Plextronics - Light. Power. Circuitry.

Technology

The near future of printed electronics—an emerging industry that takes advantage of printing technology to manufacture electronic devices—holds many possibilities for new devices and applications, including printed organic solar cells, radio frequency identification tags and flexible displays.

Printed Electronics is revolutionizing the production of light, power and circuitry, and is constantly creating new ways to manage information, deliver power, and communicate. From global supply chain management to renewable energy sources, printed electronics will deliver new, low-cost product solutions to a broad range of industries. Advances in materials, such as those developed at Plextronics, and manufacturing processes are critical to the commercialization of printed electronics.

Plexcore^® technology, the foundation of Plextronics product portfolio, comprises solution-processable inks for printed electronics. Our ink systems, whether conductive, photoactive, or semi-conductive, are designed to maximize the efficiency, lifetime and stability of printed electronic devices. Also, the tunable nature of our Plexcore^® inks enables customized material solutions across a broad range of printed electronics applications.

In order to deliver high-performance materials to the printed electronics market, Plextronics is focused on not only polymer design and ink formulation, but also device physics and analysis. This holistic approach to technology development results in material and process technology that is backed-up by proven in-device performance.

Polymer Design
The first step in creating Plexcore^® technology is the design and synthesis of high-performance conductive and semi-conductive polymers. The key characteristics driving polymer design and synthesis include:

Molecular weight
Polydispersity
HOMO/LUMO energy levels
Energy absorption band-gap
End-group functionality

Plextronics’ foundation in this area has resulted in a broad portfolio of polymers that can be leveraged across a wide-range of printed electronic applications.

The first step in creating Plexcore technology is the design and synthesis of high performance conductive polymers. Molecular weight, polydispersity, HOMO/LUMO energy level, energy absorption band-gap and end-group functionality are all taken into consideration when creating the conductive polymer to maximize device efficiency. The result is a stable system with tunable conductivity, high transparency (if required), long lifetime and controllable optical and electrical properties.

Ink Formulation
Coating process parameters and device application requirements must be addressed when formulating inks for printed electronics. The key requirements include:

Process Parameters

Coating method
Viscosity
Surface Energy
Film Thickness
Surface Morphology

Device Application Requirements:

Performance Metrics (Efficiency, Lifetime)
Device Architecture
Operating Environment
Use Case

The soluble nature of the conductive polymer combined with proprietary techniques and materials creates a broad range of formulation options. The final ink formulation enables improved device performance and easy processing ease using the preferred deposition method.

Device Physics and Analysis
Plextronics has built a state of the art facility for not only developing and analyzing new materials, but also for analyzing these materials in-device. This includes organic photovoltaics, organic light-emitting diodes, and organic field effect transistors. These facilities and expertise enable a rapid feedback loop in new technology development.

Plextronics' device physics experts have an intimate understanding of the impact of structure-property relationship on device performance. With on-site device fabrication and testing, a quantitative process is in place to quickly analyze the impact of the polymer design and ink formation on device performance.