In the third quarter, Thin Film Electronics reached a significant milestone towards printed integrated systems - demonstrating a prototype for Thinflm Addressable Memory - and opened a new production facility.

Interim report for the third quarter 2011 and condensed consolidated financial statements: [download]. See below for the business review section of the report.

 

Highlights:

• Enables the ‘Internet of Things’: Addressable memories are a key component for the ‘Internet of Things’.
• Price/functionality leadership: Thinfilm sensor tags will have a unique position compared to conventional electronics.
• InkTec opens dedicated production facility: Upgrades and expands their production capacity of Thinfilm Memory.

The Thinfilm Addressable Memory prototype is an important step toward the mass production of low-cost, low-power ubiquitous devices that are a key component of the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT).

“The Internet of Things, where sensors and intelligence are added to physical objects, is at a tipping point. Near Field Communication (NFC) is emerging as the standard to interact with smart tags, but one needs a technology to tag ‘everything’ in an inexpensive way . This prototype is a demonstration that low-cost printed integrated systems and the tagging of everyday objects are possible,” says Davor Sutija, Thinfilm CEO.

“This opens up new fields of use, as now addressable memory can be combined with sensors, power sources and antennas to power smart applications,” said Sutija when the prototype was unveiled 21 October.

The prototype is the world’s first printed non-volatile memory device addressed with complementary organic circuits, the organic equivalent of CMOS circuitry. Thinfilm Addressable Memory combines Thinfilm’s polymer-based memory technology with PARC’s transistor technology using complementary pairs of n-type and p-type transistors to construct the circuits.

Price/functionality leadership

The addressable memory can be integrated with other printed components, such as antennas and sensors, to create fully printed systems for interaction with everyday objects. The temperature of food and drugs may be monitored and retail items tracked individually rather than by pallet, container or truckload.

“If you look at price per function, and compare Thinfilm sensor tags with conventional electronics, we will have a unique position,” says Torgrim Takle, Thinfilm CFO, and mentions temperature monitoring as an example of such functionality. “Today’s sensor systems are too expensive to be used on an item-level.”

Using printing to manufacture electronics minimizes the number of process steps, which in turn, dramatically reduces manufacturing costs and lowers the environmental impact compared to traditional semiconductor processes.

To monitor that an item has not been exposed to temperatures above certain thresholds, one does not need high storage capacity, a few bits are enough. “Our first sensor system products will target low-bit applications where we have a sustainable price-functionality advantage,” explains Takle.

Dedicated production facility opened

In August, InkTec opened a new dedicated production facility for Thinfilm Memory. The new, upgraded facility has a production capacity of 10 million tags of Thinfilm Memory per month.

Several leading toy manufacturers have purchased the Thinfilm Toy Development Kit and are evaluating specific toy concepts based on Thinfilm Memory. "We have established a supply chain, with InkTec as our main production partner, and are ready to meet the demand for low-cost high-volume consumer applications," said Sutija at the opening of the production facility.

Notable events in 2011:

News and announcements:

• Thinfilm Unveils First Scalable Printed CMOS Memory, 21 October 2011
• InkTec Opens Dedicated Production Facility for Thinfilm Memory, 8 August 2011
• Davor Sutija New OE-A Board Member, 28 June 2011
• Thinfilm Unlocks Encrypted Market With New Printed Memory, 28 June 2011
• Thinfilm Opens Japan Office, 6 June 2011
• Thinfilm Receives Engineering Orders for Prototypes, 9 May 2011
• Thinfilm Awarded Government Grant, 6 May 2011
• Thinfilm & PARC extend printed electronics commercialization engagement, 4 April 2011
• PARC, a Xerox company, takes minority stake in Thinfilm, 24 March 2011
• Thinfilm Appoints Top Scientists to Technology Council, 9 March 2011
• Thinfilm wins Frost & Sullivan’s new product innovation award, 2 March 2011
• Thinfilm launches demo game powered by printed memories, 10 February 2011
• Thinfilm addressable memory design completed, 18 January 2011

Organizational updates:

• Rita Glenne New Thinfilm Board Member, 10 May 2011
• Jennifer Ernst was appointed Vice President, North America, 3 March 2011
• Torgrim Takle was appointed Chief Financial Officer, 10 January 2011

Conferences and trade shows:

• Thinfilm presented atIV Nanotechnology International Forum October 26-28, 2011, Moscow
• Thinfilm presented at SemiCon West—Extreme Electronics July 12-14 2011 in San Francisco
• Thinfilm exhibited at GamesBeat July 12-13 2011 in San Francisco
• Thinfilm presented and exhibited at LOPE-C June 28-30 2011 in Frankfurt
• Thinfilm presented at the Solvay-COPE Symposium on Organic Electronics May 12-13 2011 in Atlanta
• Thinfilm presented and exhibited at the IDTechEx conference Printed Electronics Europe 5-6 April 2011 in Düsseldorf
• Thinfilm presented at the IPI conference, Exploiting Printed Electronics Technologies, 23 March 2011 in London
• Thinfilm presented and exhibited at the Engage Conference and Expo 201115-16 February 15-16 2011 in New York
• Thinfilm presented at the Flexible Electronics and Displays Conference, 7-10 February 2011 in Phoenix, AZ