Flexible Hybrid Electronics 2024-2034: IDTechEx

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1. Flexible hybrid electronics: Analyst viewpoint (I) 1.2. Analyst viewpoint (II) 1.3. What is flexible hybrid electronics (FHE)? 1.4. Motivating factors for FHE 1.5. Comparing benefits of conventional and flexible hybrid electronics 1.6. Overcoming the flexibility/functionality compromise 1.7. Predicted manufacturing trends for FHE 1.8. Supplier opportunities created by FHE adoption 1.9. Non-technological barriers to FHE adoption 1.10. Where does FHE have a sufficient value proposition? 1.11. FHE value proposition for different applications 1.12. Technology gaps and potential solutions for FHE to meet application requirements 1.13. Materials, components, and manufacturing methods for FHE 1.14. Component attachment materials for FHE: Conclusions 1.15. Flexible ICs: Conclusions 1.16. Flexible batteries for FHE: Conclusions 1.17. Energy harvesting for FHE: Conclusions 1.18. Flexible substrates for FHE: Conclusions 1.19. Conductive inks for FHE: Conclusions 1.20. R2R manufacturing for FHE: Conclusions 1.21. Use cases for FHE 1.22. FHE for electronic skin patches: Conclusions 1.23. FHE for e-textiles: Conclusions 1.24. FHE for smart packaging: Conclusions 1.25. FHE for IoT devices (industrial and domestic): Conclusions 1.26. FHE for large area LED lighting: Conclusions 1.27. Additive circuit prototyping with FHE: Conclusions 1.28. FHE circuit area forecast by application sector 1.29. FHE revenue forecast by application sector 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1. Overview 2.1.1. FHE combines the benefits of conventional and purely printed electronics 2.1.2. What counts as FHE? 2.1.3. Commonality with other established and emerging electronics methodologies 2.1.4. Printed electronics is additive, but can be analogue or digital 2.1.5. Multilayer PCBs – technically challenging for FHE 2.1.6. Overcoming the flexibility/functionality compromise 2.1.7. Readiness of FHE for different application sectors 2.1.8. FHE value chain: Many materials and technologies 2.1.9. Benefits of printing conductive interconnects 2.1.10. SWOT analysis: Flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) 2.1.11. Ensuring reliability of printed/flexible electronics is crucial 2.1.12. Digitization in manufacturing facilitates ‘FHE-as-a-service’ 2.1.13. Alternative routes to FHE manufacturing 2.1.14. Standards for FHE 2.2. Recent FHE developments 2.2.1. VTT improves FHE pilot line capabilities (I) 2.2.2. FHE manufacturing of capacitive touch interfaces and flexible lighting. 2.2.3. VTT improves FHE pilot line capabilities (II) 2.2.4. Emergence of contract manufacturer TracXon for flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) 2.2.5. CPI focuses on printed/hybrid electronics for healthcare applications 2.2.6. Jabil develops FHE prototypes for healthcare applications 2.2.7. Growing interest in utilizing copper ink for FHE (I) 2.2.8. Growing interest in utilizing copper ink for FHE (II) 2.3. Government funded projects and research centers 2.3.1. Government funded projects dominate 2.3.2. NextFlex focus on prototype system development 2.3.3. Funding of Nextflex project calls 2.3.4. Holst Centre develops 2.3.5. IMEC collaborates with Pragmatic to develop an 8-bit flexible microprocessor 2.3.6. Liten CEA-Tech develops printed batteries and transistors 2.3.7. Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials develops R2R transfer method 2.3.8. EU Smart2Go project aims to integrate energy harvesting into wearable devices 2.3.9. Swedish research center RISE offers hybrid electronics prototyping 2.3.10. ITRI develops armband for contactless EMG detection 2.3.11. Recent US government funded FHE projects: 2022 2.3.12. Recent US government funded FHE projects: 2021 3. MARKET FORECASTS 3.1. Overview 3.1.1. Market forecasting methodology: Applications 3.1.2. Market forecasting methodology: FHE proportion 3.1.3. FHE circuit area forecast by application sector 3.1.4. FHE circuit area forecast by application sector (2023, 2028, 2033) 3.1.5. FHE revenue forecast by application sector 3.1.6. FHE revenue forecast by application sector (2023, 2028, 2033) 3.1.7. FHE circuit area forecast for automotive applications 3.2. Forecasts by application sector 3.2.1. FHE revenue forecast for automotive applications 3.2.2. FHE circuit area forecast for consumer applications 