"Worldwide interest in organic electronics is increasing in leaps and bounds. Almost every branch of industry will be influenced, if not revolutionised, by organic electronics." This highly optimistic appraisal stems from the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A), a working group within the German machinery manufacturers association, VDMA (www.oe-a.org). In its English-language brochure entitled "Organic Electronics", the OE-A defines the term organic electronics as "electronic components and systems made of plastic by cost-efficient mass production processes." Examples include OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Devices), photovoltaics and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).

Even if the first products have since been launched, the organic electronics industry is still in its infancy, says the OE-A. Although the technology is considered to have enormous potential and the market forecasts are very positive, the VDMA recognises that materials, equipment, processes and applications have to be developed or improved. To accelerate the process, it founded the specialised grouping at the end of 2004 to form a bridge between science and commercial application.

A market that grows and grows
In 2005, the organic electronics market was worth USD 650m. By 2010, it could reach USD 3.7 bn, the British market research institute IDTechEx (www.idtechex.com) estimates. The institute believes that in the subsequent five years up to 2015, a rapid increase to USD 30 bn is possible, and that by 2025 the figure could go as high as USD 250 bn.

Growth over the next few years is likely to be driven most of all by displays, in particular by the OLED market segment (for a detail report on OLEDs, see Plasteurope.com Web of 12.06.2006). Display applications in 2006 were responsible for sales of USD 660m, and the figure is expected to reach USD 8.1 bn by 2011. Plastic Logic (Cambridge / UK; www.plasticlogic.com), for example, is building the world´s first plant for the commercial production of flexible displays based on conductive plastics in Dresden / Germany at a cost of around EUR 100m. Production is planned to commence in 2008 (see Plasteurope.com Web of 05.01.2007 207154). In the lighting segment, OLEDs are still at the development phase, and the market is still relatively small. By 2011, however, experts estimate that it will be worth USD 238m.

Photovoltaics and the RFID technology also still play only a minor role on the market at the moment, but the first-named market is expected to boom in the next few years to reach a value of USD 729m in 2011. RFID is also ready to take off: The market researchers forecast growth to USD 500m for this segment in the same period.

The race for the leading positions is on
In spite of the rapid progress being made, considerable investment is needed before things can really happen in a big way. And there is indeed plenty of activity, not only on the part of individual companies. Financial backing is being provided by national governments, the EU, project-driven foundations and industry associations. In September 2006, BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) opened a research laboratory for organic electronics at its main production site. In this "Joint Innovation Lab (JIL)", the world´s largest chemical group is conducting research with both industrial and academic partners into new materials in the field of organic electronics. The intention is to help strengthen Germany´s position in this growth market.

Because, as BASF points out, materials and system know-how are closely intertwined, cooperation with scientific institutions at the earliest possible development stage is a major success factor. As many as 20 experts – including physicists, engineers, quantum chemists and synthesis chemists – from BASF and its cooperation partners are working at the new laboratory. The capacities can be extended further if required. At present, JIL researchers are concentrating on organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaics.

As regards OLEDs, the venture capital company BASF Future Business is cooperating with industrial players such as Osram, Philips, Aixtron and Applied Materials to launch a project called "OLEDs for appliances in the lighting market" (OPAL). The aim is to create the scientific and technological basis for producing OLED-based lighting in Germany. The German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing financial assistance of EUR 100m annually over a five-year period.

The industry´s eagerness to invest is driven in particular by the fact that there is a considerable amount of competition as to who can "get there first" with marketable products. In OLED displays, the Asian countries already have left the rest of the world behind. However, the field is still wide open for OLEDs for lighting applications, radiation-free displays, photovoltaic applications, sensors and logical memory – to name only the areas with the greatest recognisable potential. In addition to the cost of R&D, a considerable amount of money also has to be put into the development of a production site. According to current estimates, USD 30-100m is needed to build a production plant for organic electronics, depending, of course, on the specific product. At any rate, those now in the race are convinced that it will be well worthwhile for the winner.

"Organic Electronics" exhibition produces first results
At last autumn´s Organic Electronics Conference and Exhibition (OEC-06), companies, research institutes and associations showcased the first fruits of their efforts. The exhibition, relocated to Frankfurt / Germany from its original venue in Cambridge / UK, attracted more than 300 visitors from 18 countries representing more than 200 organisations, as well as 28 exhibitors. According to the organisers, it was the world´s largest event in that field last year.

Most of the products on show, however, were still some way from conforming to the VDMA grouping´s definition of organic electronics "made by cost efficient mass production processes." Nevertheless, the technologies spotlighted at OEC-06 represent a highly promising start. Products on display included: organic semiconductors with a higher charge carrier mobility (Merck), red OLEDs with a life expectancy of 150,000 hours (Novaled) and vertical transistors (Olfid).

A number of other products pointed a little further into the future. PolylC, for example, has developed prototypes of RFID tags in a frequency range of 13.56 MHz for merchandise management logistics. These are claimed to be the first to be suitable for printing from a roll. Before the end of 2007, they could well be deployed in supermarkets to provide information on stock levels or the freshness of the food, for example. A board game jointly developed by nine OE-A member companies demonstrates the important role cooperation plays in this field. The game features an OLED display, a photovoltaic cell, a flexible micro battery and eight other elements based on organic electronics.

The next "Organic Electronics Conference & Exhibition" will be held from 24-26 September 2007, again in Frankfurt. Only a year after the last show, the exhibitors promise to show visitors a wide range of interesting new developments and practical applications.