Applications of Organic and Printed Electronics: A Technology-Enabled Revolution (Integrated Circuits and Systems)

The book focuses on various "substrate independent, large throughput" technologies: techniques that are able to build electronics on cheap, low cost, flexible and temperature sensitive substrates, like PEN or other plastic foils, and using inexpensive and large throughput methods like printing. Most of these technologies, in fact, have the potential to enable the revolutionary applications that will be discussed in the book. The book therefore goes beyond "organic" technologies, i.e. technologies that use functional organic materials (namely semiconductors), to explore a broader and even more interesting area of research. The book presents a comprehensive landscape of the new applications enabled by substrate independent, high throughput electronic technologies and their business potential. It explains the link between innovation in technology and in products. It also provides the reader with a clear understanding of the technology and the research challenges in the field. The book is divided in two parts. The first is devoted to applications where the most important selling point is large area. To this domain belong roll-up, flexible and emissive displays based on organic devices (used in backplanes or as display medium), unobtrusive electronics enabling ambient intelligence applications, and the increasingly important photovoltaic applications. The second part is devoted to applications where cost reduction is the main factor. RFIDs, smart labels, organic sensors and printed sensor system belong to this domain. A chapter is devoted to each different application. Each chapter is originally developed for the book by (a group of) world-wide recognized experts in the specific field of application.