3.2.3. FHE revenue forecast for consumer applications 3.2.4. FHE circuit area forecast for energy applications 3.2.5. FHE revenue forecast for energy applications 3.2.6. FHE circuit area forecast for healthcare/wellness applications 3.2.7. FHE revenue forecast for healthcare/wellness applications 3.2.8. FHE circuit area forecast for infrastructure / buildings / industrial applications 3.2.9. FHE revenue forecast for infrastructure / buildings / industrial applications 4. MATERIALS, COMPONENTS AND MANUFACTURING METHODS 4.1. Overview 4.1.1. Materials, components, and manufacturing methods for FHE 4.2. Component attachment methods and materials 4.2.1. Component attachment material: Introduction 4.2.2. Differentiating factors amongst component attachment materials 4.2.3. Low temperature solder enables thermally fragile substrates 4.2.4. Low temperature solder alloys 4.2.5. Comparing electrical component attachment materials 4.2.6. Photonic soldering gains traction 4.2.7. Component attachment materials (for printed/flexible electronics): SWOT analysis 4.2.8. Low temperature full metal interconnects with liquid metal solder microcapsules 4.2.9. Solder facilitates rapid component assembly via self- alignment 4.2.10. Electrically conductive adhesives: Dominant approach for flexible hybrid electronics 4.2.11. Example of conductive adhesives on flexible substrates 4.2.12. Durable and efficient component attachment is important for FHE circuit development 4.2.13. Field-aligned anisotropic conductive adhesive reaches commercialization 4.2.14. Conductive paste bumping on flexible substrates 4.2.15. Component attachment materials for FHE roadmap 4.2.16. Component attachment materials: Readiness level 4.2.17. Component attachment materials for FHE: Conclusions 4.3. Flexible ICs 4.3.1. Flexible ICs: Introduction 4.3.2. Fully printed ICs have struggled to compete with silicon 4.3.3. Current approaches to printed logic 4.3.4. Fully printed ICs for RFID using CNTs emphasize design flexibility 4.3.5. Metal oxide semiconductors: An alternative to organic semiconductors 4.3.6. Benefits 4.3.7. Investment into metal oxide ICs continues 4.3.8. Larger flexible ICs can reduce attachment costs 4.3.9. Flexible metal oxide ICs target applications beyond RFID such as smart packaging 4.3.10. Thinning silicon wafers for flexibility without compromising performance 4.3.11. Manufacturing flexible ‘silicon on polymer’ ICs 4.3.12. Embedding thinned silicon ICs in polymer 4.3.13. Embedding both thinned ICs and redistribution layer in flexible substrate 4.3.14. Silicon thinning process would need to be inserted into existing value chain 4.3.15. Where will bespoke or natively flexible processes be required? 4.3.16. Comparing flexible integrated circuit technologies 4.3.17. Flexible ICs: SWOT analysis 4.3.18. Roadmap for flexible ICs technology adoption 4.3.19. Flexible ICs: Conclusions 4.4. Printed and mounted sensors 4.4.1. Printable sensing materials: Introduction 4.4.2. What defines a printed sensor? 4.4.3. Overview of specific printed/flexible sensor types 4.4.4. Drivers for printed/flexible sensors 4.4.5. FHE enables IoT monitoring and ‘ambient computing’ 4.4.6. Screen printing dominates printed sensor manufacturing 4.4.7. Polymeric piezoelectric materials receive increasing interest 4.4.8. Sensing for industrial IoT 4.4.9. Sensing for wearables/AR 4.4.10. Companies looking to incorporate printed/ flexible sensors often require a complete solution 4.4.11. Printable temperature sensors 4.4.12. MEMS for flexible hybrid electronics 4.4.13. Printable sensor materials: SWOT analysis 4.4.14. Printed sensor materials: Readiness level assessment 4.4.15. Printed sensors for FHE: Conclusions 4.5. Thin film batteries 4.5.1. Thin film batteries and power sources 4.5.2. ‘Thin’, ‘flexible’ and ‘printed’ are separate properties 4.5.3. Major battery company targets printed/flexible batteries for smart packaging 4.5.4. Printed flexible batteries in development for smart packaging 4.5.5. Printed and coin cell battery integration for FHE smart tags 4.5.6. Using a thin film battery as an FHE substrate 4.5.7. FHE as a power conditioning circuit 4.5.8. Technology benchmarking for printed/flexible batteries 4.5.9. Flexible batteries: SWOT analysis 4.5.10. Application roadmap for printed/flexible batteries 4.5.11. Flexible batteries for FHE: Conclusions 4.6. Energy harvesting for FHE 4.6.1. Energy