ally toxic material.
Lead solder melts at 215°C, whereas isotropic conductive paste can be cured as low as 110°C. This opens up possibilities for using plastic substrates to allow a new generation of flexible electronics. In order to use PET substrates, without the risk of buckling or warping during curing, the cure temperature needs to be brought below 80°C.
- Photovoltaic modules – ECAs have suffered from poor stability when applied to copper and tin metals, but improved ECAs for PV applications have been available since 2010. Lower temperature interconnections can allow thinner wafers, and reduce warpage and breakage of solar cells.
- LCD and OLED displays – ACFs have found a particular niche market in packaging flat panel displays. In general, bending or physical deformation of ECAs can degrade the electrical conductivity. Therefore, novel flexible electrically conductive materials which respond well to repeated bending or high elongations will be required for future flexible display technologies.
- Touch panels – The damage to the substrates can be reduced by lowering the bonding temperature during assembly. The penetration of touch panels in the cell phone market is forecasted to reach more than 40% in the near future.
- LEDs – It is quick and cheap to mount LEDs using conductive adhesives and the thermal penalty is tolerable if the adhesive layer is kept thin.
- RFID chips – Conductive adhesives are used for mounting temperature-sensitive chips on smart cards, because of low curing temperatures.
Currently, 74% of Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF) is used in the manufacture of LCD or OLED displays. Displays are becoming more widely used in consumer electronics, aerospace, defence, automotive, and infrastructure sectors. UV-thermal cure mechanisms must be developed to lower cure temperature to allow plastic substrates for flexible displays. However, according to IDTechEx Research’s report Electrically Conductive Adhesives 2016-2026, this market is still set to diversify with the market for ACF in non-display applications reaching over $1 billion by 2026, due to the reliable properties, thinness and ease of processing. Metallic coatings on polymeric particles will allow lower cost fillers.
Electrically Conductive Adhesives 2016-2026 offers worldwide coverage of electrically conductive adhesives, most of which are manufactured in Asia-Pacific but start-ups and innovation exists in Europe and North America. The report is based on extensive research and includes twelve primary interviews with the market leading manufacturers. It includes forecasts by revenue, split by technology and function, until 2026.