Printed Electronics Gets More Ambitious

Many technologies, magical capabilities

All the new forms of photovoltaic unit employ thin films and, to increase output and reduce cost, they are increasingly printed reel to reel. For example, G24 Innovations prints Dye Sensitised Solar Cells (DSSC) by ink jet and Nanosolar is building two factories to ink jet print Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) photovoltaics. Others claim a better result, but not necessarily a lower cost, by using RF sputtering or chemical vapour deposition for example and there are exciting new manufacturing technologies being proven such as Optomec Aerosol Jet ® deposition which overcomes some disadvantages of ink jet.