There has been much talk in recent years about the commercialization of products within the flexible and printed electronics industry. These five Printed Electronics Now online exclusives, the most read features for the period, cover a range of topics, from collaborations and conferences to new technologies and products.
 
These were the five most read Printed Electronics Now Online Exclusives from the first quarter of 2015:
 
1. Si-Cal, Nissha Partnership Brings New Capabilities to the PE Market
 
When a large corporation acquires a successful smaller manufacturer, the hope is that the two companies combined can be stronger together. To succeed, the companies have to have leadership in place that is committed to work together, and the willingness to utilize their areas of expertise to grow the business.
 
After one year, the combination of Nissha Printing Co., Ltd. and Si-Cal Technologies has proved to be a success. The two companies are working closely to develop new products and reach customers, bringing their respective strengths to the collaboration. Headquartered in Westborough, MA, Si-Cal Technologies Inc., A Nissha Company has developed two core markets – heat transfer decals and functional printed electronics (PE) components, primarily in the medical field.
 
Nissha, whose headquarters are in Kyoto, Japan, has three main business units: touch screens using printed electronics technology; industrial materials, such as in mold decoration (IMD) and printed films for end uses as automotive and consumer electronics devices; and information and communication, utilizing printing goods and services for marketing support, including digital medias such as SNS.
 
“It’s been 12 months since kickoff, and our relationship is a two-way street,” said Jaye Tyler, president and CEO of Si-Cal Technologies Inc., A Nissha Company. “Our sales are going to more than double this year, and we have a very large pipeline right behind these new projects. We share developed and developing technologies with one another. Nissha brought in new equipment and people, and we have the backing and ability to access resources, which is significant for us. We have a new manufacturing line on order with delivery scheduled for early summer. It will be our largest line.”
 
2.  CETEMMSA Brings Its Expertise in Technology to Printable Textiles
 
People are looking for new ways to gather information that they can use for their daily lives, which is one of the drivers in the development of wearables. For manufacturers, one key is the developing the ability to produce these sensors at a price point that the market will accept.  For example, printing these wearable flexible sensors could offer a strong solution.
 
CETEMMSA Technological Centre is already providing expertise in the field of printable textiles. Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, CETEMMSA is an applied research center specialized in the emerging field of printed electronics as well as textiles, and the combination of these two core competencies is already paying dividends.
 
“CETEMMSA is a technology center working in the field of printed electronics,” said Dr. Laura Lopez, head of scientific valorization business and technology transfer for CETEMMSA. “Our mission is to transfer technology to companies to help make them more competitive.”
 
CETEMMSA has the ability to test and produce its printed sensors, using a roll-to-roll flat screen printer machine for printing electronics on flexible surfaces. The system has three different curing technologies for conductive inks.
 
“We are working on printed sensors, high-performance textiles that can offer different functionalities, printed circuits and printed components,” Dr. Lopez added. “We are moving toward printing electronics directly on textiles. We do applied research and have equipment to scale-up processes for companies. We have developed heated textiles that are not wired, as well as automotive seats that are heated. We have created conductive yarns and textiles, as well as electroluminescent lighting of hoodies and for security applications. There are applications for health care, such as harnesses for ECGs, blood pressure and oxygen saturation, that have received a high level of patient acceptance.”
 
 
3. American Semiconductor Develops Hybrid Technology for Flexible ICs
 
Flexible integrated circuits (ICs) are an essential ingredient in order to make printed flexible electronics, and there are a wide variety of technologies being developed to meet these needs.
American Semiconductor, Inc., an industry leader in flexible integrated circuits and flexible hybrid systems development, has developed innovative Silicon-on-Polymer (SoP) manufacturing circuits.
 
“Flexible Hybrid electronics is our key market and we support market segments such as bio-patch, wearable electronics and structurally integrated electronics,” said Douglas Hackler, American Semiconductor’s president. “Our key technology is Silicon-on-Polymer and the aspects of manufacturing related to hybrid utilization such as die attach, die connect, flexible system layout and design, and overall hybrid system integration.
 
“We have actually worked and are working on three projects of significant interest,” Hackler added. “These include the development of a bio-patch sweat sensor, structural integration of flexible hybrid systems for transportation and development kits to support new product developers.”
 
Most recently, American Semiconductor released its FleXform-ADC development kit that includes fully functional flexible hybrid systems, support hardware and software.  The FleXform-ADC is a flexible hybrid system in itself, and allows users to add their sensors and other printed devices for research, development, prototyping, and demonstration.
 
“The company is currently in the process of constructing a new manufacturing facility in Boise to support initial production of FleXform development kits and new ICs based on SoP technology,” Hackler said.
 

 
4. Electro-LuminX Lights the Way for Printed Electro-Luminescence

Electro-LuminX specializes in the manufacturing of the “next generation of accent lighting,” according to Marisa Impellizzeri, brand and marketing strategy, Electro-LuminX.
 
Prior to moving the business to Richmond, VA in 2004, president Steve Pendlebury saw immense investment opportunity with the electro-luminescent technology, which he discovered while working as the global business director for Honeywell. Upon leaving Honeywell and moving to Richmond, Pendlebury set out to perfect the technology for the product that came to be called Light Tape.
 
Light Tape works by storing the channeled electricity for a single millisecond before it’s released as light. Compared to traditional lighting technology, this product works by directly converting the energy input as electricity to emitted light, losing no energy to the production of heat. At only .02 inches thickness, this very thin, lightweight panel “can withstand the most extreme conditions (weather and traffic); is cool to the touch and uses less light (energy) to be more visible,” added Impellizzeri. “All light sources on the market today tout their brightness levels and we believe this is an archaic philosophy. Ultimately, its form factor into any creative application, and thus, ability to do what no other light source in the world can, is the unifying benefit we offer.”
 
Presently operating in diverse industries with businesses like Disney, Audi, and Boeing, Electro-LuminX sees opportunity for growth in other areas such as floor and step lighting markets, exterior accent lighting, as well as backlighting large format signage (billboards) – an area that the company is currently working on to develop a new technique of backlighting for large, vinyl billboards.
 
 
5. 2015FLEX Conference Showcases Growth in Flexible Electronics
 
The flexible electronics industry is showing strong potential, and the FlexTech Alliance is playing a key role in this development, providing grants, holding workshops and hosting its annual FLEX conference. 2015FLEX, this year’s annual showcase, was held Feb. 23-26 at the Monterey Conference Center, Monterey, CA. As always, the conference provided plenty of talks as well as its exhibition.
 
Attendees to 2015FLEX offered a wide range of highlights, beginning with four short courses on Feb. 23:
• Introducing Printed Electronics
• Large-Area, High-Speed and Roll-to-Roll Optical Inspection Methods for Flexible Electronics and Functional Coating Applications
• The Flexform Platform for Designing Hybrid Electronics Systems & Products
• Understanding Flexible OLED Technology
 
The plenary sessions on Feb. 24 offered big-picture overviews and provide insights into what the bigger and smaller companies are thinking for applications for flexible and hybrid electronics (FHE). Session 1’s plenary speakers included FlexTech Allliance’s Mike Ciesinski and Keith Rollins; Anil Duggal, GE Global Research (“Perspective and Plans for Flexible Electronics”); Vivek Subramanian, UC Berkeley (“Printed Electronics: Advanced Technologies Enabling New Applications”); Ho Kyoon Chung, Sungkyunkwan University (“OLED Fabrication: Lessons in Improvement”) and CT Liu, ITRI (“Commercialization of Emerging Flexible and Printed Electronics”).