Printed electronics conferences have been experiencing growth in recent years, with attendance continuing to grow. This is expected to continue at LOPE-C (Large-area, Organic & Printed Electronics) 2013, which will be held June 11-13 at Messe Munchen in Munich, Germany. The conference is sponsored by the OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association) and Messe Munchen.

“We are very pleased to see that LOPE-C is continuously growing, and in particular, that the exhibition again made a nice move,” said Dr. Klaus Hecker, managing director of the OE-A. “We will have more than 100 exhibitors from Europe, North America and Asia, and expect more than 1,500 international attendees to once again make LOPE-C the central and premier marketplace for this industry.”

Dr. Hecker said that one of the keys to the conference is being able to showcase actual working products for end-users to study. This year’s LOPE-C will be no exception.

“This year, we will see a lot of products at LOPE-C: smart packaging, touch surfaces and screens, OLEDs, OPV and sensors,” Dr. Hecker said.

On June 11, LOPE-C opens with Short Courses and its Business Conference. The Short Courses include sessions on Devices, Printing and Patterning, Materials and Flexible Displays.

The Business Conference includes sessions on B-Rounds, Seed Financing, the Future of Printed Electronics, Customer Applications for Printed Electronics, and Commercial Progress in BIPV.

The opening Plenary Session on June 12 promises to be of great interest to attendees.

After an introduction by introduction by Wolfgang Mildner, LOPE-C chairman, OE-A board member and managing director of PolyIC GmbH & Co KG, and Thomas Kreuzer, a Bavarian state leader, Stephan Berlitz, head of lighting innovations and lighting functions for Audi AG will offer his insights into the possibilities of printed electronics.

Berlitz will speak on “OLED – Challenges for Automotive Lighting,” and Dr. Hecker believes his talk will be a major highlight.

“Audi is a technology leader in the automotive area, and we are pleased that we won them to give a report at LOPE-C on their activities in printed electronics,” Dr. Hecker said. “OLED lighting is an important topic at Audi for interior and exterior lighting, and Audi prototypes with OLEDs will be presented.

“The automotive industry is an early adopter of printed electronics, integrating several printed electronics components into millions of cars for many years now,” Dr. Hecker added. “Some examples include printed antennas, pressure sensors in seats, electrochromic rear mirrors and glass roofs, EL and OLED lighting, printed window defrosters, touch displays and surfaces.”

Dr. Hecker added that there will be other end-user sessions,

“Other end-user presentations are from integrators of organic photovoltaics into buildings, applications in the envelope industry and a presentation by Gemalto, a world leader in smart cards,” Dr. Hecker said.

After Berlitz’s presentation, CDT chief technology officer Dr. Jeremy Burroughes will discuss “Organic Electronics Research at CDT,” and Thin Film Electronics CEO Dr. Davor Sutija will close the Plenary Session with “A Smarter Everyday Powered by Printed Electronics.” After the Plenary Session, the June 12 conference breaks into Technical and Science Conferences, each with two concurrent tracks.

The June 13 Plenary Session features talks by OE-A chairman Dr. Stephan Kirchmeyer of Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG, who will discuss “The Transition of Organic and Printed Electronics to Business.” Mildner will follow with a talk on “Crossing the Chasm – Printed Electronics Effectively Implemented.”

Dr. Irina Grigorieva, director of The North West Nanoscience Doctoral Training Centre, University of Manchester, will offer insights into “Graphene: Magic of Flat Carbon,” and Prof. Dr. Bernard Kippelen, director of the Center for Organic Photonics & Electronics (COPE), Georgia Institute of Technology, will closee the June 13 Plenary Session with his talk on “Innovating Organic and Printed Electronics.” The conference will again separate into Technical and Science Conferences, each with two concurrent tracks.

Dr. Hecker is looking forward to the sessions.

“LOPE-C defines the state-of-the-art in printed electronics at the conference and at the exhibition,” he said. “New standards are set and the implementation and feasibility of mass production are discussed here. In addition to the end-user presentations, other hot topics such as graphene, touch applications, or flexible displays as well as recent developments in regions like China or South America will be featured. This year we will also have a session on 3D printing. LOPE-C offers a unique and high-quality program ranging from business talks, manufacturing and materials to the latest scientific advances.”

For more information, contact the OE-A at www.oe-a.org or LOPE-C at www.lope-c.com.