Thin Film Electronics ASA

Thin Film Electronics ASA (Oslo Stock Exchange : THIN) is a Norwegian flexible electronics manufacturing company with global headquarters, R&D offices, and manufacturing in San Jose, California, United States and corporate headquarters in Oslo. Thinfilm designs, develops, and produces solid-state lithium battery (SSLB) products using roll-to-roll printing technology on stainless steel substrates.

"Thinfilm" redirects here. For the material, see thin film.

Thin Film Electronics ASA
TypeAllmennaksjeselskap
OSE: THIN
IndustryPrinted electronics
Founded2005 (2005)
HeadquartersSan Jose, California, USA
Key people
Kevin Barber (CEO)
Morten Opstad (Chairman)
ProductsSolid-state lithium batteries
Websitewww.thinfilmsystems.com

Thinfilm announced an updated corporate strategy based on SSLB products in January 2020.[1] Previously, Thinfilm used flexible and printed electronics manufacturing to produce NFC tags, Electronic article surveillance labels, and temperature sensing smart labels.

History

Thinfilm had developed printable memories based on polymer materials as early as 1994; first as part of Opticom ASA and then as an independent company. For the first ten years, the focus was on hybrid memory devices with polymer-based memory and silicon-based control circuitry, as developed jointly with Intel.[2] From 2006, Thinfilm has concentrated its efforts on printed electronics. Thinfilm successfully demonstrated roll-to-roll printed organic memory in 2009 and was awarded the IDTechEx Technical Development Manufacturing Award the same year.[3][4] Thinfilm's printed memory technology was licensed to Xerox in December 2014 and marketed as of June 2016 as Xerox Printed Memory.[5]

In January 2014, Thinfilm acquired the flexible electronics technology, including steel substrate, barrier materials, and encapsulation IP, of Kovio and opened a major R&D office in San Jose, California.[6]

In February 2015, Thinfilm demonstrated a connected NFC "smart bottle" at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This announcement coincided with the launch of NFC OpenSense technology, Thinfilm's patented printed NFC 'electronic seal' tag feature that allowed a smartphone to determine whether a bottle was factory sealed or previously opened.

In January 2020, Thinfilm announced an updated strategy focused on the design, development, and production of solid-state lithium battery (SSLB) products. The SSLB products are to be manufactured in Thinfilm's San Jose, California manufacturing facility.

Technology

Thinfilm's solid-state lithium battery (SSLB) technology is used to manufacture rechargeable microbattery products.[7] The company states that the products use a solid electrolyte material that is fundamentally safer than liquid and gel polymer electrolytes used in common rechargeable batteries. Thinfilm's use of stainless steel substrates, rather than silicon or ceramic substrates, gives the company a unique ability to substantially scale production capacity using high-volume roll-based manufacturing methods. The resulting battery products are designed to extend battery life (through higher volumetric energy densities), increase device lifetime (through higher charge/discharge cycling counts), and improve design flexibility (by enabling unconventional battery sizes). The company believes that the resulting battery products will be particularly useful in market segments including wearable electronics and connected sensors.

Awards

Thinfilm has won a number of awards for innovation and technical development since first demonstrating roll-to-roll printing of electronics in 2009.

In 2012, Thinfilm was awarded both the IDTechEx Product Development Award and the FlexTech Alliance Innovation Award for its Addressable Memory technology built in association with PARC.[8][9] Also in late 2012, Thinfilm was named as a runner-up in the Wall Street Journal Technology's Innovation Award.[10]

In October 2012, Thinfilm won the 2012 World Technology Award for Visionary Contribution to Materials Science and Technology in the development of printed smart tags for the Internet of Things.[11]

In November 2018, Thinfilm's stainless-steel substrate roll-to-roll factory in San Jose, California won the IDTechEx Technical Development Manufacturing Award.[12]

References
  1. "Thinfilm To Energize Innovation in the Wearables and Sensor Markets with Ultrathin, Flexible, Safe Batteries". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  2. Doubles its stake in 'Flash killer' Polymer RAM producer The Inquirer, 27 June 2001
  3. Thinfilm and InkTec awarded IDTechEx' Technical Development Manufacturing Award IDTechEx, 15 April 2009
  4. Thin Film Electronics Plans to Provide ‘Memory Everywhere’ Printed Electronics Now, May 2010
  5. "Printed Memory Labels". Xerox Corporation. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  6. "Thinfilm Acquires Kovio Technology, Opens Silicon Valley NFC Innovation Center". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  7. "Thinfilm Technology". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  8. Printed Electronics Europe 2012 Awards IDTechEx, 3 April 2012
  9. FlexTech Alliance Announces 2012 FLEXI Award Winners FlexTech, 8 February 2012
  10. "Thinfilm Named Runner-up for Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award". Reuters.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  11. "Thinfilm Wins 2012 World Technology Award". Reuters.
  12. "Thinfilm's Revolutionary Printed Electronics Fab Awarded 2018 Technical Development in Manufacturing Prize from IDTechEx". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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