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Organic electronics market projected to reach $19.7 billion by 2012 |
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Dec 19, 2006 at 03:25 PM |
 A $3000 report on organic electronics says that the technology is rapidly making its way out of the lab and into real world applications. NanoMarkets' "Organic Electronics: A Market & Technology Assessment" studies the market for products such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), thin-film transistors and other electronic products made from organic materials.
The market researcher believes the market will grow from $1.4 billion in 2007 to $19.7 billion by 2012 and then go on to reach $34.4 billion in revenues by 2014. The Global Sales Report from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization puts total IC sales (mainly silicon) at $227 billion for 2005.
NanoMarkets sees an emerging OLED display market, not just for low-end MP3 players and cell phone sub-displays, but as part of the latest mobile electronics such as LG's ebook laptop and Sony-Ericsson's ultra-slim cell phone. Wireless device manufacturers are attracted by the technology's low power consumption and excellent video qualities that mesh with the needs of the mobile video market. By 2012, the OLED industry, including display, signage and lighting applications, is expected to reach $10.8 billion - i.e. more than half of the headline $19.7 billion total.
The organic transistor segment is expected to be implemented in radio identification (RFID) devices, successfully competing with mainstream silicon technology, according to NanoMarkets. Next year, 2007, the first commercial organic RFID tags from firms such as Motorola, OrganicID and PolyIC are expected. NanoMarkets believes that by 2012, the market for organic RFIDs will reach $4.5 billion.
Other organic transistor applications such as display backplanes (e.g. in the Sony book reader) are also already enabling new business revenues - these are expected to generate $1.6 billion in revenues by 2012 as well as in some toys and games. The market for toys, games and other novelties will reach about $1 billion by 2012, according to NanoMarkets.
Commercialization of organic electronics depends upon and results from research into new kinds of materials such as solution-processable small molecule materials that promise larger and lower cost OLED displays and hybrid organic/inorganic materials that will help expand the photovoltaic markets with lower cost solar panels and effective solar chargers for mobile electronics. With commercial manufacture, NanoMarkets expects prices to fall dramatically, which, in turn, will make it easier for organic electronics to penetrate new markets.
As the business grows, equipment suppliers have a strong incentive to build specialist production equipment to serve the needs of this industry. For example, organic vapor deposition (OVPD) systems promise better performance and cost characteristics for organics than traditional vacuum deposition methods used in the semiconductor industry. Ink-jet printers from firms such as Litrex will also pave the way to rapid commercialization of organic electronics.
The report also discusses other most important opportunities including sensors, batteries and computer memory. The report looks at the activities of numerous firms including Cambridge Display, Dow, DuPont, GE, IBM, Kodak, Konarka, LG, Osram, Plastic Logic, Merck, Philips, Samsung Siemens and others. The report further contains eight-year market forecasts of all leading organic electronic market segments.
By Dr Mike Cooke
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