Towards thin and flexible logic 32-bit natively flexible ARM processor Electrohydrodynamic printing (EHD): breaking the limits of inkjet Silver nanoparticle inks: low-T curing, IME-compatibility, and transparent heating applications Print-on-Paper: Towards R2R printing of multi-chip multi-layer circuits Printed hybrid Arduino-type circuits In this article series, we will highlight various innovation trends in the diverse area of printed, hybrid, in-mold, and 3D electronics. Our goal is to demonstrate progress and state-of-the-art on various fronts ranging from R2R on-paper printing to thin ICs to conductive inks to stretchable substrates to in-mold electronics and beyond. This article showcases works from S&S, Enjet, CPI, Parsons, ARM, American Semiconductor, Agfa, Nanogate, and CEA-LETI. In the subsequent articles, we will cover developments at Signify, Jabil, Jones Healthcare Packaging, Swarovski, Wuerth, Ntrium, Sunew, XTPL, Identiv, Brilliant Matters, Philips 66, Alpha Assembly, GE Research, ACI, Panasonic, Safi-Tech, DuPont Teijin, VSParticle, Meta, NovaCentrix, Applied Materials, HP, Nano Ops, Brewer Science, e2ip, PolyIC, Kundisch, FIAT, Geely, and many others. You can learn the details of all these innovations by becoming a TechBlick member. Indeed, by becoming a TechBlick Annual Pass, holder you will benefit from all-year-around learning, training, and networking on emerging technologies. You will have access, for 12 months, to participate in all our LIVE in-person virtual events, catch up with content using our library of on-demand content, and learn from industry experts using our portfolio of masterclasses. Please take advantage to explore our masterclasses and library of on-demand content. Upcoming events 13-15 October: (1) Electronic Textiles & Skin Patches: Hardware & Software (2) Wearables Sensors & Continuous Vital Signs Monitoring (3) Printed & Flexible Sensors & Actuators 1 - 2 December (1) Battery Materials: Next-Gen & Beyond Lithium Ion (2) Photovoltaics: Perovskite, Organic, Hybrid, & Other Next Generation Technologies (3) Solid-State Batteries: Innovations, Promising Start-ups, Future Roadmap Q1 2022: Frontier Material Innovations: AI in Materials, 3D Printing Materials, and 5G/6G Materials The agenda for our 13-15 Oct co-located events will be announced next week. Speakers will include Roche, Medtronics, Ypsomed, Siemens, Microsoft, Jabil, MAS Holding, Williot, Ravensburger, innoME, Trelleborg, Neurosof Bioelectronics, Nutroimcs, Henkel, DuPont, Neteera, Feetme, Binah, Sonde Health, ZSK, Eastprint, VieLight, Atcor, Quad Industries, and many more. Towards Thin & Flexible Logic Back to contents An interesting trend is the development of flexible and ultrathin silicon chips. One approach is developed by CEA-LETI focusing on thin silicon dies embedded in flex. The process flow is shown below. Here, the silicon wafer is prepared, and a sacrificial layer formed. The flexible layer is coated, the metal lines and bumping pads are prepared, the dies are flip chipped face-down and collectively thinned down. Finally, the top flex layer is added before defining and releasing the thin silicon layer embedded in a flex substrate. The image below also shows a cross-sectional image, giving a sense of the materials and the dimensions involved. The flexible material is a siloxane material (SINR) enabling photolithography, low-T curing at 80C, and deposition by vacuum lamination. A key advantage of this process is that potentially any chip, with any number of pins and even with very small pitches, can be supported. This is because the wafer-level-manufactured metallization lines essentially act as a re-distribution layer, fanning out the die pins into large areas accessible to resolutions achieved by printed electronics. We also highlight some application examples in the image below. Here, one can see an RFID tag with a printed antenna and the RFID chip embedded in flex. This was demonstrated both on a PEN and a polyurethane substrate. This image panel was constructed from a LIVE talk given at TechBlick (May 2021) by CEA-LETI. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. Another interesting approach is taken by American Semiconductor. Here, the CMOS wafer from any IDM or foundry can be thinned and packaged in a PI layer, as shown below. In simplistic terms, the top layer is covered by PI and bump or RDL (re-distribution layer), a temporary carrier is added before the underlying bulk silicon is removed (leaving around 10µm of Si for active circuits), and the backside polymer is added. Finally, the temporary carrier is removed, and the thin SoP silicon chip is mounted on a tape for further processing. The inset shows the thinness of such packaged dies compared even with classic bare dies. This image panel was constructed from a LIVE talk given at TechBlick (May 2021) by American Semiconductor. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. One limitation for this thinned die approach is the resolution incompatibility of silicon chips, i.e., their pad size and pitch, with that of printing techniques. Indeed, using the process above, most CMOS wafers can be processed and packaged, but they could not always be connected to the next level, i.e., the PCB or equivalent. To overcome this challenge, a type of fan-out RDL may be required. An approach is shown below. First, a circuit on a flexible PCB is created using printed conductors and dielectrics. Conductive materials such as ACA or ACF are added and the bumped SoP IC is face-down flip chipped into place. The top cover layer is then laminated or coated. The impact of this approach is also shown below. One starts with a 3.8x3.8 mm SoP Bluetooth IC (AS-NRF51 in this case). Next, the flexible substrate is the created. In this case, it is designed to support 100µm pitch. Finally, the SoP is flip chipped face-down and inserted into the flexible fan-out RDL, creating the final product. This is an elegant approach that enables one to bring the power of silicon ICs into flexible hybrid electronics. However, it is not without its limitations today. In general, the pad pitch in FPCBs, even with expensive Cu on PI, is limited to 25 µm /25µm, whereas many CMOS chips have pad pitches or other space features below this size. As such, there is a limited choice of compatible ICs unless either ultrahigh printing techniques improve the pad pitch resolution and/or the silicon industry offers a wide selection of compatible processes. The latter will progress slowly as this is still a small market. This image panel was constructed from a LIVE talk given at TechBlick (May 2021) by American Semiconductor. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. 32-bit Natively Flexible ARM Processor Back to contents Finally, on this theme, we would like to cover the latest results reported by Arm and PramatIC in Nature (June 2021) on their natively flexible microprocessors. This is an important progress as it reports a 32-bit ARM microprocess made on the natively flexible IGZO TFTs made on a 0.8µm node. In total, there are 39,157 TFTs and 17,183 resistors in this 59.2mm2 die. This is exciting because, unlike the other approaches reported above, it is a natively flexible IC based on TFT and not silicon wafer technology. It is claimed with good reason that the manufacturing of the IGZO TFTs, based on traditional lithography based TFT production methods, is very cost effectively compared to silicon wafer production, allowing one to bring powerful processing capability to everyday objects on the trillions scale. It is argued that the other approaches cannot have the same cost structure as they are based on standard silicon wafer technology plus additional processing/converting costs. This image panel was constructed from the Nature paper published on 22 July 2021 by Arm. Note that Arm also presented LIVE at TechBlick (May 2021). Sign up to watch this content on-demand. To learn more join our LIVE(online) event with an Annual Pass. ElectroHydroDynamic Printing (EHD): Breaking the Limits of Inkjet Back to contents EHD is an important development in ultra-precision digital printing of functional material as it can break the resolution limits of conventional inkjet print heads. We will not go into the details of the operational mechanism. Instead, we simply highlight the capabilities as well as the potential applications of this technique. The image panel below, assembled from an Enjet presentation in May 2021 at TechBlick, demonstrates the range of capabilities. First note how the technique can control the drop size from small to large. Indeed, it can print features from 1 to 100 micron meters. Next, note how it can be used to print various L/S (linewidth/spacing) ratios, covering 2/2, 25/25, and 80/80 µm. Finally, notice how it can print over non-flat and 3D topographies with good step coverage. In short, it can offer digitally controlled deposition of ultrafine features over flat as well as non-flat surfaces. This image panel was constructed from a LIVE talk given at TechBlick (May 2021) by CEA-LETI. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. The next question might be what could be the applications for EHD printing. The image panel below, assembled mainly from the works of Enjet, shows various possibility. In the top right (image a), the TFT repair application is shown. Here a <2µm bridge pattern with good adhesion to TFT surface and low contact resistance can be printed, enabling the repair of defects on TFT panels to boost production yield. This is an excellent technique playing on the strengths of EHD. Another application could be in micro pad printing for microLEDs (image b). In general, microLEDs will shrink in size as the industry learns to manufacture ever smaller micro-LEDs without scarifying efficiency and as the industry learns to transfer with good yield and economics ever higher numbers of LEDs. In my view, this trend will take time but has an air of inevitability to it. When microLEDs become small, the use of ultraprecise EHD printing for pad deposition over large areas might make sense, especially if one can demonstrate scaled-up and consistent industrial multi-head printing with EHDs. Scrona, from Zurich, is developing such EHD print heads. Another application could be in QD printing, especially on small-sized micro-LEDs or in high-PPI small-pixel displays. An example is shown below. Here, the pixel size is 20x100µm. Other opportunities include conformal EMI shielding with selective mask-free coverage and creation of precise 3D electrodes wrapping around the edge of the display mother glass. This image panel was constructed from a LIVE talk given at TechBlick (May 2021) by Enjet. