Thin-Film, Organic and Printable Dielectrics

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Until recently, the focus of materials development for thin-film, organic printable (TOP) electronics was focused primarily on conductors and semiconductors. However, as this rapidly growing area of electronics becomes more sophisticated, there is a need for new or enhanced dielectric materials for both processors and memories.

The drivers here are demands for higher performance TOP circuitry and especially the need to match dielectrics to semiconductors in order to achieve it. In particular, the considerable current interest in an organic version of CMOS may well need novel dielectrics to make it work. Other factors that are driving the need for new kinds of dielectrics include the special requirements of flexible and printed electronics in its many forms.

Silicon dioxide has been the mainstay of the semiconductor industry when it comes to dielectrics and will be used in TOP electronics too, but there is now considerable research and commercial development of dielectric materials that might be better suited to TOP electronics. These include various metal oxides and nitrides, polymers, dielectric inks, nanomaterials and even novel high k-materials. That such materials are important both strategically for the future development of TOP electronics and as revenue generators is shown the list of firms and research institutes working in this space. These include BASF, DuPont, Evonik, Merck, Polyera, Cambridge University, Max Planck Institute, North Western University, PARC and University of Groningen, to name but a few.

This report provides a unique guide to the opportunities in this space. It identifies and quantifies the opportunities for dielectrics in TOP electronics. It discusses the various applications in TOP electronics that are currently calling for novel dielectric materials. It also identifies and compares the major candidate materials for this role and how they fit with various system architectures, production technologies, and the semiconductors used in TOP electronics. The report also includes the product strategies of major firms that are involving themselves in this space and a complete review of R&D and commercialization efforts of TOP dielectrics, as well as an eight-year forecast broken out by types of materials and applications.

