14 DAY TRIAL // Organic electronics, plastic electronics or polymer electronics are the names given to a new branch of electronic products that relies on polymers and molecules based on carbon for its traits. The carbon is the main chemical element that found life on the planet, hence the term “organic.” Experts say that this field of study is a very promising one, and that advancements made here could further the industry considerably. Recently, the United Kingdom's National Measurement Institute, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) announced that it was developing tools and equipment to support the growing industry.
According to representatives from the research institute, the NPL is working to develop new scientific methods and technologies that could benefit the expanding field of organic electronics in the near future. Official statistics show that the market for this type of elements could be worth as much as £15 billion ($23.9 billion) by 2015. The stated goal of the Laboratory is to ensure that, by then, UK businesses have access to a developed infrastructure, ready to support their development and success.
Improvements in organic electronics could help experts harvest solar energy more efficiently, design smart packaging, improve medical diagnostics, and create new generations of displays and lighting sources, the NPL believes. In such circumstances, the testing and characterization of organic electronics is becoming increasingly important, and the organization is looking to lay down the groundwork before other research institutes do. Its two main areas of interest are photovoltaics and the printing deposition of organic materials, which the UK experts believe will be most important in the future.
One of the first things the NPL did was set up an ultra-high vacuum atomic force microscopy system that could provide extremely precise measurements of organic films. The institution has also entered a strategic collaboration with scientists at the renowned Imperial College London, by creating a joint postdoctoral research fellowship in Excitonic Photovoltaics. Additionally, by using molecular resolution atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction, the NPL was able to determine the structure of organic semiconductor layers, which will be used in future, thin-film transistors.
“In all these projects, our role has been to assist in the accurate measurement and characterization of electronic and chemical properties at the sub-micron level, and often this has included devising novel techniques for making such measurements,” the leader of the new project, expert Craig Murphy, explains.