Medical applications help the printed electronics market grow rapidly

As large-area image sensors continue to develop, the printed electronics market has also expanded to include applications such as piezoelectric sensors, temperature sensors, capacitive adaptive force sensors, and biosensors that can play a role in the COVID-19 pandemic...

The $3.6 billion, increasingly diversified printed electronics/sensors market is expected to grow 25% over the next decade, driven by the expansion of hybrid image sensors that can be manufactured with only minor modifications to existing CMOS sensor production lines.

Market research firm IDTechEx Research said that the above advantages have greatly reduced the barriers to entry into the market, so the agency optimistically predicts that by 2030, the fully printed sensor market will reach US$4.5 billion.

Printed sensor technology has always been driven by the demand for blood sugar concentration measuring devices (test strips) for diabetics, with billions of such test strips used each year. However, the applications of printed sensors are becoming more and more diverse, with other applications such as wearable electrodes and image sensors.

"These diverse applications range from very simple sensor structures with only a few layers to more complex ones requiring multiple deposited layers and the use of sophisticated, innovative materials," said Matthew Dyson, technology analyst at IDTechEx Research, in a blog post.

As large-area image sensors continue to develop, the printed electronics market is also expanding to include applications such as piezoelectric sensors, temperature sensors, capacitive adaptive force sensors, and biosensors that can play a role in the COVID-19 pandemic.

IDTechX also predicts the rise of hybrid image sensors, which are based on organic semiconductor technology or quantum dot nanoscale crystals printed on silicon circuits. Dyson said: "Hybrid image sensors can be manufactured using modified CMOS production lines, significantly reducing capital requirements." 

The application of printed electronics market is becoming increasingly diversified. (Image source: IDTechEx Research)

Image sensors based on printed organic photodiodes are another promising printed electronics technology; unlike traditional CMOS image detector components, this technology is softer and lighter than silicon image sensors that can be printed using cheap manufacturing technology.

While printed biosensors such as blood glucose test strips will continue to be the main driver of the printed electronics market, emerging wearable electrodes that can support a wide range of medical and fitness applications are expected to bring new growth momentum; IDTechX said: "The application of printed wearable electrodes in the medical and fitness fields is expected to grow with the development of continuous monitoring software and create a large demand."

The agency pointed out that the application market of traditional blood sugar test strips will gradually shrink, and skin patch solutions will become a new driver of the printed electronics market.