• Executive Summary
  • E.1 Major Opportunities in Dielectrics for TOP Electronics
  • E.1.1 On the Materials Side
  • E.1.2 On Applications
  • E.2 Key Firms to Watch for Innovations in Dielectrics
  • E.2.1 Key Firms
  • E.2.2 Key Research Institutions
  • E.3 Summary of Market Forecasts
• Chapter One: Introduction
  • 1.1 Background to this Report
    • 1.1.1 The Rise of New Materials
    • 1.1.2 Organic Material Sets and Organic CMOS
    • 1.1.3 Organic Thin-Film Transistors
    • 1.1.4 Organic Memory Alive and Well
    • 1.1.5 Displays and Lighting
  • 1.2 Methodology and Scope of this Report
  • 1.3 Plan of this Report
• Chapter Two: Applications for Dielectrics in Thin-Film, Organic and Printed Electronics
  • 2.1 Types of Dielectrics
    • 2.1.1 Gate Dielectrics
    • 2.1.2 Isolation Dielectrics
    • 2.1.3 Intermetal/Interlayer Dielectrics
  • 2.2 Dielectrics in TFTs and OTFTs
    • 2.2.1 OTFTs Device Geometries
    • 2.2.2 Commercial Activities
    • 2.2.3 Research Developments
  • 2.3 Dielectrics in Printed Memories
    • 2.3.1 Commercial Activities
    • 2.3.2 Research Developments
  • 2.4 Dielectrics in Printed Silicon Devices
  • 2.5 Dielectrics in Display and Lighting Devices
  • 2.6 Dielectrics Materials on Flexible Substrates
  • 2.7 Holes and Other Problems
  • 2.8 Key Points in this Chapter
    • 2.8.1 Gate Dielectrics
    • 2.8.2 OTFTs/TFTS
    • 2.8.3 Organic Memory
    • 2.8.4 Printed Silicon Devices
    • 2.8.5 Display and Lighting Devices
    • 2.8.6 Flexible Substrates
    • 2.8.7 Holes and Other Problems
• Chapter Three: Dielectric Materials
  • 3.1 The Role of Dielectrics in Emerging Materials Sets
    • 3.1.1 Commercial Developments
    • 3.1.2 R&D Activities
  • 3.2 Dielectric Materials and Manufacturing/Deposition Issues
    • 3.2.1 Printing Organic Materials
    • 3.2.2 Evaporation Techniques
    • 3.2.3 Deposition Issues
    • 3.2.4 Self-Alignment
  • 3.3 Silicon Dioxide in TOP Electronics
  • 3.4 Metal Oxides and Nitrides
    • 3.4.1 SAMs
    • 3.4.2 Aluminum, Lanthanum and Other Oxides
    • 3.4.3 Barium Titanate Nanocomposite
    • 3.4.4 Hafnium Oxide
    • 3.4.5 HafSOx
    • 3.4.6 MoO2
    • 3.4.7 Zirconia
  • 3.5 Polymeric Dielectrics
    • 3.5.1 Commercial Developments
    • 3.5.2 R&D Activities
    • 3.5.3 Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Polymers
  • 3.6 Novel High-k Materials and their Potential Role in TOP Electronics
  • 3.7 Dielectric Inks
  • 3.8 Use of Nanomaterials
    • 3.8.1 Composite Nanomaterials
    • 3.8.2 Self-Assembled Nanodielectrics
    • 3.8.3 Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs)
  • 3.9 Key Points in this Chapter
    • 3.9.1 Manufacturing and Deposition Processes
    • 3.9.2 Deposition Issues
    • 3.9.3 Emerging Materials Sets
    • 3.9.4 Commercial Developments
    • 3.9.5 R&D Activities
    • 3.9.6 Silicon Dioxide in TOP Electronics
    • 3.9.7 Metal Oxides and Nitrides
    • 3.9.8 Polymeric Dielectrics
    • 3.9.9 Novel high-k Materials
    • 3.9.10 Dielectric Inks
    • 3.9.11 Nanomaterials
• Chapter Four: Eight-Year Forecasts of Dielectrics for TOP Electronics
  • 4.1 Forecast Methodology
  • 4.2 Dielectrics in Conventional TFT Display Backplanes
  • 4.3 Dielectrics in OTFT Display Backplanes
  • 4.4 Dielectrics in OTFT-Based RFID
  • 4.5 Dielectrics in OTFT-Based Smartcards
  • 4.6 Dielectrics for Printed Silicon Devices
  • 4.7 Dielectrics for OLED Displays and Lighting
  • 4.8 Dielectrics for Printed and Organic Sensors
  • 4.9 Dielectrics for Solar Panels
  • 4.10 Summary of TOP Dielectrics Market by Material Type
  • 4.11 Summary of TOP Dielectrics Market by Application
• Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in this Report
• List of Exhibits
  • Exhibit E-1 Common Dielectric Materials used in TOP Electronics
  • Exhibit E-2 Emerging Material Sets for Printed CMOS
  • Exhibit E-3 Organic Materials Used in Memory Applications
  • Exhibit E-4 Summary of TOP Dielectrics Market by Material Type
  • Exhibit 2-1 TOP Dielectric Applications by Developer
  • Exhibit 2-2 Pentacene OFET using a PVA Gate Dielectric
  • Exhibit 2-3 Electrical Parameters for Pentacene OTFTs
  • Exhibit 2-4 OTFTs Using SAM Dielectrics
  • Exhibit 2-5 Properties of Pentacene OTFTs using Si3N4 and SiO2 Dielectrics
  • Exhibit 2-6 Properties of Pentacene OTFTs and Dielectrics Treated with HMDS and OTS
  • Exhibit 2-7 Flexible Inorganic-Organic TFTs
  • Exhibit 2-8 Dielectrics Used in Memory Applications
  • Exhibit 2-9 Properties of BiOFET memory with PCBM
  • Exhibit 3-1 Common Dielectric Materials used in TOP Electronics
  • Exhibit 3-2 Organic Printed Material Sets
  • Exhibit 3-3 Emerging Material Sets for Printed CMOS
  • Exhibit 3-4 Pentacene and F16CuPc TFTs with SAM dielectric on PEN Substrate
  • Exhibit 3-5 Solution Processable Dielectrics for TFTs
  • Exhibit 3-6 Comparison of TOP Electronics and Conventional Silicon-based IC Manufacturing
  • Exhibit 3-7 Organic Dielectrics: How Materials and Production Technologies are Matched
  • Exhibit 3-8 Characteristics of Printing Technologies Used for TOP Dielectrics
  • Exhibit 3-9 Selected Inkjet Equipment Suppliers for TOP Electronics
  • Exhibit 3-10 BASF's Polymer Dielectric Material Developments
  • Exhibit 3-11 BASF Sepiolid TOP Materials
  • Exhibit 3-12 OTFTs Prepared Using Thermoset Based Dielectrics
  • Exhibit 3-13 Crosslinked Polymer Blends for TFTs
  • Exhibit 3-14 PolyApply's Hybrid Dielectric Material Properties
  • Exhibit 3-15 High Dielectric Materials used in TOP Electronics
  • Exhibit 3-16 Dielectric Inks
  • Exhibit 3-17 Selected Dielectric Inks
  • Exhibit 3-18 Bulk Dielectric for Various Titanates
  • Exhibit 3-19 Self Assembled Nanodielectrics for OTFTs
  • Exhibit 4-1 Dielectrics in Conventional TFTs for Display Backplanes
  • Exhibit 4-2 Dielectrics in OTFT Backplanes
  • Exhibit 4-3 Dielectrics in OTFT-Based RFID
  • Exhibit 4-4 Dielectrics in OTFT/Organic Memory-Based Smartcards
  • Exhibit 4-5 Dielectrics in Printed Silicon Devices
  • Exhibit 4-6 Dielectrics in OLED Displays and Lighting (excludes backplanes)
  • Exhibit 4-7 Dielectrics in Organic and Printed Sensors
  • Exhibit 4-8 Dielectrics in Solar Panels
  • Exhibit 4-9 Summary of TOP Dielectrics Market by Material Type
  • Exhibit 4-10 Summary of TOP Dielectrics Market by Application