The goal of this workshop on Flexible Electronics is to assess the state-of-the-art in terms of materials, devices, and systems in this area. The objective is to identify what are the new areas of research that hold most promise and what research issues need to be addressed so as to advance these research areas in flexible electronics.
Intellectual Merit: The first commercial products were based on photo-conductive films, a business now with annual sales in the multi-billion dollar range. Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and displays based on light emitting diodes have been introduced to the market and a large expansion in market penetration has been forecast in the next decade. One of the next key areas is going to be solid state lighting based on OLEDs. Similarly, organic and flexible electronics offers significant opportunities related to biomedical devices and systems that can help the total cost of health care. This includes biomedical sensors, actuators, systems in a foil, and systems for patient care and monitoring. Transistors have also been successfully integrated with display elements such as LEDs and electrophoretic cells and used as chemical and biological sensors. Another area of interest is organic solar cells with power conversion efficiencies more than 6% have been reported. As the field has evolved in the past few years, inorganic materials are being increasingly used either singly or together with organic/polymer materials, and it is more appropriate to speak of hybrid electronics. Despite this impressive set of advances, it is clear that more research needs to be done. The chief objective of the workshop is to help define the future of the field. This will be done by having a series of experts give talks on key subjects and also by encouraging debate and discussion amongst all participants in a series of panels. The proceedings of the workshop will be a set of reports and discussion summaries by group leaders.
Broader Impact: The workshop will also have an impact on research and development in the area of flexible electronics. This is an area of research in which the United States is currently outspent by about 3:1 by funding agencies in Europe. the WTEC study (led by the PI) has assessed the state of this field in Europe. In this workshop, opportunities in this area for researchers and industry in the US will be identified. The workshop will also assess the needs for graduate and undergraduate education aspects related to this area. A large number of universities offer courses in the general area of organic semiconductors, and the workshop will help define directions in this area as well as in retraining high technology workers for careers in the organic and hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductor fields. The workshop will also address issues of US competitiveness in the field of flexible hybrid electronics vis- -vis Europe and Asia and how this can be improved.
Technological Challenges for Hybrid Flexible Electronics and Photonics An NSF-sponsored workshop held in Arlington, VA on October 25-26, 2010 Final Report I. What are Hybrid Flexible Electronics/Photonics and Systems? Hybrid, flexible electronics can best be visualized by two examples: (i) large, foldable, displays and (ii) thin, conformable, electronic skin, containing multiple sensors, which can be spread over large, non-planar, areas. There is a significant trend towards designing electronic circuits and systems on flexible substrates such as plastics. This trend is in keeping with the spread of electronic functionality everywhere and the emergence of new materials systems, device architectures, and fabrication processes to create new types of electronic circuits. This has led to projections that this new sector – flexible hybrid electronics – will be an important part of the economy in the next 20 years, with significant growth beginning in a few years. A workshop, sponsored by NSF, was held in Arlington, VA, in October 2010, that brought together about 50 experts in the field from academia and industrial laboratories in the US. The purpose of the workshop was to hold discussions and make recommendations to the NSF about how best to advance the state-of-the-art in this area in the US. II. Main Workshop Recommendations 1. Research Infrastructure Development Flexible and printable electronics require considerably different fabrication infrastructure compared to conventional semiconductor electronics. The NSF Nanofabrication Infrastructure Network (NNIN) has been very successful at establishing and maintaining infrastructure needed for the fabrication of advanced and nanoscale devices and circuits. The NNIN consists of a group of Universities spread throughout the country where special fabrication facilities are established and are available for shared use. Importantly, the facilities can also be used by small and large companies with the payment of a user fee. A similar network of fabrication centers, with the requisite expertise and human resources to help new users, will be immensely beneficial to the fostering and spread of innovation in flexible hybrid electronics. Such clustering will establish many centers of excellence, each with a unique focus. This will benefit both university researchers and small companies. It is recommended that such a network be set up. This will enable the US to compete effectively with various European states, particularly Germany, where an extensive infrastructure is already established. 2. Multidiscipline Research The creation of new research programs that encourages multidiscipline research will help the field. The field of flexible hybrid electronics is very interdisciplinary and requires expertise in from chemistry, physics and materials science to various branches of engineering including manufacturing and devices and systems. Encouraging several researchers with different professional backgrounds will favor the advancement of complex research topics requiring many types of expertise. Such new program should complement single investigator grants which are also vital for the continued grown the field and the maintenance of US leadership in many areas. 3. Industry-University Interactions During the vigorous discussion among both panelists and workshop attendees, perhaps the biggest resonance was with the idea that multidisciplinary teams need to work together in this field to be effective. An academic consortium should be included in this sort of effort, but would not, in and of itself, be effective unless there was a central coordination of efforts toward a commercial goal. The Holst Center (as an example) has a professional core of coordinators that steer the activities of the Center. So, one possible (and from our discussion, implied) approach would be for the NSF to hire and fund a hands-on coordinator to lead the efforts of a large, multi-year, interdisciplinary program that is aimed at a particular commercial objective in printed electronics. The era of large, corporate R&D is over. Industry is far more focused on short term product development efforts. Academia has expanded its role and now attempts more innovation as well as basic research, but in this model, neither party is particularly responsible for systems development, and systems development (along with a keen understanding of market needs and opportunities) is a key need for the commercialization of flexible/printed electronics. III. Conclusions The workshop drew attention to the research needs that are necessary to maintain US leadership in some areas and to draw level with EU and AP in other areas. The establishment of infrastructure facilities specifically for flexible electronics will spur research and innovation. The interdisciplinary nature of the subject will require researchers from various departments and disciplined to collaborate. The fruits of such collaboration will be immensely valuable and greater than the sum of individual, unconnected research projects. Funding streams should be established to encourage more of such multidisciplinary collaborations. Industry-University interactions are especially important. Avenues for longer term collaborations between industrial groups and universities on a sufficient scale will be very beneficial.
