USDC Promotes FPO Adoption

01/01/2007

SAN JOSE, CA - The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC) board of directors will launch an initiative to promote flexible, printed, and organic (FPO) electronics, providing services to industry, academia, and government sectors with the aim of developing and expanding the FPO electronics sector and drafting a pertinent technology roadmap.

The USDC endorses FPO electronics for intuitive and ambient applications in active, ubiquitous electronics, including those for human systems. Near-term applications range from flexible batteries to sensors and solar-cell panels. Electronic clothing and disposable electronics are also in development. The consortium manages more than 30 technical projects in this arena, with about $75 million invested in R&D. The current initiative will delve into requirements and challenges impeding mass commercialization, company entry, and investment.

Achieving commercial success from R&D potential requires quality infrastructure, funding, and resource deployment, said Michael Ciesinski, president of USDC, stating the initiative’s role as facilitator for collaboration across industries.

Ciesinski will lead the initiative; M. Robert Pinnel, Ph.D., will serve as interim CTO for technical activity. USDC will organize existing members, capital investment interests, start-ups, and related materials and chemicals businesses to generate funding and commercialization. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), iNEMI, and several government initiatives - the Army Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University, the macroelectronics program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Binghamton University-led Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) - will also contribute. Those interested should visit www.usdc.org.