Interim report and financial statements for the second quarter 2010: During the quarter, Thin Film Electronics ASA (“Thinfilm”) has seen a growth in number of prospects and taken further steps in opening new markets.
• Q2 2010 Interim Report

“Our focus on the toys and games market is bringing results, and our list of customer prospects is steadily growing,” says Davor Sutija, CEO Thinfilm. “Several of the world’s largest toy manufacturers are now considering concepts powered by Thinfilm Memory.”
Thinfilm approaches the toy and game market from several directions, working directly with major toy distributors and via inventors who design and develop toy and game concepts.
This broadened go-to-market approach has opened new doors to toy distributors.
“Toy inventors are working to land their concepts leveraging Thinfilm Memory, and we are at the same time also engaged in direct discussions with a number of toy companies across the world,” explains Sutija.

Partnership for volume production of polymer
A commercial agreement with one of the world’s leading chemical companies, Solvay, was announced in June and paves the way for high volume production of Thinfilm Memory and the next generation of printed electronic applications.
“The agreement with Solvay assures commercial supply of memory polymer in large quantities and makes it possible for other companies in Printed Electronics to begin production of Thinfilm Memory,” Sutija continues.
Thinfilm will receive royalties from Solvay's sales of ferroelectric polymers and on sales of ink formulations containing such polymers.

The EU certification is another important advancement
After extensive testing, Thinfilm has received EN 71-3 certification that its non-volatile memory products meet the requirements regarding the chemical safety of toys.
“With several new toys and game concepts under development using Thinfilm Memory, this is well-timed news,” says Dr. Christer Karlsson, CTO Thinfilm.

The Thinfilm Memory Controller gives system cost leadership
Thinfilm has completed detailed design of the Memory Controller and anticipates production of engineering samples in October.
“We now have designs that make printed memories cheaper on a system level – i.e. the total cost of memories plus the reader/writer device – than conventional silicon-based memory technologies such as EEPROM and Flash,” says Sutija. 

Continued focus on partnerships for new printed devices
The next generation of higher-density memories, currently under development, will be coupled with other printed circuit elements.
“To develop fully printed devices that include integrated memory, it is important for Thinfilm to work with strategic partners,” says Sutija. 

About Thinfilm and printed electronics
Thinfilm is focused on providing low-power, non-volatile, rewritable polymer memory technology and products in the rapidly growing market of Printed Electronics. Thinfilm’s current main product offering is a 20-bit non-volatile rewriteable memory printed in a high-volume roll-to-roll process.

The Printed Electronics market is still in its early stages, and according to industry analyst group IDTechEx, is expected to grow to more than USD 50 billion in market value over the next ten years. IDTechEx predicts that logic (i.e., memory and transistors) will be the largest segment in this market, representing more than 30 per cent of the total.

Using printing to manufacture electronic memory makes it possible to reduce the number of process steps, dramatically reduce manufacturing costs, as well as the environmental impact as compared to traditional semiconductor processes. Commercial applications of printed electronics include e-paper, electronic readers, and organic light emitting (OLED) displays. Sensors, batteries, and photovoltaic energy sources are also in development, and together with Thinfilm’s memory technology they will open the door to new products and applications.

Memory is an essential part of most electronics. Memory is required for identification, tracking status and history, and is used whenever information is stored. Thinfilm’s non-volatile ferroelectric polymer memory technology is well suited for application with other printed electronics devices because power consumption during read and write is negligible, and as it is permanent, no connection to external power is required for data detainment. Also, the current required to write information is so small that operation would be limited by the battery’s lifetime and not its capacity.