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16 SMT Magazine • August 2014 Most important players include Samsung, LG Display, Sony, Panasonic, AUO and in the materials space Merck, UDC, Novaled, Plextron- ics, Samsung, Idemitsu, DuPont, Dow, 3M. Drawbacks for further adoption in the CPG space include: • Costs are still high, approximately $30 for a cellphone display including backplane • Lifetime for flexible versions is very poor unless a large amount of money is spent on good flexible barriers (which cost more than glass) • Focus is to make high volume, high margin products like consumer electronics for now to recoup high R&D spend rather than low margin products Power Printed Batteries Thin film batteries—usually MnOZn chem- istry when printed but rigid, lithium ion solid state versions are in development also—are very important components in CPG applications, es- pecially since all devices need a power source which needs to be safe and as "green" as possi- ble. Estee Lauder skin patches and audio paper/ recording gift cards from Toppan Forms have been successful applications in the past but beyond that, there have only been prototypes such as powering LEDs in gift cards. Examples of developers of printed thin batter- ies include Bluespark (primary), Enfucell (prima- ry), Imprint (secondary) and Powerpaper, a com- pany that failed a couple of years ago after com- mercializing its technology on the Estée Lauder skin patches. On the thin film Li ion front, Cym- bet and Solicore are the main developers. Costs are at approximately $.25 or more for printed batteries and $1+ for thin film Li ion. Unfortunately, lifetime and power output are not as good as a coin cell so still, if a coin cell can be used, it probably will be preferred over the form factor benefits of a thin film cell. Photovoltaics, OPV & DssC In the photovoltaics space, organic PV and dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can perform optimally in indoor applications (i.e., lower levels of light intensity) where other PV tech- nologies fail. Companies are pursuing these to power electronic shelf edge labels, as they work well at low light levels and the solar cell can be designed around the bezel and even coloured to look better than conventional PC cells. Unfor- tunately, the technology has only been sold in small volumes in bags and wireless keyboards to date, along with some promotional/POS post- ers that failed due to cost in Japan. Companies working on designing and realising new con- cepts and new product ideas include Belectric, Solarprint, Dyesol, Armor, and G24i Power. Reducing costs and optimizing lifetime and efficiency remain the biggest challenges for these technologies, but those specifically work- ing on CPG space face a power output chal- lenge. Wherever larger areas are available, this challenge can be overcome. Wireless Power transfer Wireless power (e.g., via NFC) would remove the power source cost component which would enable smart packaging features at lower costs. Demonstrations such as the interactive Cheeri- os packaging from Fulton innovations (Figure 4) that is powered wirelessly via induction have already been showcased. PolyIC and PragmatIC also work on wireless power options, but of course, antenna, compo- nent and infrastructure costs remain challeng- ing. Figure 3: olED displays are finding their way onto business cards. PRINtED ELECtRONICs tEChNOLOgy CasE stuDy continues FEaTuRE