news digest ♦ Solar
to focus our resources on developing the markets where we expect to generate significant growth in coming years.”
Will inorganic materials eclipse organics in printed electronics?
Perhaps, as the new inorganics, which include compound semiconductor quantum dots, appear to provide better performance than many printed organic electronic materials
A new report from
Reportlinker.com, “ Inorganic and Composite Printed Electronics 2012-2022,” says that there is increasing work on printed inorganics as organisations struggle to improve the performance of organics. To achieve better conductance and cost, for the best printed batteries, for quantum dot devices and for transistor semiconductors with ten times the mobility,
Reportlinker.com says to look to the new inorganics.
The emerging world of new nanoparticle metal and alloy inks are miles superior in cost and also in terms of conductivity and stability. These include flexible zinc oxide based transistor semiconductors which operate at as much as at ten times the frequency of organic materials. They also offer excellent stability and life, along with many other inorganic materials. The report considers inorganic printed and thin film electronics for displays, lighting, semiconductors, sensors, conductors, photovoltaics, batteries and memory and coverage is global. Emphasis is placed on technology basics, commercialisation and the key market players.
The publication also looks at device fabrication and integration. IDTechEx forecasts a market of $45 billion for printed electronics by 2022 and that market is expected to be split evenly between organic and inorganic materials. The rapidly increasing opportunities for inorganic and composite chemicals is now in new printed electronics, given that so much of the limelight is on organics. Inorganics encompass various metals, metal oxides as transparent conductors (such as fluorine tin oxide or indium tin oxide, extensively used in displays and photovoltaic technologies) or transistor materials as well as nano-silicon or copper and silver inks, whether in particle or flake form. Then there are inorganic quantum dots, carbon structures such as graphene, nanotubes and the various buckyballs among other novel devices. However, there is much more, from light emitting materials to battery elements and the amazing new meta-materials that render things invisible and lead to previously impossible forms of electronics.
Over the next ten years, improvements in inorganic conductors such as the use of nanotechnology and the lack of improvement of the very poorly conductive and expensive organic alternatives means that inorganics will be preferred for most conductors whether for electrodes, antennas, touch buttons, interconnects or for other purposes. In contrast, organic substrates for flexible electronics such as low cost polyester film and paper will be preferred in most cases because they are light weight, low cost and have a wide range of mechanical flexibility. The use of inorganic substrates such as glass represents a fall-back particularly required where there
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net April/May 2012
is failure to reduce processing temperatures. Here stainless steel foil printed reel to reel is an improvement, where possible. In order to meet the widening variety of needs for printed and potentially printed electronics, not least in flexible, low cost form, a rapidly increasing number of elements are being brought to bear. Oxides, amorphous mixtures and alloys are particularly in evidence.
Even the so-called “organic devices” such as OLEDs can employ materials such as boron, aluminium, and titanium oxide and nitrides as barrier layers against water and oxygen. They also use aluminium, copper, silver, indium tin oxide as conductors, calcium or magnesium cathodes and CoFe nanodots as well as iridium and europium in light emitting layers. The report covers a number of different technologies which include non-silicon inorganic options such as CIGS, CdTe, CdSe, GaAs, GaAs-germanium, InGaP and InGaAs as well as other alternatives such as nanorods and carbon nanotubes.
MiaSole to tackle Indian solar
market with new appointment A new Country Manager based in India will lead and cultivate new business initiatives for the CIGS solar panel manufacturer
MiaSole, has appointed Preetha Nair as Country Manager India.
This latest executive hire reinforces MiaSole’s continued strategic global expansion, with particular emphasis on high growth solar markets such as India.
Nair has an extensive history in clean energy and trade finance, having previously served as the Senior Commercial Specialist at the U.S Commercial Service, U.S Department of Commerce at the American Embassy in New Delhi.
During her tenure with U.S. Commercial Service Nair advised over 500 U.S. companies in entering the India market, representing over $4 billion in export sales. In March 2012, U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson awarded Nair the Department of Commerce’s most prestigious Bronze honour award.
“MiaSole’s 14% efficiency solar panels are the highest efficient thin film modules globally, and ideal for hot temperature climates like India. The addition of Ms. Nair is a significant milestone in our long-term commitment to emerging markets like India,” says Rich Hossfeld, Vice President of Global Business Development and Sales for MiaSole.
“Ms. Nair’s insight and extensive experience will be integral in further driving the growth of our company as well as enhancing the value and service we offer our customers. I look forward to working with Preetha as we develop our strategy throughout India and deliver the lowest levelised cost of electricity.”
MiaSole has 8MW of solar projects in India completed or under construction, including a 2MW utility scale solar development project in Gujarat, India by Universal Solar System and
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