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. Silver Nanoparticle Inks: low-T Curing, IME-Compatibility & Transparent Heating Applications Back to contents Agfa has been developing a scalable process for mass production of silver nanoparticle inks for some years now. It has a wide portfolio covering screen and inkjet printing inks. Last year it expanded its portfolio by acquiring Clariant’s Ag NP ink technology, allowing it to offer water-based as well as solvent-based inks. Despite being around for a long time, silver nanoparticle inks still continue to show significant improvements. The chart below shows an incremental, but important, evolution. Here, we can see how the resistance of Ag inks have improved for a given curing temperature. The effect is most dramatic for 110C curing but is still substantial for 130C and even 150C. This is good progress as it widens compatibility with low-T substrates and applications. Another interest point in the image below is that Ag nanoparticle inks can also be compatible with in-mold electronics (IME), provided only mild radiuses of curvature are involved. This is interesting as most IME examples utilize screen printed functional sheets. This, however, shows that digital functional printing could also be combined with IME techniques. If there is demand, one can expect that future technical developments will ensure also compatibility with smaller radiuses of curvature too. This image panel was constructed from a LIVE talk given at TechBlick (May 2021) by Agfa and Nanogate. The right image shows the thermoformed inkjet printed silver nanoparticle inks. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. An interesting application is in transparent heating of photochromic motocycle visors. One challenge is that in certain cases the rate of change of colour for the photochromic visor needs to be accelerated by the use of heat. A conventional solution might have been to use CNTs or ITOs as the heating element. In this case, experiments showed that heating was too slow due to high sheet resistance and the heating was non-uniform (see below top right). In these cases, up to 40 seconds might be required to affect the required colour change. However, with inkjet printed Ag NP metal mesh the colour changes was accelerated and uniform under similar conditions (10 seconds was enough). As shown below, the heater consists of a inkjet printed metal mesh with 2mm pitch and 70µm linewidth. This was co-developed with Nanogate. This is an excellent solution and perhaps the only shortcoming is the high reflection of Ag inks which could be dampened with further processing, controlled oxidisation, or other techniques. This image panel was constructed from a LIVE talk given at TechBlick (May 2021) by Agfa and Nanogate. The top right image shows a sample photochromic motorcycle visor. The top left images show the heating uniformity with IJP Ag NP metal mesh. The bottom right shows the test properties and the characteristics of the IJP Ag NP metal mesh. Finally, the bottom left shows the poor heating uniformity and the slow heating time for the case with other transparent conducting layer solutions. Become an Annual Pass holders to catch up with all on-demand content, participate in masterclasses, and join our in-person virtual events for 12 months. To learn more join our LIVE(online) event with an Annual Pass. Print-on-Paper: Towards R2R Printing of Multi-Chip Multi-Layer Circuits Back to contents The common choice is PI for conventional FPCBs, and it is PET for the emerging flexible hybrid electronics. These choices are however both based on plastics. To eliminate plastic, one can switch to paper. This, however, requires extensive development across the printing technique, material selection, and process know-how. It is not easy. S&S in Taiwan however has been working on the development of a R2R print-on-paper electronics since 2015, accumulating deep expertise. It has used more than 20 tons of paper from different suppliers and tested more than 100Kg of inks based on different filler materials and for printing techniques. Furthermore, it has also utilized 1M RFID components. The schematic below shows roughly their configurable set-up (image of pick and place and chip assembling is excluded). S&S uses flexographic and screen printing for higher volumes (e.g., 10M RFID antennas) and inkjet for prototyping and small-scale production (<100k RFID antennas). The curing for mass production is NIR + Photonics, enabling them to achieve some 20 m/min curing speed. The images above are from a presentation given by S&S at TechBlick in May 2021. