The Market for Organic and Printed Electronics

It is becoming urgent to replace certain inorganic materials

There is now one deep concern that impacts both organic and inorganic thin film and printed electronics and it is the increasingly widespread use of indium tin oxide. Over the last few years, the price of indium leapt from around $60 per kilogram to around $1000 per kilogram and, although there was some respite in 2006, shortages and severe price hikes are in prospect in the future. For transparent electrodes in OLEDs, ac electroluminescent displays and many other applications we need printable alternatives. These transparent conductive inks must be suitable for low cost flexible substrates sold in huge quantities. Improvements to PEDOT have something to offer, a European Community research program is improving printable antimony tin oxide for low temperature curing and Unidym offers a new transparent carbon. However, none are, as yet widely adopted because of perceived shortcomings.