Introduction
The report studies new developments in metal meshes making it a serious contender as a transparent conductor. Previously metal-based transparent conductors would be lumped together in a single category, however, it now differentiates between metal meshes in which the metal is patterned in a regular way and nanowire structures, in which much smaller metal structures form a random network.
Metal Mesh Market
This Nanomarket covers only metal meshes whether made of silver, copper or any other metal. This report looks at the overall TC market to study how metal meshes fit into the market but other TC materials are not covered. The separate TC report covers the whole range of materials used as a transparent conductor.
The report elaborates on the relatively small section on metal meshes in the last transparent conductors report. NanoMarkets looks at the growing number of companies that manufacture metal meshes and evaluate their offerings, capabilities, strategies and readiness for volume production. There are at least around 15 companies that have products that can be considered, which is a major change from a short time back.
The report covers opportunities in a number of sectors where metal meshes are promising. Touch panels is the first wherein applications include a range of display sizes, from phones and tablets to laptop computers. For the next few years, this will be the most important market for meshes.
Over eight year forecast period a number of other applications will increase in importance. Metal meshes are excellent for large panels, because they can spread the voltage across the entire panel. For OLED lighting panels, fine pitch metal meshes are compelling for OLED lighting panels, even though the commercial success of these panels is in no way guaranteed. There are definitely opportunities in OLED TVs, and solar panels, especially thin film and organic PV.
Conclusion
The report is international in scope. The forecasts are global and one has not been geographically selective in the firms that have been covered in this report or interviewed in order to collect information. This is noted in cases where there are opportunities and markets oriented in one way or another to a specific region. For instance, many of the important OEMs for TCs are in the display industry, which is strongly focused in Asia, while thin-film PV makers tend to be in the U.S. and Europe.