SmartKem, supplier of the Tru-Flex semiconductor platform for high performance flexible electronics, has announced that its Tru-Flex product has won the Innovative Product of the Year award at the 2015 ESTnet Awards.
The Tru-Flex organic semiconductors enable the manufacture of thin-film transistors (TFTs) that combine industry-grade electrical performance with complete physical flexibility for the realisation of ‘foldable’ displays and electronics such as tablets, smartphones and wearable devices, for the first time.
The ESTnet Awards, which took place in Cardiff, UK on the 6th March 2015, celebrate the achievements of inspirational companies and individuals within the electronic and software technologies market, specifically in Wales. The SmartKem win recognises Tru-Flex as a key enabling product that will fill a critical technology ‘gap’ in the flexible display and electronics industry. The award was judged by a panel of leading professionals including members of the Welsh Government body, economics experts and university professors.
“We are incredibly proud of our achievement in developing our Tru-Flex semiconductor,” said Steve Kelly, SmartKem CEO. “To be recognised at an event that showcases the very best Welsh companies operating at the top of their markets in innovation is humbling. The support we received from organisations within Wales has been fundamental in getting us where we are today; I would recommend anyone looking to develop an innovative new technology to come to Wales. The award win demonstrates the huge potential of our semiconductor platform to change the landscape of the display and electronics industry. With the flexible display market expected to grow to US$60bn over the next five years, we look forward to the continued market adoption of our semiconductor technology for the manufacture of an exciting new world of display and electronics based products.”
The product is the result of six years of intensive development by some of the world’s leading organic semiconductor chemists, providing the display and electronics industry with a solution-based semiconductor ‘ink’ for the commercial manufacture of flexible transistor arrays and circuits for driving displays, touchscreens and sensors.
