'Plastic electronics': a technology for tomorrow

摘要

For many years, plastic was seen as an insulating material that could not conduct electricity, but research in the 1970s proved that some plastics could do just that. Now, with predictions of a ten-fold increase in the value of the organic light emitting display industry to ￡15.5 billion by 2014, research into 'plastic electronics' is growing apace. More than 30 years after the initial breakthrough, the first of the potential applications of these innovative materials - flexible laptops and thin high-definition television screens, for example -are coming to light.