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. In the simplest case, S&S has begun to R2R manufacture NFC on paper. These NFCs were at least 2x the price of their conventionally manufactured on-plastic counterparts two years ago. Now, S&S indicates, price parity is reached, which can help render more markets accessible. Importantly, this is also the beginning of the technical development. The NFC antennas have one small chip and a single metallization layer. As shown below, the future will be developing towards more chips, more layers, and more complicated circuit designs. The examples below show the integration of a 2-chip (NFC and LED chips) tag, the development of an 11-component piece (2 active layers and 10 passive components), and the demonstration of a 6-layer tag R2R printed on paper. This is a very promising trend overall. The manufacturing facility for flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) is still in its relatively early stages of developments but is advancing. The images above are from a presentation given by S&S at TechBlick in May 2021. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. S&S is not alone in developing on-paper electronics. CPI, in the UK, together with various partners, has also demonstrated NFC tags R2R printed on paper. The top right picture below (a) shows an example of a R2R printed paper-based smart label. Here, conductive inks and adhesives were R2R printed using a rotary slot die with optical alignment. The assembly of the electronic chips, the converting, and the testing all took place in a R2R fashion too. The images above are from a presentation given by CPI at TechBlick in May 2021. This presentation is available on-demand here. The bottom left image (c) is a prototype of a pressure-sensing helmet. Here, an array of printed pressure sensors (probably piezoresistive materials) is conformally attached to the 3D surface of the helmet. The right picture (b) is an example of R2R flexible hybrid electronics show a moisture and temperature monitoring label used in pharma supply chain. CPI manufactured 5000 samples. Printed Hybrid Arduino-Type Circuits Back to contents The image below is an example of a prototype of an Arduino-type circuit which is fully additively manufactured. The work was presented at TechBlick (May 2021) by Parsons. The substrates were made using SLA 3D printing with a Formlabs high-T resin. The active and passive components were then placed into the designated areas and encapsulated using syringe printing. Finally, the silver metallization lines and the dielectric layers were applied on the face-up dies using aerosol jet printing. There is no complex flip chip or RDL layer here as the die-to-board connections are made by conductive lines which bridge the height difference between the die and the board. Prototype of printed hybrid electronic circuit. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. This seems like a simple prototype, but many technical challenges need to be overcome, especially as the surface is non-flat. In particular, the reliability of the components at interfaces (see below) needs to be tested and guaranteed. A major source of unreliability at these interfaces is the mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the different materials, which leads to stress build-up during thermal cycling. As shown in the table below, there is a wide range of coefficients involved. A particular problem area can be the connection to the face-up dies. Here, aerosol deposits dielectric ramps upon which Ag tracks are aerosol printed. The conductive tracks can break, slip off, or disclose. Similarly, conductive tracks across areas filled with adhesives areas can also be a challenge. In this study, Parsons showcased its strategies to carry out reliability tests. Prototype of printed hybrid electronic circuit. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. Parsons has also worked on printed hybrid electronics to prototype complex re-distribution layers. The aim is to cut down cost and turn-around time of production. One example is shown below (this was not shown at TechBlick). Here, a 5-layer printed RDL is demonstrated. This consists of 11 layers of printed dielectric and conductive layers with 15 separate sintering steps/profiles. The below images also shows the CAD and print patterns in this. When using syringe deposition, a min feature size of 100 µm is the limit. With the uptake of aerosol deposition, this can be reduced to 20 µm. Further techniques such as EHD or microdispensing from XTPL could, in my view, further print down the resolution limit to around 1-5 µm, enabling one to prototype, and perform small production runs of, complex RDL with small feature sizes. Become a TechBlick Annual Pass holder to benefit from all-year-around learning, training, and networking on emerging technologies. You will have access, for 12 months, to participate in all our LIVE in-person virtual events, catch up with content using our library of on-demand content, and learn from industry experts using our portfolio of masterclasses. Become an Annual Pass holder to watch this content on-demand. Visit These Exhibitor Booths During the LIVE Events: Back to contents How does speed networking work online? A detailed overview of the platform including LIVE exhibitions How Does a Virtual Booth Work? How Does Real-Time Networking Work?

