LOS ANGELES, 21 Feb. 2007. The 2007 iNEMI (International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative) Roadmap, which will become available to industry next month, charts the technology and infrastructure needs of the electronics manufacturing industry through 2017. In addition to anticipating the development of specific technologies, this edition examines market convergence, miniaturization, harmonization of environmental requirements, migration of manufacturing and R&D, reliability, printed electronics, and more.

"The electronics industry has enjoyed sustained growth over the last two years and projections for the future are positive," says Jim McElroy, CEO of iNEMI. "Technology improvements continue to be made so that new products and capabilities are enabled in a variety of market segments such as medical electronics and safety/security. The future is bright for those who can adapt and take advantage of technology to deliver best-in-class products at the right time and at the right cost."

The new edition includes a chapter on organic and printed electronics, technologies driven by applications such as wearable electronics and item-level RFID tags.

Printed electronics use graphic arts-like printing processes to fabricate electronic components. Taking advantage of new functional electronic inks, this approach to electronics manufacturing has the potential to reduce cost and complexity while increasing throughput.

For applications that don't require the speed and density of today's silicon-based technologies, the approach could help develop new markets for electronics. Flexible displays, lighting, sensors, RFID and smart packaging are some of the products that show early promise for printed electronics.

As electronic products become more ubiquitous in society, the lines between product sectors are blurring, putting increasing demands on performance, cost, and harmonization of interface standards.

Portability remains a key driver of technology as the need for miniaturization demands breakthroughs in materials properties, packaging, and assembly technologies.

Industry is showing increased interest in developing science-based environmental solutions in advance of new regulations so that the end results can be achieved with lower risk and greater predictability.

The iNEMI roadmap compares technology trends with anticipated product needs, and identifies "gaps" and "showstoppers" that are potential threats to industry advancements.