Materials science may not immediately captivate your curiosity but advances in Organic Electronics point towards innovations benefitting both manufacturers and consumers.
From more cost-effective and personalized healthcare devices, to more environmentally and fiscally sound production methods, Organic Electronics hallmarks a new era of technology.
From novelty to commonly accepted technology
Organic Electronics could be the wave of the future, promising more cost-effective and environmentally-sound methods for producing key components such as semiconductors, displays, and wearable microtechnology.
Originating in a 1977 discovery of polyacetylene conducting properties, the field of Organic Electronics captured the curiosity of researchers and paved the way for innovative smart devices.
Organic electronics is a specialized materials science. This technology is classified as “organic” not because it was produced without GMOs or growth hormones but by the presence of carbon in all organic materials.
Research and development within Organic Electronics focus on developing new, carbon-based polymers with specific properties, such as a high degree of thermal stability or flexibility.
As revolutionary as it sounds, this evolving technology actually exists in popular products today. In this blog post, we’ll dig a little deeper into what is Organic Electronics and how this novel technology continues to revolutionize production and technology.
Organic Electronics versus Conventional Electronics – What’s the Difference?
Conventional electronics rely heavily on inorganic materials for production. These materials include both synthetic and naturally occurring substances, often silicon or metals.
Inorganic substances, natural or man-made, come with a very specific set of qualities that potentially limit their application – or, at the very least, necessitate specific processing to achieve the desired result. For instance, the high melting point of materials traditionally used in displays, such as glass, require melting points to shape that make obtaining any uniflexation difficult without also rendering components meant for smart displays worthless.
The size of a single silicon atom also presents a problem, especially within the realm of microtechnology. Silicon atoms are larger than carbon and many other carbon-based molecules. The atom’s stability creates additional problems for smaller applications in nanocircuitry.
In contrast, organic materials offer scientists and developers a wider range of material properties to work with.
Benefits of Organic Electronics
While cold fusion remains a mythical holy grail as yet unrealized, the field of Organic Electronics delivers incredible and previously impossible innovations within reach of modern technology.
Multiple benefits derive from this materials science research. These positive impacts extend to manufacturers and consumers alike.
From an economic standpoint, organic materials developed through this research are incredibly cost-efficient. They can be inexpensively created and quickly scaled from lab to commercial production capacity.
Environmental benefits also drive continued research into Organic Electronics. Production of organic molecules and polymers requires far less energy and generates far less waste than conventional electronics materials commonly used today. Organic substrates are less toxic and potentially biodegradable. This earns Organic Electronics a “greener technology” classification.
The functionality benefits of organic substrates stem from their unique molecular properties. Scientists continue to hone methods for developing substrates showcasing specific chemical, electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. Organic substrates, especially compared to conventional silicon-based electronics materials, offer promising benefits, including:
- greater flexibility
- stretchability
- conducting and semiconducting
- transistor capabilities
Applications of Organic Technology You Can Buy Today
Though most televisions feature LED or LCD screens, new screens produced with OLED technology could dramatically improve your television-watching experience – and you can buy one today!
Organic Light-Emitting Diode, or OLED, technology transforms electricity into light directly.
Advances in OLED technology offer a cost-competitive alternative capable of outperforming conventional LED/LCD television displays in several key ways, including:
- Thinner and Lighter Devices. Unlike conventional LED/LCD screens that require a backlight, OLED screens are thinner and lighter without additional backlight components.
- Enhanced Image Quality. OLED screens incorporate multiple layers of incredibly thin organic compounds that each function as individual pixels. The ability to independently control these layers means tighter control of pixelation, truer blacks, and a sharper image.
Energy Efficiency. Greater control over individual pixels means devices with OLED displays require lower voltage.
Developed by LG Electronics, some of the top-rated LG televisions on the market from a variety of brands now incorporate this technology. OLED TV options from respected brands such as Vizio, Phillips, and Panasonic feature innovative screen technology.
Organic Electronics Technologies in Development
Organic Electronics encompasses far more than new and novel substances – it creates opportunities for repurposing existing equipment and production methods to achieve new and novel results more efficiently. As the field transitions from research to full-scale development capabilities, technologies such as these are within reach:
- Solar Cells featuring semiconducting ink. Utilizing organic semiconducting ink, an Australian University, in 2018, repurposed a wine label printer and plastic sheets to create and install a 200 m2 solar array in a single day. Their innovative process hinged on organic semiconducting ink, an ink compatible with their repurposed printer and capable of turning otherwise ordinary objects into solar power generators.
- Flexible displays. Flexible smart devices eluded engineers, developers, and scientists for years. Now, advances in Organic Electronics offer a pathway to bendable cell phones, like Samsung’s 2019 prototype. This technology also supports more cost-effective production for thermistors, capacitive sensors, and even glucose testing strips!
- Wearable and textile Organic Electronics. Though still firmly on the horizon, recent Organic Electronics experiments offer the potential to revolutionize healthcare. Utilizing graphene, researchers developed a wearable sensor capable of measuring the moisture of a patient’s wound and sending that data to a computer. Delivering real-time monitoring capabilities, these bandage sensors could allow medical professionals to personalize current wound care practices. Personalized wound care offers optimal healing and more efficient tissue regeneration.
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