In this second part of this article series, TechBlick highlights promising innovation and market trends in Printed, Hybrid, and InMold Electronics. The topics discussed in this article include (1) flexible hybrid electronics, (2) precision additive and R2R printing, (3) printed and R2R photovoltaics, and (4) hybrid CMOS SWIR sensors. All trends highlighted in this article will be discussed by the key players in the field in TechBlick's upcoming interactive LIVE but online conferences and exhibitions taking place on 10-11 March 2021 and and 11-12 May 2021 With a single Annual Pass you can access all future LIVE (online) conferences and exhibition, masterclasses, library of on-demand content, and community networking opportunities. Upcoming events include: 10 & 11 March: Printed, Flexible, Hybrid, and InMold Electronics (I) 14 & 15 April: Graphene, 2D Materials, and Carbon Nanotubes 11 & 12 May: Printed, Flexible, Hybrid, and InMold Electronics (II) 11 & 12 May: Quantum Dots: Material Innovation and Emerging Applications 15 & 16 June: Innovations and Trends in Displays and Lighting: OLEDs, Flexible, Printed, microLED, and beyond 14 & 15 July: Skin Patches, Wearables, E-Textiles, and Stretchable Electronic Register before 26 February 2021 using the following discount code to receive a 10% discount 10%DiscountAA Meet Our Speakers and Exhibitors LIVE and many more Flexible hybrid electronics (FHE): the most important trend in printed electronics? Despite all the progress, printed logic never delivered the required mobility, stability, and size performance, limiting what printed electronics could offer. However, now utlrathin and flexible dies/ICs are being formed, enabling flexible hybrid electronics. This is one of the most exciting trends in printed and flexible electronics. Some examples of ultrathin and flexible ICs are shown below. A roadmap showing the rise in capability is also shown. Note that these devices are not based on printing. Despite this, they are enabling technologies for printed electronics applications. There are now multiple approaches to developing ultrathin dies and/or ICs. One approach is to thin down silicon dies as much as possible, thus rending them flexible. Here, the technology capabilities will be like silicon. Indeed, already Bluetooth-level flexible and ultrathin ICs have been demonstrated. This is an important milestone. Another approach is to develop flexible ICs based on natively thin technologies using flexible electronic fabrication techniques, thus paving the way towards natively-flexible LSI and VLSI ICs. The ultimate goal here is to make everyday objects smarter however technology capability is still decades behind silicon. With one Annual Pass, you can access all our interactive LIVE but online conferences and exhibitions and hear from all the key players advancing this technology: American Semiconductor, ARM, CEA, and Lux Semiconductor. Source: www.TechBlick.com Low-temperature interconnect (die or IC attach) is also a crucial part of the emerging FHE (flexible hybrid electronics) picture. In fact, lack of suitable solutions has constrained flexible PCBs (FPCBs) to PI substrate, unnecessarily keeping the costs high. To remedy this, multiple approaches are emerging to enable low-T PET-compatible die or IC attach technologies. NovaCentrix has developed solder photo-sintering, enabling users to cut down both the processing time as well as temperature, making the approach compatible with R2R processing and with PET substrates. Here, pulses of high intensity light replace a reflow oven, bringing the solder to its liquidus temperature in milliseconds without damaging the underlying substrate. Saf-Tech is developing ultra-low temperature solder. They are from the Iowa State University which developed the famous and now commonplace SAC solder. Indeed, SAFI-Tech’s approach proposes to enable soldering SAC305 at temperatures as low as ambient, thus opening the door to PET- or paper-compatible flexible hybrid electronics. Alpha Assembly is also developing ultra-low temperature solder, extending their compatibility to heat-stabilized PET and beyond. Note that solder has a self-alignment capability which is important in R2R FHE because it eases the precision requirements of the pick-and-place operation and will enable the adoption of increasingly complex ICs with many closely-packed I/O pins. Conductive adhesives are of course low temperature. They are used in RFID, perhaps the first successful simple FHE application. However, the do not support large ICs with high I/O pin numbers. CondAlign is developing a novel anisotropic conductive adhesive film. Here, the embedded particles are electrically aligned. These films are now made R2R at scale with thicknesses from a few µm to some hundreds µm and resistance below 0,01 Ohm/cm^2. Interestingly, they can support 10um pitches. With one Annual Pass, you can access all our interactive LIVE but online conferences and exhibitions and hear the latest first-hand in LIVE (online) presentation from all players mentioned above. Source: www.TechBlick.com Of course, all this would not make sense without applications and ultimately without R2R processing. The former is key otherwise FHE will remain a solution looking for a problem. The latter is needed to help the technology realize its potential cost per unit benefits. In our interactive LIVE but online conference and exhibition series, we have hand-picked interesting companies working on applications and R2R processing. GE Research will present on their approach in going from the lap to real-world applications. Jabil will present on bringing flexible hybrid electronics to the market. Both firms have a strong pedigree in commercialising printed electronics. Smooth & Sharp will present on its R2R printed RFID tags for Covid printing. IDENTIV will present on its NFC and UHF sensors made using flexible hybrid electronics. CPI (Centre for Process Innovation) will outline its advanced in utilising R2R processing to manufacture flexible hybrid electronics. With one Annual Pass, you can access all our interactive LIVE but online conferences and exhibitions and hear the latest first-hand in LIVE (online) presentation from all players mentioned above. Source: www.TechBlick.com Precision Printing The trend towards high-resolution printing of electronics is one of the most important in the field. All printing technologies have demonstrated resolution leaps in the past decade. Even screen printing has now reached in some cases 10um linewidths. In our interactive LIVE but online conference and exhibition