Printed Electronics vs. Silicon—Getting the Priorities Right

Several companies are launching thin film and printed photovoltaics this year based on different technologies and benefits. There will be room for most of them because the potential markets are so diverse. However, we feel that there is little or no effort on creating printed batteries intermediate in performance between cheap and primitive carbon zinc and expensive lithium chemistries with their environmental challenges. The market badly needs something. There are also far too few companies developing the large capacity printed memory that the marketplace will demand. There is also too little effort on co-depositing and co-laminating a wide variety of other components with thin film transistor circuits. Success here may increase market potential by five or ten times.