Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 30
defining printed electronics
Rita Mohanty, Ph.D.
Speedline Technologies, Inc Wikipedia describes Printed Electronics (PE) as “a set of printing methods used to create electrical devices on various substrates.” Simply put, printed electronics refers to the technique of depositing liquidbase functional materials on any substrate to create electronic devices through some kind of a printing process. One of the prerequisites of printed electronics is that the functional material must be process able from the liquid phase. This type of process is known as an additive process. In contrast, conventional electronics are created through subtractive processes such as photolithography. There is also another significant difference between the traditional electronics and printed electronics and that is the type of substrates used for each type of devices. Traditional electronics are usually fabricated from rigid substrates such as silicon and various inorganic materials. However, printed electronics can be fabricated on inexpensive substrates such as paper or polymer films. Hence, PE is often referred to as plastic, organic, or flexible electronics. Printed electronics can use any solution-based material, including organic and inorganic semiconductors, metallic conductors, Nan particles, and nanotubes, to create both active and passive devices. These electronics in turn can be used for applications such as flexible displays, smart labels, decorative and animated signage, active clothing, and even edible electronics. RFID tags (Figure 1) are a prime example of modern, commercially available, printed-electronic components. All traditional printing methods (screen printing, flexography, offset lithography, gravure, and inkjet printing) to all emerging new printing methods (micro gravure, nanoimprint and microcontact printing) are being used to produce printed electronics. Some of the most commonly used printing techniques to produce printed electronics will be described here. In addition, brief descriptions of the new, immerging printing technologies will also be given. Background With the recent hype about printed electronics, one would believe PE must be a new, emerging technology. Even though that is true to some extent, printed electronics has been with us for over 30 years. In a recent article in iSP, Joseph Fjelstad describes the history of printed electronics in detail with various references. One of the references, Ken Gilleo, takes us back to the 1900s when Thomas Edison described a method for producing conductive traces on paper. One could argue that Edison paved the way for us to develop the modern
30 | IndustrIal + specIalty prIntIng www.industrial-printing.net
prIntIng electronIcs
Figure 1 RFID systems can be mass-produced by roll-to-roll printing onto flexible substrates.
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012
Table of Contents
Editorial Response
Product Focus
Business Management
Printing Electroluminescent Circuits: e Basics
Security Labeling: Combating Counterfeiting, Bolstering Product Safety, and Protecting Brand Reputation
Break rough with Print-Applied Adhesive
Industry News
Printed Electronics
Printing Methods
Industry Insider
Ad Index
Shop Tour
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Intro
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Cover2
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 1
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Table of Contents
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 3
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Editorial Response
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 5
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Product Focus
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 7
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 8
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Insert1
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Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 10
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 11
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Business Management
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 13
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Printing Electroluminescent Circuits: e Basics
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 15
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 16
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 17
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Security Labeling: Combating Counterfeiting, Bolstering Product Safety, and Protecting Brand Reputation
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 19
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 20
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 21
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Break rough with Print-Applied Adhesive
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Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 24
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 25
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Insert3
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Insert4
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Industry News
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Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 29
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Printed Electronics
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Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 32
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Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 34
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Printing Methods
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 36
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - 37
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Industry Insider
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Ad Index
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Shop Tour
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Cover3
Industrial & Specialty Printing - July/August 2012 - Cover4
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