Plastic Electronics to Top $23.5B by 2012, Firm Says

Online Staff -- Electronic News, 2/10/2005

Sterling, Va.-based market research firm NanoMarkets LC says you should believe the hype, as plastic electronics based on conductive polymers and flexible substrates are set to change the face of electronics.

The company forecasts that the worldwide plastic electronics market will reach $5.8 billion in 2009, and explode to $23.5 billion by 2012.

Electronics built on conductive polymers and flexible substrates offer some compelling advantages over CMOS platforms given their low-costs, NanoMarkets claims, such as reduced power consumption and flexibility. They can be printed using techniques similar to those of ink jet printing or rubber-stamping, which would reduce the need for building giant fabs, making plastic electronics a serious interest point for the industry, according to the market research firm.

Furthermore, the ability to produce circuits without significant capital expenditures, or the need to recoup costs through high-output manufacturing means that the chip companies would be able to capitalize on market opportunities previously unavailable to them, the firm said.

In 2009, NanoMarkets expects that displays will account for 46 percent of the plastic electronics market, with memory making up 38 percent of the market. By 2012, NanoMarkets believes the markets for logic/processors, flexible solar panels and sensors will be measured in the billions of dollars.

In 2009, 37 percent of plastic electronics products are forecast to come from the mobile phone sector, but by 2012, plastic electronics will be making their impact felt in numerous other segments, NanoMarkets said.

Plastic electronics promise to allow the creation and production of roll-up displays to be used with computers and mobile phones, flexible solar panels that can be laminated to walls and ceilings or used to power portable equipment and ultra-low-cost RFID tags that will completely replace bar codes in retail outlets – none of which could be built using standard CMOS technology, the firm concluded.