White paper
Organic Electronics
Sagentia's Kevin Tilley and Chris Richardson explore organic electronics (OE) - which can potentially provide radical solutions for three of the over-arching societal themes of our times. As such, OE should be treated as an area for strategic assessment by major corporations and SMEs alike.
Academic research into conducting polymers has blossomed since their initial discovery in the 1970s, and led to a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 (A.J. Heeger, A.G. MacDiarmid and H. Shirakawa) awarded for the discovery and development of conducting polymers.
Initially only of theoretical interest, this technology is now capable of offering a wide range of electronic performance previously limited to inorganic materials. These technologies are particularly interesting because they are not only disruptive in the functionalities they convey to products, but also in the breadth of their potential markets. These markets range from displays to re-usable imaging plates, and from rollable photovoltaic membranes to low cost electronic logic. The resulting products are no longer merely concept boards designed to stimulate funding for start-ups, but are the first wave of real commercial products.