Roll-to-roll (R2R) processing could revolutionise the manufacturing of large-area organic electronics and be used to mass produce photovoltaic roofing panels and flexible flat panel displays. New technologies developed to deal with defects and contaminants promise to overcome current barriers to higher yield at lower cost.
Photolithography is the workhorse behind electronics. Since its invention in the 1950s, this technique has shrunk the size of printed circuit features 400-fold. However, lithography is expensive because it can only pattern small areas at a time. And today, the electronics industry prefers to use flexible substrates, lighter and more rugged than silicon ones.
Further information: Higher yields for roll-to-roll flexible electronics