Soaring indium costs drive hunt for alternative in transparent electrodes

March 30, 2012 — Indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electrodes are applied to the majority of display and touchscreen panels, as well as solar cells. As electronic devices with displays proliferate, as is the case with smartphones and media tablets, indium market prices are soaring, Displaybank reports. ITO electrodes are prone to cracking, which presents a problem for flexible displays.

Because of these challenges, researchers are developing alternatives to ITO based on graphene, metallic nano wires, conductivity polymers (PEDOT), transparent conductivity oxides (TCO), and carbon nanotubes (CNT). Corporations, universities, and research institutes around the world are fiercely competing to develop advanced technologies to dominate the market. Also read: Transparent conductors, ITO and alternatives

Displaybank Co., Ltd, issues an analysis report of key patents on next-generation transparent electrode technologies — PEDOT, CNT, Graphene, Metal, and TCO — to keep abreast of accelerated technology development competition of next generation transparent electrodes. Raw data were extracted from a total of 552 patents through close analysis and review on PCT patents that have been issued until October 2011. The report screened 490 patents relating to next-generation transparent electrodes, among the abstracted raw data. Displaybank has closely looked into status of Patent Applications per country, technology, and applicant for patent in the field of next generation transparent electrode, targeting 490 patents that have been carefully screened. Among 490 patents, Displaybank also selected 71 key patents and conducted an in-depth analysis of their technologies. Access reports at http://www.displaybank.com.

Visit our new Displays Manufacturing Channel!

POST A COMMENT

Easily post a comment below using your Linkedin, Twitter, Google or Facebook account. Comments won't automatically be posted to your social media accounts unless you select to share.