Printed Electronics—First Circuits, Products, and Roadmap

Printed electronics is a new kind of platform technology enabling many applications of low-cost, thin and flexible, as well as high-volume electronics. This article gives a brief introduction into the field. The performance potential of printed circuits with focus on printed RFID is discussed by examining the performance figures of a printed ring oscillator, a transponder chip with Manchester-encoded 4-bit IDs and results on a field trial with ID-less RF transponders. The “OE-A Roadmap for Organic and Printed Electronics” is outlined with focus on RFID. It defines nine major application fields of organic and printed electronics as well as the anticipated short-term to long-term progress of these fields.