Flexible Electronics for Security, Manufacturing, and Growth in the United States Summary of a Symposium (2013) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Panel IV: What Is Needed? Opportunities for Collaborative Activity
Panel IV: What Is Needed? Opportunities for Collaborative Activity
Pages 86-101
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 86... ...
iNEMI's focus is on advancing electronics manufacturing technology, which he described as "establishing the infrastructure, and making sure that you're ready to go to market today with product." The essence of manufacturing, he said, is having a strong supply chain -- the right people to not only design and provide the technologies and raw materials, but also to carry out production. An essential component in remaining competitive, he said, is the ability to predict emerging and innovative manufacturing technology.
|
From page 87... ...
"We've actually gone through our third iteration of the flexible electronics roadmap chapter," he said, "creating a new iteration every two years." The roadmap process of gap analysis followed by establishing research priorities is carried out by the TWG and requires two years. The most recent flexible electronics roadmap, for 2011, had been submitted a month earlier.
|
From page 88... ...
In the past, iNEMI has established groups to perform research that it deemed critical; as an example, a project to investigate lead-free solder alloys was performed by iNEMI members when that topic was identified as a potential future industry barrier. The iNEMI roadmapping process has been growing consistently since 1994, he said.
|
From page 89... ...
"A roadmap is, if anything, a great strategic exercise, because it shows you exactly how you need to prepare for going to high-volume manufacturing. Plus it lists specific technologies and their developers and, in many cases, the supply chain members who can help your company launch flexible electronics based products." Dr.
|
From page 90... ...
He mentioned that the iNEMI roadmap was more like the International Technology Roadmap of Semiconductors created by SEMATECH, which served as a model. The iNEMI flexible electronics roadmap contained a situation analysis of technologies and products, such as substrates and their quantified key needs, gaps, and "showstoppers." The roadmap has tables listing the attributes of flexible electronics enabling technologies for today, those that are midterm goals five years from now, and those that are goals 10 years from now.
|
From page 91... ...
"So I think that manufacturing of flexible electronics, large-area electronics, and organic electronics is really a reuse phenomenon whereby manufacturing platforms are being designed and built by leveraging existing hardware and integrating it with advanced manufacturing technologies." In finding the best functional inks, he said, it was sometimes necessary to innovate, but often the most practical approach was to design product based on existing materials and equipment, which saved time to launch products and capture value. This he called a "very big issue" that had been highlighted several times by different groups stressing the importance to design product and qualify processes based on the best available materials instead of waiting for the "perfect" high-performance material.
|
From page 92... ...
The technology may miss its opportunity for market entrance if the first two needs are not addressed quickly." • Robust manufacturing platforms: "Flexible electronics manufacturers are reusing and modifying manufacturing platforms, as necessary, that have been developed for other industries; for the most part this is going quite well but a commercially available flexible electronics manufacturing platform would help accelerate the diffusion of products into the market and adoption of the technology by more companies." Dr. Gamota closed by reminding his audience that the third roadmap was due out in January 2011, and that the next updating would begin promptly six months after that.
|
From page 93... ...
It's a ratio of 10 to one." However, he said, the future opportunities for flexible printed electronics were likely to be different and to allow for more diverse manufacturing opportunities. One reason for this is that the products will be "on the human scale." This, he said, would hold true for products in energy, health care, consumer products, the battlefield, security, training and education, and communications.
|
From page 94... ...
He said that instead of dwelling on those topics he would look more closely at the value of a consortium to combine the multiple interests of government, industry, and academia, and to mitigate the challenges to each of them. The Need for Partners Government, he said, is very much interested in job creation, national security, national competitiveness, economic growth, and the cost of government services.
|
From page 95... ...
I think a national consortium is needed to orchestrate all of these players. We need to galvanize industry and government interests, we need to promote cooperation and collaboration." He added that the pressure of poor economic times raises the urgency of collaboration, allowing the industry to pool resources, address the most pressing needs, ensure product integrity, and lower energy costs.
|
From page 96... ...
electronics industry.13 Within that need, he said, are some specific goals that 12 The primary mission of the USDC was to help develop a U.S.-based manufacturing infrastructure for flat-panel displays. USDC has now become the FlexTech Alliance, shifting its emphasis from flat-panel displays to flexible displays.
|
From page 97... ...
Edman, vice president of Applied Materials for corporate business development and global corporate affairs and marketing, began by professing his support for consortia and partnerships. In addition to his position at Applied Materials, he was also chairman of the Flex-Tech Alliance, and his former company, Applied Films Corporation, had received one of the first grants from USDC, the predecessor of Flex-Tech.
|
From page 98... ...
From their very large area tool that made transparent and metalized packaging materials, they had developed a smaller modular tool called the SmartWeb, which is focused on flexible electronics. "We define the target market today as being PV, touch panels, and flex display applications, which are growing." The company also makes barrier films for the battery industry and other sectors.
|
From page 99... ...
Here it can develop processes or link processes that meet customer demand. At its Maydan Technology Center, for example, an advanced semiconductor processing facility in Sunnyvale, the company has invited partners to work side by side with Applied's engineers.
|
From page 100... ...
"We do have this urgency to commercialize nascent technologies," he said, "and we realize we can't fund it all ourselves." Some of the programs the company has joined in include energy, batteries, and energy storage. These programs take place in a cost-share environment, he emphasized, which "fits very well with our strategic direction." Another category of major research institutes, he said, "is where the real value lies, where we are able to commercialize our capabilities and assist our customers to commercialize entire processes." He cited IMEC in Belgium as "a great example of this in semiconductors," along with the Fraunhofer Institutes and the Maydan Technology Center, which he said is increasingly becoming "a wonderful platform for commercialization of new technologies in semiconductors." Finally, Mr.
|
From page 101... ...
PROCEEDINGS 101 applications emerge at an incredible pace in the flex area, and yet we have a relatively small business unit in flex. I think most of the equipment companies are in this position, with a relatively small business trying to service multiple applications.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.