fantastic plastic

According to IDTechEx projections,

organic electronics will be a $30 billion business by 2015 mainly due to logic/memory, displays and lighting. The report […] indicates that this could rise to $250 billion by 2025, with major sales from logic/memory; OLED displays for electronic products; OLED billboard and signage; non-emissive organic displays; as well as lighting, batteries and photovoltaics. […]

“Progress is exponential, not linear, and, although the organic electronics business may be $4.75 billion in 2010, with OLED displays making nearly all the running, by 2015, startling progress on a broad front will be visible and by 2025, the business will rival silicon chips in size - yet, oddly, not impacting silicon chip sales much at all.”

IDTechEx believe that there are few other technologies that will have such an impact on industry in the next twenty years. Organic electronics in the form of smart packaging, electronic billboards, posters, signage and electronic books will impact the conventional printing and publishing industry. Organic lighting will severely dent sales of both incandescent and fluorescent lighting.

Percentage of organic electronic market by value 2020 [Source: IDTechEx]

Fujitsu has presented a flexible colour electronic paper display,

constructed of three displaying layers - red, blue, and green. Since no color filters or polarizing layers are required, it features color that is significantly more vivid than conventional reflective-type LCDs. […]
Fujitsu will conduct test marketing and practical-use testing, targeting commercialization within fiscal 2006 (April 2006 to March 2007) to promote field innovation using its new electronic paper.

According to their website, Fujitsu’s

e-paper is based on highly reflective cholesteric selective reflection technology. Cholesteric refers to the mesomorphic phase of a liquid crystal in which the molecules are aligned in a specific manner, in this case, a spiral configuration. Up to 50% of incident light in specific wavelengths and colors is reflected.