Pragmatic, Holst partner on printed electronics tech

Pragmatic Printing Ltd, a Cambridge-based startup developing printed electronic circuits, is collaborating with the Holst Center on advancing printed electronics technology to the commercial market. Holst is an initiative funded jointly by Imec and TNO.

Through the collaboration, Pragmatic's prototyping of integrated product concepts will be accelerated by Holst's expertise in related fields, such as OLEDs-on-flex.

Pragmatic is focused on making devices and circuits in printable amorphous oxide materials. The company has already completed prototypes of a printed electronic greeting card for Trigerprint Ltd, a subsidiary of Hallmark. However, Pragmatic did not say if the cards were made using metal oxides.

"Pragmatic's unique device structures and high resolution imprint process naturally complement Holst Center's existing expertise in materials and printed logic circuits. We believe this compelling combination will significantly advance the practical commercialization of printed electronics technology," said Gerwin Gelinck, program manager at Holst.

Scott White, CEO of Pragmatic, said the company was excited to be able to access Holst's network of partners.

The greeting card for Tigerprint demonstrates transistor logic circuits on flexible substrates, integrated into conventional greeting cards alongside other printed electronics technologies such as conductive inks and thin film batteries, to create a dynamic flashing animation. This is achieved without increasing the thickness of the card, and without the complicated assembly required for greeting cards employing conventional electronics, Pragmatic said.

Pragmatic acquired the printed electronics business of Nano ePrint Ltd in 2010, including its patented technology for planar electronic devices that can be fabricated in a single layer of semiconductor via single-step imprint patterning. PragmatIC has extended this imprinting process to allow a range of device and circuit architectures to be printed in transparent, flexible semiconductors at the micron and sub?m scale.

- Peter Clarke
??EE Times