David Savastano, Editor10.06.10
The field of printed electronics is clearly evolving, and it is interesting to hear the perspective of people who have long been involved in the field. From time to time, Printed Electronics Now is going to interview some of the leaders in the field, and present their viewpoints.
This week, we spoke with Jaap Lombaers, managing director, Holst Centre/TNO. A member of the board of the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A), Lombaers received a MSc degree with honors in industrial design engineering (Delft University of Technology) in 1982. Meanwhile, in 1979, he worked with Ampex Corporation and FMC in California. For two years he was researcher at TNO’s Human Factors institute. He then became a consultant for Dutch Railroads, involved in the introduction of new technology in locomotive cabs, control rooms and traveler information systems. In 1987 he moved back to TNO, heading various product development activities and eventually becoming manager of the product development division. Since mid-2005, he is (together with Jo de Boeck of imec) directing Holst Centre, an open innovation research centre founded by imec and TNO. This centre is dedicated to wireless autonomous micro systems and electronic systems in foil. The centre runs and executes “shared research programs” in which researchers of imec, TNO, participating companies and universities jointly create innovative technologies. In its first three years, Holst Centre grew from 15 to more than 160 researchers of 25 nationalities, working together with researchers of more than 30 participating companies.
Printed Electronics Now: What is your background in the field of PE?
Jaap Lombaers: My background is in product development, and I am certainly not a PE specialist in background. In 2005, I got involved in the plan to launch Holst Centre, a joint research centre of imec (Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands). We concluded at that time that we could offer a strong proposition to the industry by combining the background in large-area and flexible electronics of both mother organizations. Since then, my involvement in the field has been intense.
Printed Electronics Now: How has the printed electronics industry changed since you first joined the field?
Jaap Lombaers: The field has its roots in academic research, but now a major portion of the research is more applied, and a significant part of it is taking place in Asia, led by major display manufacturers. First products (OLED displays) are entering the market at large scale. OLED (organic LED) lighting, OTFT (organic thin-film transistor) backplanes and OPV (organic photovoltaic) solar cells are now applied in first niche markets. Some other application areas, such as RFID and printed intelligence on packaging, still have a way to go and it is unclear yet when they will make it to the market. Networks and collaborations in this field have strongly grown, as illustrated by the steady growth of the OE-A, the Organic Electronics Association.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the key advancements that have allowed for these changes to occur?
Jaap Lombaers: Advancements in R&D on functional materials and the resulting improved performance (efficiency, intrinsic lifetime, processability) possibly are the most important enablers. Secondly, advancements in depositioning and patterning processes are pushing the field forward. In the third place, new device concepts and variations on these have emerged. The field is characterized by the fact that advancements in these three areas cannot be made in isolation. Materials, processes and device concepts strongly influence each other.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the technical hurdles that need to be overcome to move PE forward?
Jaap Lombaers: To move from niche applications to mainstream markets in circuitry, lighting and solar, a key challenge is to decrease product cost. For example, it is clear that an OLED lighting device must be in a completely different price range than an OLED display of the same area. This is the reason why many (including Holst Centre and a number of its industrial partners) see roll-to-roll manufacturing on flexible substrates as an important concept. A specific hurdle related to roll-to-roll manufacturing and the use of flexible substrates is device encapsulation, protecting devices against deterioration by, for instance, water. Requirements are orders higher than in conventional applications of barrier layers such as the food industry. Then there still are challenges in the materials area, such as further improving the efficiency of (e.g. blue) light emitting materials.
Printed Electronics Now: Where do you see the field of printed electronics heading in both the near term and, say, 10 years from now?
Jaap Lombaers: I estimate that OLEDs will be widely applied in the display and lighting industries. Definitely OLED will not be the single lighting technology to replace all others, but it will have its own solid place in the market. The future of OPV is more difficult to predict. It has some intrinsic advantages over other PV technologies, but it does face stiff competition. I assume it will by then have either gained a solid position in the market or otherwise it will have been abandoned. Circuitry and sensor technology will be applied in specific markets, for instance in the field of healthcare and wellness. Furthermore, I expect that large-area and flexible electronics will have been fully embraced by product developers and designers who by then will have found applications and will have created product concepts that we now haven't thought of at all yet. Printing, for instance, may enable far-reaching product customization, even on a per-item basis.
Finally, I assume that many types of "hybrid" devices and products will have come into existence, that for instance combine organic and silicon circuitry, printed and evaporized layers, roll-to-roll and batchwise production approaches, organic and non-organic PV concepts in a single PV panel or LED and OLED light sources in a single luminaire.
Printed Electronics Now: How is Holst Centre helping to advance the field?
