Reaching the production stage for any project is challenging enough, and printed electronics (PE) is no exception. The November announcement that SmartKem Ltd. signed a joint development agreement with a major Asian display original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the manufacture of advanced flexible displays is a significant step for the company.

A specialist in the synthesis, formulation, application and supply of organic semiconductor materials for flexible display thin-film-transistor (TFT) backplane manufacture that are fully compatible with a range of print processes, SmartKem is best known for its p-FLEX ^TM semiconductors.

This collaboration will involve bespoke customization of SmartKem p-FLEX semiconductors for the solution-based manufacture of TFT flexible backplane technology on plastic substrates through low temperature processing for applications such as smartphones and tablets.

Dr. Mike Cowin, head of product development for SmartKem, noted that the transfer from the laboratory to scaled up production is always a challenging phase in the adoption cycle of any new technology.

To allow accelerated validation of its material’s performance, SmartKem provides fully processed flexible TFT arrays on PEN to interested parties to allow customer TFT testing of SmartKem’s flexible semiconductors in device form. This is usually followed by the supply of a “starter kit” with all the components necessary for the customer to “see for themselves” the ease by which SmartKem’s materials can be of processed into flexible TFTs with the most basic of equipment.

“SmartKem recognizes this and encourages a staged approach to the validation and adoption of its material system,” Dr. Cowin said. “This fast turnaround in product evaluation allows customers to trial SmartKem materials quickly and cost effectively.

“After confirmation of both material performance and processibility, the next stage is a materials testing agreement (MTA) for in-depth evaluation of our products, and lastly a joint development agreement (JDA) where SmartKem’s p-FLEX is integrated into a customer’s process line,” Dr. Cowin added. “A typical MTA can take from between six to 12 months. This staged approach allows customers to plan the transfer of SmartKem p-FLEX into their flexible display development program with minimal delay and full confidence in the transfer process.”

p-FLEX semiconductors offer numerous advantages, and have earned honors from the PE industry, receiving the Technical Development Materials Award at IDTechEx Printed Electronics Asia 2013.

“A clear technology gap has existed for some time in flexible display manufacture for an alternative semiconductor to the usual inorganic materials – an alternative that offers proven flexibility at a tight bend radius, improved electrical stability and a capability to be solution processed or printed at low temperatures onto a wide range of plastic flexible substrates,” Dr. Cowin noted.

“SmartKem has filled this technology gap by the development of a proprietary new class of flexible organic semiconductor inks called SmartKem p-FLEX that can be solution printed at room temperature and offers excellent electrical performance and extreme levels of stability in flexible transistor form for the first time,” he added. “In addition, our materials offer ‘production ready’ levels of yield and device uniformity. (I.e. each transistor in an array works at the same voltage).”

Dr. Cowin said that p-FLEX has exceeded SmartKem’s customers’ expectations in relation to performance, ease of use and flexibility.

“This new class of semiconductors was designed at a molecular level to offer high charge carrier mobility giving display developers a 10 fold increase over comparative products,” he said. “We believe we are ahead of industry requirements for EPD and AMOLED display products and have a development roadmap to keep us ahead until 2020.”

Dr. Cowin sad that SmartKem’s p-FLEX semiconductor materials are helping flexible display customers improve their manufacturing capabilities.

“We have focused intensively on the molecular design and formulation of these semiconductor ‘inks’ with consideration of not just the electrical performance, but critically the physical attributes such as flexibility and amenability to processing and film formation to ensure we hit the required uniformity and yield targets upon application,” Dr. Cowin said.

“SmartKem’s new class of materials have the necessary degrees of freedom in design for application to a range of print production systems such as spin coat, ink jet and roll to roll equipment, allowing ‘real world’ targets of TFT performance, yield , and uniformity to be obtained. This is unique in not only offering our customers confidence in using SmartKem p-FLEX for current applications, but the confidence that their adopted material system will be compatible with new production systems, i.e. ‘future proofing.’ It also tantalizingly opens up the potential to disrupt the display manufacturing industry, offering OEMs an order of magnitude reduction in production costs for flexible displays manufactured on flexible substrates with continuous “solution” based print systems.”

SmartKem’s market focus for their materials is for manufacture of flexible displays, but there is potential in other PE markets.

“While there is much promise in the application of printed electronics for sensors, memory logic and RFID applications, there is not enough market traction or pull right now, especially when compared to the display sector,” Dr. Cowin said. “Nevertheless, we believe this is a potentially big market for us and we routinely supply material and services for prototype development of logic circuitry – it’s just a slower burn opportunity than the display sector and we have to prioritize.”

Dr. Cowin sees the best opportunities for SmartKem in the display market.

“While it’s clear the recent low-key launch of the LG G Flex and Samsung Galaxy Round was more of a strategic exercise in demonstrating capability to the market, we see the flexible display market at an key inflection point with 2014 poised to be a very interesting year for the industry, which is all good news for SmartKem,” he said. “We are pleased with where we are at the moment. We have a pipeline that is full, a market which is about to grow significantly and a development roadmap that takes us to 2020 with a material system that meets the electrical and physical specs that this new exciting display type demands.”