harvesting for FHE: Introduction 4.6.2. Epishine is leading the way in solar powered IoT, but no attempt to integrate with FHE yet 4.6.3. Perovskite PV could be cost-effective alternative for wireless energy harvesting 4.6.4. Saule Technologies: Perovskite PV developer for indoor electronics 4.6.5. Energy harvesting from EM spectrum 4.6.6. Thermoelectrics as a power source for wearables 4.6.7. Flexible PV for energy harvesting: Readiness level assessment 4.6.8. Flexible PV for energy harvesting: SWOT analysis 4.6.9. Power sources for FHE roadmap by application sectors 4.6.10. Energy harvesting for FHE: Conclusions 4.7. Flexible substrates 4.7.1. Substrates for printed/flexible electronics: Introduction 4.7.2. Cost and maximum temperature are correlated 4.7.3. Properties of typical flexible substrates 4.7.4. Comparing stretchable substrates 4.7.5. Thermoset stretchable substrate used in multiple development projects 4.7.6. External debris and protection/cleaning strategies 4.7.7. Paper substrates: Advantages and disadvantages 4.7.8. Specialist paper substrates can have properties comparable to polymers 4.7.9. Sustainable RFID tags with antennae printed on paper 4.7.10. Dimensional stability: Importance and effect of environment 4.7.11. Manipulating polyester film microstructure for improved properties 4.7.12. Heat stabilization of polyester films 4.7.13. Roadmap for flexible substrate adoption 4.7.14. Flexible substrates for FHE: Conclusions 4.8. Conductive inks 4.8.1. Conductive inks: Introduction 4.8.2. Challenges of comparing conductive inks 4.8.3. Segmentation of conductive ink technologies 4.8.4. Conductive ink companies segmented by conductive material 4.8.5. Market evolution and new opportunities 4.8.6. Balancing differentiation and ease of adoption 4.8.7. Interest in novel conductive inks continues 4.8.8. Copper inks gaining traction but not yet widely deployed 4.8.9. Companies continue to develop and market stretchable/thermoformable materials 4.8.10. Higher nanoparticle ink prices offset by conductivity 4.8.11. Conductive inks: SWOT analysis 4.8.12. Conductive inks: Readiness level assessment 4.8.13. Conductive inks for FHE: Conclusions 4.9. Printing methods and R2R manufacturing 4.9.1. R2R manufacturing: Introduction 4.9.2. Can R2R manufacturing be used for high mix low volume (HMLV)? 4.9.3. What is the main commercial challenge for roll-to-roll manufacturing? 4.9.4. Examples of R2R pilot/production lines for electronics 4.9.5. Commercial printed pressure sensors production via R2R electronics 4.9.6. Emergence of a contract manufacturer for flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) 4.9.7. Applying ‘Industry 4.0’ to printed electronics with in-line monitoring 4.9.8. Applications of R2R electronics manufacturing 4.9.9. Comparison of printing methods: Resolution vs throughput 4.9.10. R2R manufacturing: SWOT analysis 4.9.11. R2R manufacturing: Readiness level 4.9.12. R2R manufacturing for FHE: Conclusions 5. USE CASES FOR FHE 5.1. Overview 5.1.1. Use cases for FHE 5.1.2. Technology gaps and potential solutions to meet application requirements 5.2. Electronic skin patches 5.2.1. Benefits of electronic skin patches as a form factor 5.2.2. Development from conventional boxed to flexible hybrid electronics to fully stretchable 5.2.3. Electronic skin patches within wearable technology progress 5.2.4. Skin patch applications overview 5.2.5. Interest in skin patches for continuous biometric monitoring continues 5.2.6. Material requirements for an electronic skin patch 5.2.7. Material suppliers collaboration has enabled large scale trials of wearable skin patches 5.2.8. Progress in using liquid metal alloys as stretchable inks for wearable electronics 5.2.9. Growing interest in liquid metal wiring for stretchable electronics (II) 5.2.10. ‘Full-stack’ material portfolios reduce adoption barriers 5.2.11. R2R pilot line production of skin patch with FHE. 5.2.12. Printed batteries in skin patches 5.2.13. Electronic skin patch manufacturing value chain 5.2.14. Electronic skin patch manufacturing process 5.2.15. Offering S2S and R2R production enables different order sizes 5.2.16. Increased demand for wearable/medical manufacturing leads to expansion plans 5.2.17. Utilizing existing screen-printing capabilities for electronic skin patches 5.2.18. GE Research: Manufacturing of disposable wearable vital signs monitoring devices 