series, we highlight some of the most interesting companies and advancement in the field XTPL will present their ultra-precise deposition technology which can print features as small as 1µm features on 3D-shaped surfaces. The company offers its own printer as well as high-density silver nanoparticle inks. The applications can be numerous including re-distribution layer prototyping/printing, late-stage repair of microLED and other displays, security feature printing, quantum dot printing, and beyond. In time, this can become a platform technology. Enjet will also present on its ultra-fine electrohydrodynamic printing process. This is a near field jet printing technology using electrostatic field. This can also achieve small features on non-flat surfaces. A unique and innovative approach is developed by NanoOps, a Northwestern University spin-out. They can do sub-micron (down to 20nm) transfer printing. Here, the circuit is first etched onto a template. This template is then inserted into a chemical batch in which the nanoparticle materials are attracted to the circuit patterns under electrostatic force. This template is then pressed against the target substrate, e.g., flexible, to transfer the pattern. This enables wafer-based multi-layer multi-material printing with sub-micron resolution. The process is now offered as a modular automated Gen2 production line. Source: www.TechBlick.com The approaches outlined above are not R2R. However, R2R printing is also making resolution advancements. Kodak will present on its high-throughput and high-resolution flexoprinting with sub-10µm resolution and print speeds of 10 m/min. This could be used in R2R photovoltaics, active circuits, security features, transparent antennas and RFID tags, and beyond. Asahi Kasei has also develop a R2R process able to achieve sub-micro resolution using its so-called seamless roller mold technology which is patterned using electron beam lithography. The company is developing its own Cu inks too. They can have many applications including transparent heaters, display interconnect metallization, and transparent RFID and tags. Indeed, Asahi Kasei is evolving its business to become a full tag and trace solution process using its transparent RFID technology. With one Annual Pass, you can access all our interactive LIVE but online conferences and exhibitions and hear the latest first-hand in LIVE (online) presentation from all players mentioned above. Printed Photovoltaics Printed photovoltaics has a long history of ups and downs. However, finally, it looks as though the technology is maturing. In particular, OPVs have exercised the patience of the developers since the heady days of Konarka. Now though, there is positive news, which is why we are highlighting it in our programme. One positive trend is that EQE of OPVs has once again begun to climb up, breaking through the long period of stagnation. As shown below, the shift to non-fullerene acceptors has helped and supported this trend. Source: www.TechBlick.com In parallel, the processing technology has matured, and some have scaled up to faster and wider format R2R processing. The materials are also now more stable, relaxing the barrier requirements, and also easing the fabrication processes. Critically, the application space has also come a long way. Not everyone is now boxing OPVs into the same category as Si PVs. Indeed, many are realising and exploiting OPV’s unique features such as good indoor EQE, flexibility, ability to customize patterns, etc. In our conference, we are highlighting all the key trends. Armor will present on new OPV applications and Sunew will present on OPV production scale-up and industrial challenges. Brilliant Matters, with its ever expanding portfolio of semiconductors and interlayers for OPVs, will present on its latest generation of photovoltaic materials. Raynergy Tek will highlight its best-in-class OPV materials and Philips 66 will discuss its photoactive polymers tailored to industrial printing of OPVs. Of course, printing or R2R processing of PVs is not limited to organic PVs, as shown below. There is also good progress in other areas. High-speed R2R printing is being applied to perovskites in the US whilst inkjet printing is used in the first commercial printed perovskite PVs. The latter is developed by Saule Technologies who will also present in our interactive online but LIVE conference and exhibition series. With one Annual Pass, you can access all our interactive LIVE but online conferences and exhibitions and hear the latest first-hand in LIVE (online) presentation from all players mentioned above. Source: www.TechBlick.com Hybrid CMOS photodetectors for NIR and SWIR sensing As show below, printed electronics can play a part in fully printed and hybrid photodetector manufacture. One interesting trend is in hybrid CMOS SWIR sensors. CMOS can not see SWIR. At best, using innovations such as deep isolation trenches, it is now achieving around 40-50% efficiency at NIR. However, there are countless application in the SWIR range in industrial inspection, textile sorting, ADAS and autonomous driving and beyond. Currently, InGaAs is the technology of choice. It is expensive for SWIR and super expensive for extended SWIR. It also has a low resolution given that the pixel size was traditionally limited by the need to hybridize the InGaAs and Si read-out dies using solder bumps (note: the Cu-Cu bonding tech by Sony will change this) QD and organic materials can be solution cast or evaporated atop CMOS ROICs to enable hybrid sensors able to sense NIR, SWIR and even MWIR. The absorption characteristics is adjustable by fine tuning the diameter of the QD. There has been much progress here. In our conference series, we have handpicked the best works. SWIR Vision System is the first to market, commercialising a QD-CMOS product; Emberion, a Nokia spin-out, is about to launch its product after years of development; IMEC is the leading research organization on the field setting a pixel size record of 0.13um and working on industrialising the process; and Fraunhofer FEP has completed the best-in-class work on organic-CMOS NIR and SWIR photodetectors. With one Annual Pass, you can access all our interactive LIVE but online conferences and exhibitions and hear the latest first-hand in LIVE (online) presentation from all players mentioned above. Source: www.TechBlick.com Register before 26 February 2021 using the following discount code to receive a 10% discount 10%DiscountAA Register Today to Connect, Learn & Engage With The Emerging Technology Community For a Whole Year.

