Note: This is the second article of a three-part series covering plastics in electrical and electronic (E/E) device (1) trends, (2) material/process advances and (3) applications.


In commercial applications, polymer material and process development advances are pushing plastic properties in response to ongoing demand for smaller electronic devices that call for smaller, thinner electrical components in hotter environments at higher electrical frequencies. High flow grades permit more intricate, miniaturized parts in electronic applications. Part cost reduction and faster production cycle times are increasingly the new norm.

Let's start by looking at a recently commercialized polycarbonate (PC) film.

SABIC IP and Cima NanoTech, a smart nanomaterials company, have jointly developed the plastics industry's first transparent conductive polycarbonate film. The new PC film has a series of transparent conductive materials that are lightweight with excellent transparency, outstanding conductivity and high flexibility.

The development uses Cima Nanotech's patented Sante technology to apply a coating of self-assembling nanoparticles to Lexan PC film. Sante nanoparticle technology is an innovative conductive coating that self-assembles into a random mesh-like network when coated onto a substrate.

The new film could translate into faster-response touchscreens for consumer electronics, transparent "no line" anti-fogging for car windows, better electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for electronics, and transparent WiFi/Bluetooth antennas for mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and all-in-one computers.

Cima NanoTech/Sabic IP
Sante nanoparticle conductive network (top); PET/PC film layering process (bottom).


The transparent conductive films are manufactured by wet-coating the Sante conductive coating on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) via a roll-to-roll manufacturing process. The coating cures to form a random, conductive mesh-like pattern that possesses high transparency at very low surface resistance and is mechanically flexible. The Sante coating ...

  • has high conductivity — it has low surface resistance that is more than 10 times better than indium tin oxide (ITO).
  • has excellent optics — high transparency, non-moiré (no parallel line effect).
  • is flexible — withstands flexing, stretching, tension and torsion, and is thermoformable and moldable into 3-D curved surfaces.

Cima NanoTech
Sante light transmittance to surface resistivity technology comparison.


Next, let's turn our attention to a compound with outstanding electrical properties.

Vyloglass is a new type of thermosetting dry-type polyester molding compound with 10-20 percent glass-fiber reinforcement, featuring excellent heat resistance and electrical properties. The material was developed using a unique technology of Japan U-PICA Company Ltd. and is being distributed by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America, Inc.

The crystalline unsaturated polyester outperforms conventional thermoplastic molding compounds such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) in heat resistance and electrical properties. It also excels in mechanical performance, moldability, handling efficiency and storage stability. The material provides versatility for a wide range of applications including sockets, fuse holders, coil bobbins, and thermostats.

Japan U-PICA Company Ltd.
Vyloglass 7100 versus PPS heat aging at 250 degrees C (left); Vyloglass arc and tracking resistance fit (right).


The strongest Vyloglass benefits include the following properties:

  • nonflammability — does not burn despite being halogen-free, achieving a UL-94 class V-0 flammability rating, and has outstanding resistance to electric sparks, tracking (over 900 Volts) and arcing (197 seconds specified in the Underwriters Laboratory Yellow Card).
  • heat resistance — does not melt even at high temperatures, showing a heat deflection temperature (HDT) up to 290 degrees C

Vyloglass molding compounds are forgiving. They deflect and shrink minimally and provide superb stability in temperatures up to 250 degrees C. They also have good moldability, producing no gas and do not contaminate molds.

In pellet form, the compounds are suitable for injection, transfer and compression molding. Japan U-Pica claims Vyloglass offers ease in runnerless molding due to its low viscosity and high temperature stability inside the injection cylinder. Molded products have become increasingly smaller and thinner. In ordinary molding, sprues and runners are too thick to mold such thin, compact parts.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America
Vyloglass electrical and electronic sockets.


Finally, let's review emerging technology where piezoelectric polymers generate energy. Energy harvesting is the process by which ambient energy is captured and converted into electricity for small autonomous devices. Flexible plastics that turn mechanical vibrations into electrical energy could spur the development of self-powered sensors and devices.

The shrinking dimensions and decreased power consumption of modern electronic devices have created opportunities for energy-harvesting processes that tap into free, green energy from the environment. Vibration harvesters, for example, produce small amounts of electricity from everyday mechanical disturbances such as wind currents, traffic noise or footsteps.

Researchers at the A*Star Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore have discovered a way to capture energy from the vibrations of lightweight polymers. This piezoelectric development could use the harvested energy to recharge batteries in mobile devices. Lightweight polymer vibration harvesters are given a 100-fold boost in energy output over conventional technology by fabricating the piezoelectric materials into cantilevers that can oscillate from ambient vibrations and generate electricity.

A*Star Institute of Materials Research and Engineering
Multilayer deflecting piezoelectric film sensor energy harvester.


Plastic-based piezoelectric material, P (VDF-TrFE) copolymer, a low-cost material that readily handles mechanical strain, is made into efficient vibration harvesters by stacking the polymer in multiple layers, improving the output current while reducing the electrical impedance that is inherent to piezoelectric materials.

The P (VDF-TrFE) polymer multilayers were fabricated on a flexible substrate by alternately dip coating P (VDF-TrFE) layers and evaporating thin film aluminum electrodes. With a 10-layer cantilever of P (VDF-TrFE) polymer on a flexible aluminum substrate, the voltage and energy output at a tip deflection of 7 millimeters reached 6.7 Volts and 16.8 micro Joules respectively, with a load of 30 kilo Ohms.

The A*Star Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore focuses their piezoelectric development across research disciplines, namely:

  • materials-critical sensing and transduction by leveraging on intrinsic properties of materials to devise innovations on sensing, actuation, and energy transduction
  • materials for energy harvest and storage by designing high-performance materials and sustainable cells for effective and efficient harvest and storage of renewable energy
  • advanced characterization by innovating and acquiring state-of-the-art analysis and characterization techniques to determine the properties of materials