5.2.19. NextFlex: Utilizing electronics in silicone to make more comfortable skin patches 5.2.20. Key points: Materials for electronic skin patches 5.2.21. FHE for electronic skin patches: SWOT analysis 5.2.22. FHE for electronic skin patches: Conclusions 5.3. E-textiles 5.3.1. E-textiles can utilize FHE for component integration 5.3.2. E-textiles represent a small market share for biometric monitoring 5.3.3. Industry challenges for e-textiles 5.3.4. Three competing approaches to e-textile manufacturing 5.3.5. Conductive ink requirements for e-textiles 5.3.6. Permeability of particle-free inks enable direct metallization of fabric to form e-textiles 5.3.7. Embedding electronics in a box avoids washability issues 5.3.8. Patterning and design may be used to supplement capabilities of printed conductive inks 5.3.9. Comparing conductive inks in e-textiles 5.3.10. Challenges with conductive inks in e-textiles 5.3.11. Sensors used in smart clothing for biometrics 5.3.12. Electronic components are joined by connectors 5.3.13. Connector designs and implementations 5.3.14. Overview of components in e-textiles 5.3.15. Commercial progress with e-textile projects 5.3.16. FHE for e-textiles: SWOT analysis 5.3.17. FHE for e-textiles: Conclusions 5.4. Smart packaging 5.4.1. Smart packaging: An ideal candidate for FHE 5.4.2. Motivation for smart packaging: Logistics and safety 5.4.3. Motivation for smart packaging: Improving sales and consumer engagement 5.4.4. Current status of smart packaging market 5.4.5. RFID tags with printed silver antennas on paper substrates 5.4.6. Copper ink for RFID antennas offers reduced costs and improved sustainability? 5.4.7. FHE with printed batteries and antennas for smart packaging 5.4.8. Simpler FHE circuits achieve easier market traction 5.4.9. Established semiconductor manufacturer explores FHE circuits for smart packaging 5.4.10. Smart packaging requirements can be fulfilled with simpler, cheaper ICs. 5.4.11. FHE controls OLEDs for smart packaging 5.4.12. Smart-packaging to improve pharmaceutical compliance 5.4.13. Smart tags with a flexible silicon IC 5.4.14. ‘Sensor-less’ sensing of temperature and movement with 5.4.15. FHE for smart packaging: SWOT analysis 5.4.16. FHE for smart packaging: Conclusions 5.5. IoT devices (industrial and domestic) 5.5.1. IoT devices (industrial and domestic): An emerging opportunity for FHE, 5.5.2. Industrial asset tracking/monitoring with FHE 5.5.3. Integrating a flexible IC within a multimodal sensor array 5.5.4. Capacitive sensors integrated into floors and wall panels 5.5.5. Integrated electronics enable industrial monitoring 5.5.6. Multi-sensor wireless asset tracking system demonstrates FHE potential. 5.5.7. Passive UHF RFID sensors for structural health monitoring 5.5.8. FHE for IoT devices: SWOT analysis (I) 5.5.9. FHE for IoT devices (industrial and domestic): Conclusions 5.6. Lighting 5.6.1. FHE for large area lighting: Introduction 5.6.2. FHE contract manufacturer produces large area LED lighting 5.6.3. R2R etching competes with FHE 5.6.4. R2R manufactured LED lighting on foil 5.6.5. Directly printed LED lighting (I) 5.6.6. Directly printed LED lighting (II) 5.6.7. FHE for large area lighting: SWOT analysis 5.6.8. FHE for large area LED lighting: Conclusions 5.7. Prototyping 5.7.1. Additive circuit prototyping with FHE: An introduction 5.7.2. Additive circuit prototyping landscape 5.7.3. Prototyping flexible 2D circuits with additive electronics 5.7.4. Multilayer circuit prototyping 5.7.5. Affordable pick-and-place for prototyping and small volume manufacturing 5.7.6. Readiness level of additive circuit prototyping 5.7.7. Additive circuit prototyping with FHE: Conclusions 6. COMPANY PROFILES 6.1. American Semiconductor 6.2. ACI Materials 6.3. Alpha Assembly 6.4. BeFC 6.5. Boeing 6.6. Coatema 6.7. Copprint 6.8. CPI 6.9. DoMicro 6.10. DuPont 6.11. Elantas 6.12. Electroninks 6.13. GE Healthcare 6.14. Henkel 6.15. Heraeus 6.16. Holst Center 6.17. Indium 6.18. InnovationLab 6.19. Inuru 6.20. IOTech 6.21. Jabil 6.22. Laiier 6.23. Liquid Wire 6.24. Molex 6.25. Muhlbauer 6.26. Nano Dimension 6.27. NextFlex 6.28. Optomec 6.29. Panasonic Electronic Materials 6.30. PragmatIC 6.31. PrintCB 6.32. PVNanoCell 6.33. Safi-Tech 6.34. Saralon 6.35. Screentec 6.36. Sun Chemical 6.37. Sunray Scientific 6.38. TraXon 6.39. VTT 6.40. Wiliot 6.41. Ynvisible 6.42. Ynvisible/Evonik/EpishineContact IDTechEx