Opportunities for Transparent Conductors in the Touch-Screen Display Industry—2011

Report SummaryrnTouch-screen devices have gone from being a sleepy niche in the display industry to one of its fastest growing segments. Touch-screen displays – or rather the touch sensors that sit on top of them – are also large users of transparent conductive coatings. No surprise then that touch screens are seen as an immediate opportunity for the many new firms that are crowding into the transparent conductor market. And the attractiveness of the touch-screen market to the makers of novel transparent conductors is enhanced by the fact that the touch- sensor industry seems more than willing to rid themselves of a dependence on ITO with its high costs and low mechanical performance. However, today one medium-sized factory producing transparent conductors is large enough to produce all the transparent conducting materials that the touch-sensor business needs for the foreseeable future. No one can blame the transparent conductor makers for chasing after customers who are willing to buy right now. But the question arises as to how much the touch-screen sector should really mean to them. Touch-screens may be an opportunity, but are they a big enough opportunity to build a substantial business on? Are touch screens just a way for firms manufacturing transparent conductors to bring in some short-term money in a difficult economic climate, or will they be a step to bigger things? rnIn this new report, NanoMarkets provides readers with a deeper understanding of the latest trends, requirements and potential of the touch-screen sector from the perspective of the transparent conductor industry. Although frequently lumped together, there are many types and this report examines the potential for each as a market for transparent conductors in the touch-screen display industry. The report also discusses what the challenges and opportunities will be for transparent conductor firms if – as expected by some – touch sensors start to be integrated not by third parties, but by the big flat panel display firms in Asia. This report provides a granular analysis and forecast of all the new markets that are opening up for transparent conductors in the burgeoning touch-screen industry. By examining each of the main touch-screen technologies we determine and quantify the opportunities for transparent conductors in this space over the next eight-years, what kind of conductors will be needed and who is best suited to supply them. The analysis presented here is illustrated with critical discussions of the strategies that are currently being deployed by transparent conductor firms as they attack touch screen markets.