10-11 July 2008, Halkidiki, Greece
The EU is currently a leader in Flexible, Organic & Large Area Electronics. The EC has recognised early the potential of this emerging area through the funding of Polymer and Small molecule OLED technologies since the beginning of 1990's. In addition to collaborative targeted R&D projects granted by the IST, NMP and Energy Programmes, the first large Integrated Projects were launched at the beginning of the 6th Framework Programme. These included FLEXIDIS and POLYAPPLY for flexible and organic electronics, and OLLA for OLED lighting (IST Programme). These projects were complemented by NAIMO and NaPa on the material and nano-structuring side (NMP Programme). In addition to sponsoring shared research and developments among the relevant EU Community, it was also instrumental in enabling the creation of several start-ups that have become recognised leaders world-wide. Β Β During this evolution, it became clear that the field is highly promising not only for OLEDs and displays, but also for low cost photovoltaics and several other electronic functionalities. In view of the difficulties still at hand, it is likely that commercialisation will start with niche applications. Functional integration into foil-based systems will be gradual. It will start from simple or dedicated devices that will be augmented by integration of foreign components and in parallel be capable of increasing performance on their own.
This area has been recognised as a specific priority since the beginning of the 7th Framework Programme. We will present a global view on the R&D topics' coverage after the two first calls of FP7, mentioning those that will deserve specific attention in the future, and explain how the Quadriga set of concerted actions will contribute the structuring of this emerging but fragmented area at the EU level.
An updated status on the expected content of the related priority objectives in the FP7 calls for 2008 / 2009 will also be presented, highlighting the future funding opportunities for the R&D Community invested in flexible, organic, and large area electronics technologies.
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