Silicon is generally, without modification in the chip such as deep trench isolation, not that sensitive to NIR. This means that in some cases alternative materials such as InGaAs or Ge are deployed. Organic semiconductors have now shown excellent results with 65% EQE at NIR. Silicon- even with modification- struggles to reach this level of performance. Silicon is generally not very sensitive to NIR. As such many approaches are being developed to make it sensitive to NIR. One such approach is to develop hybrid sensors consisting of organic or quantum dots atop a specially designed Si CMOS ROIC (read-out-circuit). In such approaches the EQE is generally not high- it hovers around the 20% mark. In the case of this development, demonstrated by Raynergy Tek, an advanced materials firm in Taiwan focusing mainly on organic photodetectors and organic photovoltaics, the EQE has reached 65% at 940nm. The device structure is shown below. Of course, to the best my knowledge, these appear to be hero cells made on a glass substrate. They are still a far cry from a true solution processed organic on CMOS hybrid imager with a resolution of VGA and above. To get there, many developments will still be needed including the development of a special ROIC, the development of a process to cast (or otherwise deposit) the entire OPD stack onto of the CMOS ROIC, patternig it without loss of EQE, ensuring stability, etc Nonetheless, this is a fantastic demonstrator, showing the potential. In subsequent posts I will discuss other approaches towards NIR and even SWIR sensing, starting with full silicon approaches then going towards hybrid QD- or Organic-CMOS approaches. If we get the chance, we will also highlight some innovations in InGaAs-on-Silicon technology which is overcoming the traditional limitaitons of this approach, e.g., large pixel size above 10um. Of course, we should emphasis here that these organic NIR OPDs need not be neccessarily used in a hybrid CMOS structure. They could be standlone NIR sensors or even large area ones. However, results on flexible substrate or in large-area sensor formats, including active matrix ones, are yet to be annonuced. #NIR #SWIR #OPD #InGaAs

In the organic electronic world, it is often argued that silicon can not do NIR. But is it true. In this brief article, I touch upon the latest results in NIR sensing in silicom CMOS imagers and explain the basic ideas behind it. The chart above- from OmniVision- shows the latest sensitivity of silicon to NIR. It shows an EQE 50% @ 940nm with 2.9um pixel! OmniVision was a pioneer here. Several years ago it annonuced its first vesion of the the so-called Nyxel pixel, which is the brandname for their NIR-sensitive Si pixel. The basic idea is build up DTI or Deep Trench Isolation, which is an important innovation in the CMOS imaging industry. It is DTI - and improvements therein- which have really enabled and sustained much of the pixel scaling in the CMOS imaging industry in recent years. A problem with pixel scaling was that cross-talk, meaning that as pixels shrunk in size there would be optical and electric cross talk between them. with DTI, the pixels are propely isolated from each other, minimising cross-talk, and enabling pixels to be shrunk. DTI is very advanced today. You can see the latest examples below. Just consider the aspect ratio! In general, with DTI and pixel scaling, the active area of the CIS (CMOS Image Sensor) is becoming thicker- the innovation here between the different gens of the Nyxel appears to be the same: a deeper pixel which gives more chance of light absorption . As for NIR sensing in Silicon, the basic idea is to lenghten the propogation path of light in silicon. Since silicon has a low absorption in NIR, the only way to increase total absorption is to increase the total apparent thickness. With DTI, the light is trapped within the pixel, bouncing off the walls multiple times, so as to increase its absoption chance. Furthermore, in this approach, the top of the pixel is somewhat roughened, causing light scattering as the light enters the pixel, further increasing the propogation path. The image below shows the first version of Nyxel, demonstrating how the NIR sensitivity has already improved. Note that this technology is not just limited to Nyxel, and all other players like OnSemi also have similiar offerings. One notable application area for NIR is in automotive sensing. This is especially useful for LIDAR sensors because many LIDARs operates at 904nm or longer wavelenghts. Note that this still does not give a technological path to SWIR. For this, InGaAs, Ge, or other hybrid (QD or ORganic CMOS) approaches will be needed #SWIR #NIR #Nyxel #OmniVision #OnSemi

