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Organic Electronics

Viewpoints

2023

February:

Artificial Organic-Electronic Neurons

2022

December/January:

2022: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2023
November:

High-Performance Molecular Nanowires
October:

First Organic Bipolar-Junction Transistor
September:

Reconfigurable Polymer Electronics
August:

3D-Printed Organic Electronics
July:

Advances in OLED Microdisplays
June:

Novel Organic-Electronic Transistors
May:

Record Gate Scaling with Graphene Sidewall Transistors
April:

3D Printing OLED Displays
March:

Organic-Electronic Short-Wave-Infrared Sensors
February:

First Molecular Electronics Chip

2021

December/January:

2021: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2022
November:

Nanocomposite Inks for 3D-Printed Electronic Applications
October:

Metal-Organic Frameworks for Electronics Applications
September:

Degrading Polymers for Organic Electronics
August:

Graphene Inks for Printed Electronics
July:

Stretchable-Electronics Breakthrough
June:

A Novel Two-Dimensional Carbon Material
May:

Molecular Bridges for Conductive Inks
April:

Nanoscale Molecular-Shift Registers
March:

Advances in Single-Molecule Switches
Key Areas to Monitor: Nanomaterial-Enabled Systems and Charge-Carrier Mobility
February:

Flexible Color Displays
Key Areas to Monitor: OLED Televisions and Flexible Displays

Archived Viewpoints

2020

December/January:

2020: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2021
November:

Organic-Electronics Volume Manufacturing
Opportunities: Photovoltaic Solar Cells
October:

Commercialization of Molecular Electronics
Organic Materials for Capacitors
September:

Breakthrough Fabrication Technique for Organic Electronics
Synergistic Technologies for Organic Electronics
August:

Organic Electronics for In Vivo Electrophysiology
Bioelectronic Sensors
July:

Progress toward Photovoltaic Clothing
Investments in JOLED for Large-Screen Printed Displays
June:

The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Sensors and Electronics

Scenarios Presentation: The Pandemic Crisis: Scenarios for the Future of Technology Development
May:

The Pandemic Crisis: Key Forces That Will Shape the Future of Sensors and Electronics
April:

Progress toward Reliable Organic Semiconductors
A New Way to Produce Conductive Polymers
March:

Cable Bacteria and Protein Nanowires
Moist Electricity Generators
February:

Progress for Printed Electronics
Transparent OLED Displays

2019

2018

December/January:

2018: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2019
November:

Carbon-Fiber "Structural Batteries"
Smart Patch Update
October:

Organic-Electronic Smart Textiles
Emerging Printed-Electronics Technologies
September:

Paper Batteries
New Carbon Nanomaterials
August:

OLED-Display-Production Joint Ventures
New Organic PV Efficiency Record
July:

OLED-Materials Update
Heliatek Pushes for BIPV Retrofits
June:

Membrane Lasers
Ultrathin Thin-Film Transistors
May:

Hydrogenated-Diamond Transistors
Polymer Neural Electrodes
April:

New Player in Printed Electronics?
3D-Shape Touch Controls
March:

Microbial-Fuel-Cell Electrodes
Smart-Patch Displays
February:

Organic Materials in Fuel Cells
OLED Developments

2017

December/January:

2017: The Year in Review

Look for These Developments in 2018
November:

Organic-Memory Research

Organic Photodiodes for Optical Telecoms
October:

Advances in Flexible Batteries

Carbon Nanomaterials as Rare-Mineral Replacements
September:

Perovskite-Solar-Cells Update
Display Manufacturers to Begin Using OTFTs
August:

Photovoltaic Smart Windows
Electrodes for Water Purification
July:

Organic Battery Materials
Ion Transmission in Polymer Films
June:

Dissolvable Organic Electronics
Developments in the OLED-Display Industry
May:

E-Plants
Graphene As a Semiconductor?
April:

Photovoltaic Retinal Implants
Developments in Flexible-Display Manufacturing
March:

Automotive OLED Lighting
Artificial Synapses
February:

Sony Embraces OLED for Televisions
Flexible, Stretchable Transistors

2016

December/January:

2016: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2017
November:

Novel Applications of OLED Displays
Flexible Energy Storage
October:

Engineered Sand for Heat Dissipation
Improved Temperature Stability for Organic Supercapacitors
September:

New Molecules for Making Blue OLEDs
Wearable Hydrogel Touch Pad
August:

New Flexible Memory Technology
Electronic Threads for Smart Sutures
July:

First Steps in Smart Textiles
Signs of a Coming Boom in the OLED-Materials Industry
June:

Creating Electronic Materials from Coal
Self-Healing Organic Dielectrics
May:

LG to Build OLED-Lighting Plant
Polysolar: New Entrant to Organic-PV Market
April:

TREASORES Project
Hydrogel Electrodes
March:

Flexible Deformable Pressure Sensors
New Record Efficiency for Organic PV
February:

L'Oreal Announces Stretchable UV-Monitoring Patch
Apple Shifting to Using OLED Displays

2015

December/January:

2015: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2016
November:

Self-Wrapping 3D Electronics
Growing Vertical Organic Semiconductors
October:

US Government Funds Flexible-Hybrid-Electronics-Innovation Institute
Simpler OLEDs?
September:

Better Blue OLEDs?
RFID for Brand Protection
August:

KFC Tray Typer
Improving Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells
July:

Canatu Unveils Roll-to-Roll-Printed Carbon-NanoBud Films
Effects of Deformation on Organic Transistors
June:

Graphene Lightbulbs
Is Apple Contemplating Switching to OLED?
May:

Developments in Battery-Technology Research
Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge Curved Screen in Bend Test
April:

OLED Lighting
DNA Origami
March:

World's Thinnest Device-Integrated AMOLED Display
Consumer-Grade Conductive Inks
February:

Organic-Photovoltaics Developments
Quantum-Dot Displays

2014

December/January:

2014: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2015
November:

New SmartKem Product for Flexible Electronics
Competition to Transparent Displays
October:

Printed RFID Tags
Organic Materials for Transparent Conductive Applications
September:

Organic Solar Cells Move into the Building-Integrated-Photovoltaics Market
Organic Electronics for Custom Wearables
August:

Electrochromic Irises
Sensing with Speed: Plastic Electronics
July:

Fully Printed Solar Cells
Wearable Medical Devices
June:

Malleable Materials: 3D Printing
Adaptive Electronics
May:

Powering Printed Devices
April:

OLED-Lighting Prospects
March:

Printed Electronics: Into the Third Dimension
February:

Biocompatible Electronic Materials

2013

December/January:

2013: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2014
November:

Modifying Molecules: Self-Assembly
October:

Curved Mobile Displays
September:

Organic PV: Patent Overview
August:

DSSCs: Challenges Remain
July:

Perovskite-Enhanced DSSCs
June:

Smart Packaging
May:

Paper as a Substrate
April:

Finding the Flaws: Material Advances in Organic Electronics
March:

Medical Electronics
February:

Update on PEDOT:PSS

2012

December/January:

2012: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2013
November:

Blue OLED Emitters: Slow Progress
October:

Graphene: Organic Friendly?
September:

Stretchable Electronics: Commercial at Last?
August:

Printed Organic Electronics Roadmaps
July:

Turmoil in Solar: What Now for Organic PV and DSSC?
June:

Flexible Power Sources
May:

Electroactive Polymers: An Update
April:

Flexible Organic Displays
March:

Organic Digital-Image Sensors
Small-Scale Organic LED
February:

Printed and Woven Electronics

2011

December/January:

2011: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2012
November:

Outlook for OLED Lighting
October:

Organic Sensing
September:

Small Screens Making It Big
Flexing All the Way
August:

Organic Spintronic Devices
July:

Future Directions for Organic PV and DSSC
June:

Color AMOLED Consumer Displays
May:

Low-Power Flexible Displays
April:

Advances in Flexible Organic Electronics
March:

Developments in Electrochromic Windows
February:

Company Strategies for DSSCs

2010

December/January:

2010: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2011
November:

Electroactive Polymers: Developers, Approaches, and Applications
October:

Organic and Printed Electronics at European Chemicals Companies
September:

OLED Lighting Update
August:

Printed and Flexible Electronics Integration: System in Foil?
July:

Organic PV Update
June:

OLED Displays: Smartphones Today, TVs Tomorrow
May:

The Toolbox: Pastes and Inks for Printed Electronics
April:

Metallic and Inorganic Electronic Inks
March:

On Que: Plastic Logic's New E-Reader
February:

Not-So-Light Work: Developing Roll-to-Roll Processes for Making OLED Lighting

2009

December/January:

2009: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2010
November:

OLED Lighting: A Manufacturing Roadmap
October:

Smart Textiles and Interactive Fabrics
September:

Forward: The Latest Roadmap for Organic and Printed Electronics
August:

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: In Sunshine or in Shadow
July:

Organic Semiconductors: Enabling the Next Generation of Electronic Devices
June:

OLED Displays: Looking Good
May:

Memory Revisited
April:

OLED Lighting: Brilliant Progress
March:

Capacitors: An Update
February:

Printed Electronics Today and Tomorrow

2008

December/January:

2008: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2009
November:

A Gigawatt of Polymer Solar Cells
October:

In the News: E-Paper Displays
September:

Phosphorescent OLED Materials: Bright Prospects
August:

Flexible Power: Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
July:

Electrochromic Mirrors and Windows
June:

Quantum Dots: The Bright Stuff
May:

Bright Lights: Advances in OLED Lighting
April:

OLED-Display Production: A Snapshot
March:

The Inside Story: Materials for OLED Displays
February:

Power from the Sun: Recent Progress in Organic Photovoltaics

2007

December/January:

2007: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2008
November:

The OE-A's Roadmap for Organic Electronics
October:

OLED Displays: The Next Stage
September:

A New Benchmark for Polymer Solar-Cell Efficiency
Sumitomo Chemical to Acquire Cambridge Display Technology
August:

Carbon Nanotubes as Transparent Electrodes
Printed OLED Displays from DuPont
July:

Progress in Organic Thin-Film Transistors
June:

Stylishly Slim: OLED Televisions from Sony and Toshiba
Near-Term Pain for the OLEDDisplay Industry
May:

GE, Konica Minolta to Collaborate on OLED Lighting
Lumicure's Healing Light
April:

OLED Displays: An Update
Sensors: A New Application for Printed Electronics
March:

Organic Photovoltaic Cells: An Update
February:

Flexible Displays: Just around the Bend

2006

December/January:

2006: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2007
November:

Powering Up: Organic Electronic Materials in Solar Cells
October:

Light Fantastic: A Breakthrough in White OLEDs
BASF's Organic-Electronics Initiative
Before October 2006, the Organic Electronics technology area was Conductive Polymers.
September:

Areas to Monitor
Announcement: Conductive Polymers Becomes Organic Electronics
August:

Low-ESR Capacitors
July:

A Soluble Problem: Making Small-Molecule OLED Materials Solution Processable
June:

Starting Small, Part 2: The OLED-Display Industry
May:

Starting Small: An Update on OLED Displays
April:

Flexible Displays: The Back Story
March:

Flexible Displays: Putting Up a Good Front
February:

The U.S. DOE's Solid-State Lighting Initiative

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

December/January:

1999: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2000
November:

European LEP-Display Technology
Recent Developments: Conductive Polymer Capacitors
October:

Electrically Conductive Textiles
September:

Advances in Conductive Polymer Electrolyte Technology
August:

Explorer Technology Charts
Before August 1999, the Explorer service was called TechMonitoring, and Viewpoints were TechLinks.
July:

Recent Developments: LEP Activities of UNIAX; HP and CDT Research Collaboration; Covion and CDT Polymer Display Alliance; Pure Carbon Nanotubes for Light-Emitting Diodes; Advances in Polymer Lasers
June:

New Dissipative Plastics in Electronic Packaging
Self-Powered Smart Electrochromic Windows
May:

Electroactive Polymers as Artificial Muscles for Space Robots
Developments in Intrinsically Conductive Polymers
April:

Engineering Intrinsically Conductive Polymers
March:

Conductive Polymer Demand on the Increase
Developments in ICPs
Developments in Competing Conductive Technologies
February:

Researchers Make Advances in Polymer Field-Effect Transistors
Recent Developments: Ormecon Chemie Expands Its ICP Activities in the World; Seiko-Epson Opens a Research and Development Facility for LEPs in Europe

1998

1997

1996

About Organic Electronics

Most materials that have desirable electrical or electronic properties are metals or inorganic compounds such as copper, silver, gold, doped silicon, or indium tin oxide (tin-doped indium oxide). This Technology Map focuses on organic electronic materials: carbon-based chemicals and polymers that exhibit electrical conductivity, semiconductivity, electroluminescence, or photovoltaic properties. Examples of organic electronic materials include light-emitting small molecules and polymers, organic semiconductors, and conductive polymers.

Much of the interest in organic materials is due to a fairly mundane attribute: their potential for use in low-cost, high-volume manufacturing processes. Organic electronic materials play a key role in reducing production costs for flat-panel televisions, flexible displays, RFID tags, and other electronic devices. In addition, these materials offer design flexibility because of their compatibility with flexible and rigid substrates.

This technology has the potential for widespread application and could lead to ubiquitous, inexpensive—even disposable—electronic devices. Industry players include both large, diversified powerhouses of the materials and consumer-electronics industries and start-ups that focus on a single technology application. Current commercial products include OLED displays for smartphones all the way up to large-screen televisions, capacitors, electroluminescent lamps, and static-control coatings. Emerging end uses include solar cells, lighting, and printed RFID tags for logistics tracking and monitoring.