Jaap Lombaers: We at Holst Centre are convinced that many of the innovations needed in this field cannot be realized by single parties because of its interdisciplinarity and complexity. We therefore specialize in launching and running "Shared Research Programs" in which we bring together industrial players along the full value chain that all actively participate in these programs. We deploy an "Open Innovation business model" originally developed by imec for the semiconductor domain. Since our start in 2006, more than 30 companies worldwide have joined our Shared Research Programs and we have grown from zero to 160 researchers employed by us, plus 60 researchers from participating companies and universities. So in short, we help companies to jointly realize innovations that they can't realize each on their own.
Printed Electronics Now: What is your background in the field of PE?
Jaap Lombaers: My background is in product development, and I am certainly not a PE specialist in background. In 2005, I got involved in the plan to launch Holst Centre, a joint research centre of imec (Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands). We concluded at that time that we could offer a strong proposition to the industry by combining the background in large-area and flexible electronics of both mother organizations. Since then, my involvement in the field has been intense.
Printed Electronics Now: How has the printed electronics industry changed since you first joined the field?
Jaap Lombaers: The field has its roots in academic research, but now a major portion of the research is more applied, and a significant part of it is taking place in Asia, led by major display manufacturers. First products (OLED displays) are entering the market at large scale. OLED (organic LED) lighting, OTFT (organic thin-film transistor) backplanes and OPV (organic photovoltaic) solar cells are now applied in first niche markets. Some other application areas, such as RFID and printed intelligence on packaging, still have a way to go and it is unclear yet when they will make it to the market. Networks and collaborations in this field have strongly grown, as illustrated by the steady growth of the OE-A, the Organic Electronics Association.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the key advancements that have allowed for these changes to occur?
Jaap Lombaers: Advancements in R&D on functional materials and the resulting improved performance (efficiency, intrinsic lifetime, processability) possibly are the most important enablers. Secondly, advancements in depositioning and patterning processes are pushing the field forward. In the third place, new device concepts and variations on these have emerged. The field is characterized by the fact that advancements in these three areas cannot be made in isolation. Materials, processes and device concepts strongly influence each other.
Printed Electronics Now: What are the technical hurdles that need to be overcome to move PE forward?
Jaap Lombaers: To move from niche applications to mainstream markets in circuitry, lighting and solar, a key challenge is to decrease product cost. For example, it is clear that an OLED lighting device must be in a completely different price range than an OLED display of the same area. This is the reason why many (including Holst Centre and a number of its industrial partners) see roll-to-roll manufacturing on flexible substrates as an important concept. A specific hurdle related to roll-to-roll manufacturing and the use of flexible substrates is device encapsulation, protecting devices against deterioration by, for instance, water. Requirements are orders higher than in conventional applications of barrier layers such as the food industry. Then there still are challenges in the materials area, such as further improving the efficiency of (e.g. blue) light emitting materials.
Printed Electronics Now: Where do you see the field of printed electronics heading in both the near term and, say, 10 years from now?
Jaap Lombaers: I estimate that OLEDs will be widely applied in the display and lighting industries. Definitely OLED will not be the single lighting technology to replace all others, but it will have its own solid place in the market. The future of OPV is more difficult to predict. It has some intrinsic advantages over other PV technologies, but it does face stiff competition. I assume it will by then have either gained a solid position in the market or otherwise it will have been abandoned. Circuitry and sensor technology will be applied in specific markets, for instance in the field of healthcare and wellness. Furthermore, I expect that large-area and flexible electronics will have been fully embraced by product developers and designers who by then will have found applications and will have created product concepts that we now haven't thought of at all yet. Printing, for instance, may enable far-reaching product customization, even on a per-item basis.
Finally, I assume that many types of "hybrid" devices and products will have come into existence, that for instance combine organic and silicon circuitry, printed and evaporized layers, roll-to-roll and batchwise production approaches, organic and non-organic PV concepts in a single PV panel or LED and OLED light sources in a single luminaire.
Printed Electronics Now: How is Holst Centre helping to advance the field?
Jaap Lombaers: We at Holst Centre are convinced that many of the innovations needed in this field cannot be realized by single parties because of its interdisciplinarity and complexity. We therefore specialize in launching and running "Shared Research Programs" in which we bring together industrial players along the full value chain that all actively participate in these programs. We deploy an "Open Innovation business model" originally developed by imec for the semiconductor domain. Since our start in 2006, more than 30 companies worldwide have joined our Shared Research Programs and we have grown from zero to 160 researchers employed by us, plus 60 researchers from participating companies and universities. So in short, we help companies to jointly realize innovations that they can't realize each on their own.