This is community-centric platform. You can find and message all the other attendees. If you were attending a physical event, this would be the equivalent of being able to network with all the attendees! You can also share content on the Social Well, giving information about your latest innovations and/or commercial achievements, or asking the community for help or comments. You can also engage with other posts. Each attendee therefore has a voice in the community. You can browse the Schedule to participate in any LIVE presentation. In the Q&A session, you can post your questions or engage with other members of the community participating in the same talk. You can jump into any track and also effortlessly move between tracks. So no more running between rooms to catch parallel talks. If you miss a talk, don’t worry as you can watch it later on-demand in the same platform. Meet the exibitors LIVE via video calls You can meet the exhibitors LIVE and via video. Simply browse to their exhibitor page and click on the video link. If the exhibitor accepts your call, you will enter a 30-min video conversation. It is as simple as that so don’t be shy. Think of it as stopping by or stumbling across a booth to learn more, to satisfy your curiosity, or just to say hello to an old friend or partner. The conversations are totally private.

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Speaker: Ken McGuire | Company: Procter & Gamble | Date: 11-12 May 2021 | Full Presentation Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda

Designs and Manufacturing Speaker: Christoph Voelcker | Company: Wuerth | Date: 11-12 May 2021 | Full Presentation The electronics industry has the potential to be an attractive market for the additive industry and wants to be conquered. To put it somewhat provocatively, this is currently happening more on the part of the AM than on the part of the electronics industry - although there are many large overlaps here. Small components, sustainability, free geometries, specific customer solutions, sensors and antennas, Industry 4.0...just to name a few. But how easy is the fusion of the two industries really? What hurdles have to be overcome, what challenges are ahead and what opportunities are opening up? The presentation will give an insight into the methods and projects from practice at Würth Elektronik eiSos and is intended to create incentives to go new ways. Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda

Speaker: Behzad Shirmardi | Company: BrightComSol GmbH | Date: 12 May 2021 | Full Presentation Perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) can improve applications from displays to scintillators because of their superior light-emitting properties compared to classical quantum dots. Standing in the way of these applications is the difficulty to process PQDs into devices, especially into the polymer thin films used in displays and scintillators, without losing their unique properties. BrightComSol presents BrightLeaf™, a flexible perovskite-based scintillator based on a new resin, BrightSplash™. Our resin allows for the efficient processing of PQD flexible films at low and high loading. We share recent highlights of using BrightLeaf™ for high-resolution X-ray imaging. Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda

Speaker: Rob van Asselt | Company: Signify | Date: 11-12 May 2021 | Full Presentation Hybrid additive manufacturing is a flexible production method to realize integration of electronics in 3D printed products. In this presentation the development and integration of the key technologies will be highlighted: additive manufacturing, printing 3D electrical structures, assembly and interconnect. This was realized in the Hyb-Man project, with 11 partners from Germany and the Netherlands, who together cover the complete value chain of materials, processes, manufacturing equipment and products. The hybrid manufacturing technologies developed are used to design, manufacture and evaluate LED lighting prototypes. Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda

Speaker: Samuel Halim | Company: Avantama AG | Date: 12 May 2021 | Full Presentation Bio Sam earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). He was educated in materials engineering in Zurich, Lausanne and Stockholm. He is co-founder and CEO of Switzerland based Avantama AG, the leader in perovskite quantum dots. Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda

Speaker: Liisa Hakola | Company: VTT | Date: 11-12 May 2021 | Full Presentation Liisa Hakola Senior Scientist @ VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Bio Liisa Hakola works at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. at research team of Flexible and printed devices. She received her M.Sc. degree in Graphic Arts from Helsinki University of Technology in 2002. After graduation she has worked at VTT, currently as Senior Scientist and Project Manager. She has research experience in the field of printed functional solutions, specifically related to printed sensors, smart tags and indicators. She is at the moment coordinating Finnish national ecosystem project on sustainable solutions for electronics and optics - ECOtronics. Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda