Organic electronics is an area of condensed materials science regarding the design, fabrication, synthesis, and characterization of organic compounds or polymers which exhibit desired electrical properties including conductivity, thermal conductivity, and electrical strength.
Organic electronics includes integrated circuits, sensors, microelectronics, optoelectronic devices, photonics, biomedical, energy, optical, and many other applications. The scope of organic electronics has been increasing exponentially due to the development and significant research in various areas. This area of electronics engineering is constantly evolving and advancing to deliver high performance devices using cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally safe techniques and methods.
Organic electronics engineers are constantly developing new techniques and equipment for the purpose of making organic electronic devices that exhibit specific desired properties. One of these techniques is through the mineralization of semiconductors. In this process, organic compounds such as diporphene and terbium are deposited on a conductive material which is then slowly charged with electricity. This charging occurs without causing the material to become ionized. This results in the deposition of molecules with the electronic charge and the subsequent improvement in the electronic characteristics of the material.
Points affecting Organic Electronics to rise
Organic electronics and their generalization ability is beneficial for several reasons. First, organic electronics can be used for creating high-quality devices that have longer lifetimes and thus are more cost-effective. Second, the mineralization process allows for a wide range of organic materials that are suitable for integrating electronics in a variety of materials including non-metals and non-conductive alloys. Third, the biodegradability of the semiconductor will allow for the accumulation of useful organic materials in soil or in water.
Organic electronics and their generalization ability are also beneficial for many other applications as well including photovoltaic systems. With respect to photovoltaic systems, the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy may also be achieved through organic electronics. The photovoltaic cells used in today's solar panels are made up of a series of interconnected diodes. These photovoltaic cells are constructed in a way that allows them to be integrated with organic electronics.
Biomimicry, in general, refers to the application of biology to the design of materials and systems for applications in science and engineering. There are many exciting opportunities being created as we learn more about how living systems can be used to create new materials and systems for electronics. One area of particular interest includes organic electronics that can be applied to the creation of flexible displays. Flexible displays are one of the fastest growing trends in today's market.
Flexible displays are comprised of inorganic conductors such as polyvinyl esters (PV) and polyurethane. These types of displays make use of the principle of organic semiconductors combined with flexible plastics that have the ability to flex when needed. Flexibility is important because it makes the display surface much easier to manufacture and also makes it safer since it is less likely to be cut or damaged during normal usage. Flexible displays technology are typically found in electronic billboards, interactive boards, panel enclosures, touch screen labels, digital signage and computer displays. Another flexible display material that is rapidly becoming popular for use in electronic and optoelectronic displays is polyvinyl esters (PV).
Some of the benefits of using organic electronics and polymers is the reduction in manufacturing costs due to the increased levels of conductivity provided. Conductivity increases the effectiveness of certain materials by increasing their electrical conductivity and overall strength. As a result, some of the most widely used polymers and organic chemicals in use for organic electronics are silicone, nimbus, diphenyl, naphthalene and polypropylene. Another benefit of these chemicals is that they are highly flexible and are capable of being molded into a wide variety of complex shapes. This makes them useful for manufacturing and assembly purposes as well as for use as substrates in high-end electronics.
Organic electronics is made possible through the integration of flexible organic molecules and electronics. The performance of this technology is enhanced when the substances are made into semiconductor wafers. Organic field-effect transistors (FOET) make use of organic molecules as the conducting media. The devices created by integrating organic field-effect transistors with semiconductor wafers are more effective than traditional semiconductor-based devices. Organic electronics have numerous other advantages over typical semiconductor-based devices. For instance, they have a higher transfer rate and are highly tunable which allows them to be used for nanoelectronic applications and for nanoscale manufacturing processes.