Two market opportunities have been identified for our Printable Polymer Positive
Temperature Coefficient (P3TC) materials in the existing conventional printed circuit board
and the emerging printed electronics market. The majority of polymer PTC’s are used for
current over protection and to a lesser extent for temperature sensing applications. The global
market for conventional thermistors was $672m in 2008.
In conventional circuits, Positive Temperature Coefficient components (PTC’s) are widely
used as individual components that are inserted into a printed circuit board (PCB) and
soldered in place. A wide range of PTC’s based on either polymer or ceramics are available
to satisfy the multitude of voltage and current ratings required by industry. Polymer PTC’s
are based on cross linked polyethylene loaded with carbon black that is extruded and is
packaged as a component with electrical leads. If conventional PTC’s were to be replaced by
P3TC’s then not only would there be a saving on the component cost but the logistics of
sourcing, stocking and feeding the correct component to the production line could be avoided.
Printing on PCB’s is widely used in the electronics industry to apply for example accurate
conductive carbon or copper tracks. The P3TC may be applied either by screen or inkjet
printing techniques and cured at the printing station.
The other market for P3TC’s is in the printed electronics market – a newly emerging market
in its own right for low cost novel applications including consumer advertising, smart labels
on clothing, flexible displays, sensors, memories, radio frequency identification (RFID) and
photovoltaics. The reduction in cost accrues from the fact that the substrates are relatively
cheap (including paper) and there is no requirement for cleanrooms. In this market although
there are printable NTC materials, there is not as yet a commercial P3TC for circuit
protection