Organic Conductive Polymer for Touch

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Fujitsu Components Limited has recently hit the headlines by developing a brand new type of resistive touch panel based on an organic conductive polymer, making them the first company in the world to develop a practical application for a plastic conductive material. The new organic polymer technology offers ten times the durability of a conventional touch panel, and existing systems can be upgraded with no major structural alterations, allowing for a significant reduction in modernisation costs.

The easiest way to describe the difference between a normal resistive touch panel and an organic conductive polymer is that, generally, the film on glass resistive touch panels are made with a hard ceramic ITO (Indium, Tin Oxide) layer, which can become weakened with use, limiting its life expectancy. The new generation of resistive touch panel replaces the ITO layer with an organic conductive polymer, which is more flexible and therefore provides a more durable touch surface with greatly extended operational life (10 times more finger input and 5 times more pen sliding) – particularly important in repeated touch applications such as PDAs, mobile phones, tablet P’s or pen-based devices.
 
This new technology will be introduced on two types of panel: a film/glass 4-wire panel and a shock-resistant film/film/plastic panel. Initially, the panels will only be available in selected sizes, but the range will then be expanded to cover all of Fujitsu’s standard screen sizes. The polymer-based panel will be compatible with Fujitsu’s standard 4-wire resistive panel interface, allowing designers to upgrade existing solutions without having to design a new specific interface. Volume production is expected to begin in December of this year.