The printed sensors market was valued at USD 7.63 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period of 2022 - 2032. Printed sensors and arrays offer capabilities in the Consumer Electronics that are unavailable in traditional silicon sensor systems. Printed devices tend to allow for more flexible form factors due to their low profiles and bendable substrates. The material cost can also be reduced by combining the sensors with the measurement system on a single substrate. Due to the miniaturizations of devices, the compact form factor is preferred in consumer electronics. Printed sensors can solve these issues with their slim design profile and bendable form factor, as well as their extremely fast responses to stimuli.

The use of sensors is essential in printed electronics. Due to the advancement in sensor manufacturing technology, sensors are continually becoming smaller, which has increased the demand for printed and flexible sensors in a variety of applications. Sensors allow a gadget to track changes and variations in parameters and quantity. Many printed electronics businesses incorporate printable and flexible sensors in their products. Screen printing, in which the transducer is a printed layer of polymeric or ceramic material, is used to create printed sensors. Electrical or optical signals are typically measured via printed and flexible sensors.

Sensors may now be fully printed and flexible thanks to developments in printable electronics. In March 2015, Optomec, a developer of 3D printing technologies, unveiled Aerosol Jet Technology for use in 3D printed electronics. To suit the needs of producers of printed electronics, equipment vendors are releasing cutting-edge machines on the market. For instance, Xenon introduced Sinteron 3000, which offers metallic ink more flexibility and energy per pulse than was possible with earlier products. Inkjet, microcontact, nanoimprinting, lamination, laser processing, hot embossing, stamping, transfer printing, R2R photolithography, and etching are some of the numerous methods that are used in printing.

Consumer electronics, drug screening devices, consumer electronics, healthcare electronics, breath sensing, and smart packaging are the main application fields for printed and flexible sensors. Printed and flexible sensors are more affordable, lighter, and smaller than traditional sensors. Due to its lighter weight than conventional sensors, printed and flexible sensors are also utilised in a number of portable medical and consumer electronics gadgets.

Recent Development:

In March 2022, Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team deployed 3D printed sensor mounts onboard its F1-75 race cars. he Scuderia tested a new front wing that weekend and likely wanted to measure inboard and outboard front wing height under pitch, roll, and heave via laser ride height sensors

June 2021, Tekscan unveiled its new pressure mapping software interface, I-Scan 9, designed to evaluate and measure interface pressure between two surfaces through the usage of thin & flexible sensors. Meanwhile, Artemis Capital Partners announced the acquisition of Tekscan

September 2020, with an objective to aid the semiconductor manufacturer in reaching the next phase of growth through the advancement of its ultra-thin force & pressure sensing technology.

In June 2020, Henkel, Quad Industries expanded their partnership and worked on different Printed Sensors projects such as the development of the innovative COVID-19 smart health patch introduced by Byteflies.

In March 2020, Researchers from the Materials Science department at Kiel University (CAU) and from Biomedical Engineering at the Technical University of Moldova have developed a process to produce extremely sensitive, energy-efficient sensors using 3D printing

November 2019 - FlexEnable has acquired Merck’s portfolio of best-in-class, high-performance Organic Thin-Film Transistor (OTFT) materials, including revolutionary and highly-patented organic semiconductors and dielectrics. The acquisition of Merck’s OTFT materials includes over 300 patents covering materials, processes, and devices. This brings FlexEnable's total number of organic electronics patents to over 1,000.

July 2019 - Isorg and Sumitomo Chemical, a global leader in OPD materials production and other fields, had made an agreement to develop new OPD products for use as smartphone fingerprint sensors and hybrid organic-CMOS image sensors

Research Methodology