They include a display and a keyboard that you can fold up and slip into your pocket much like a handkerchief – certainly more convenient than today's laptops! Or a pack of hamburger with a sensor that tells consumers the quality of the meat.

VTT Technical Research Center of Finland is one of the world's leading developers of printable electronics. It started research and development work in this field in the late 1990s and has been steadily increasing its input. Today, its Printable Electronics and Optics knowledge center in Oulu has more than 40 employees and coordinates several European projects that include major industrial companies.

Countless uses

Printable electronics has countless applications. According to Markku Känsäkoski, Customer Manager at VTT, the technology will not replace computers or mobile phones for long time but in short term it will revolutionize user interfaces such as displays and keyboards. "Bio sensors are another application; they´re used by doctors to quickly diagnose the status of a patient or by the food industry to provide information on the microbiological quality of products. Smart packaging is also an important application. It can tell consumers, say, the condition of milk in a carton," Känsäkoski says.

Business for designers and manufacturers

The Printable Electronics and Optics knowledge center at VTT Oulu uses various printing techniques such as gravure, flexo, screen and inkjet to develop electronics components. In addition to its expertise, the knowledge center has unique machinery that it can offer to companies for product development. The goal is industrial production of electronic, optical and optoelectronic components that are printed on paper and plastic with the ‘reel-to-reel´ process. "This opens up a host of business opportunities, not only for device manufacturers but also for design companies and software providers. It is an entirely new industry which requires its own manufacturing processes and systems," says Känsäkoski.

A challenging technology

Printable electronics involves multiple technologies and requires long-term work and expertise in microelectronics, measurement, physics, and chemistry. It is not just about developing a product but also the manufacturing processes and materials. Oulu's unique concentration of know-how has attracted experts from around the world and also committed the University of Oulu to close cooperation. Professor Ghassan Jabbour from Arizona State University, who is also a professor in the Finland Distinguished Professor Programme, is developing training and know-how in printable electronics at the University's Faculty of Technology.