Inorganic Electronics Begin to Flex Their Muscle

by Robert F. Service Science, 16 Jun 2006 Like a desert mirage, the promise of organic electronics seems to shimmer always on the horizon. Plastic and other types of organics can form the backbone of electronic components that are cheap, thin, lightweight, and flexible, a combination that makes them sought after for applications as diverse as cheap solar cells and roll-up displays. Yet despite a few commercial successes such as small mobile phone displays, organic electronics have had trouble overcoming nagging problems, such as the slow speed at which electrical charges move through the devices and the fact that exposure to air often degrades their performance. Now, organics have something else to worry about: competition from more traditional inorganic electronics now being made to work on top of flexible materials. Read more