What does the future hold for Canada's electronics technology sector?
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2024 8:11 am
Imagine an electric vehicle that recharges its battery by absorbing sunlight through its body panels. A wireless sensor that transmits data using 5,000 times less energy than conventional Wi-Fi radios . Or injectable electronic mesh that fits the retina so a glaucoma sufferer can see clearly again.
Disruptive innovations like these are just a few examples of what could be possible with the next generation of electronic technologies being developed by Canadian startups we are supporting through BDC's $ 200 million Deep Tech Fund .
By investing in and supporting promising Canadian electronics companies, BDC aims to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough innovations and help Canada realize its full potential in this field.
Electronic technologies have the potential to improve virtually every industry, from gaming to telecommunications to biomedicine to automotive engineering.
What is the electronics sector?
The term "electronics" refers to any component or piece of equipment used in connection with the emission, flow or control of electrons. The electronics sector includes all companies involved in the production, marketing and maintenance of these products.
In Canada, we see great potential in electronics for communications, processing, computing and embedded applications. These developments will make computer memory, logic and communications functions faster and more efficient for a wide range of commercial, industrial and consumer uses.
Here is an overview of the key technologies being developed and their commercial applications in the electronics sectors.
1. Communications
Spintronics is an emerging field focused on manipulating the spin of electrons. Changing spin can create materials and devices that store more data and send it faster while consuming less energy. Work in this area typically focuses on spintronic nanooscillators and spintronic materials.
Spintronic nanooscillators are nanocomponents that use two spintronic phenomena – spin transfer and the magnetoresistance effect – to modulate the frequency of signals in the gigahertz range and manage how these signals are combined and detected.
Applications
Faster data transmission and reduced power consumption for wireless communications
High density data storage
Improved radar capabilities for autonomous vehicles
Spintronic materials are used to create giant magnetoresistance devices and polymer waveguides (flexible, self-contained film) that improve data storage and transmission.
Applications
Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) offering lower power consumption and faster data transfer rates
Polymer waveguides integrated into motherboards enable high-speed data transfer for short-range communications (e.g., data bus systems inside a vehicle)
2. Processing and computing
Microelectronics and nanoelectronics will change the world of computing. In addition to making Internet of Things (IoT) sensors extremely energy efficient, future electronics designs and components will include nanoscale security to better protect the data transmitted by IoT devices; neuromorphic chips that make better use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for adaptive and self-modifying computation; and countless other innovations.
Cloudlets are small data centers located in the cloud . They can support resource-intensive mobile applications, improve response times , and reduce latency by providing powerful computing resources closer to end users.
Applications
Faster, more responsive augmented reality and cloud gaming
Better data privacy by giving users more control over how they access information
Uninterrupted digital services – unlike typical cloud data centers, if a cloudlet fails, users are simply redirected to the next neighboring cloudlet
Specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips are designed lawyer database specifically for computing, often relying on traditional silicon manufacturing but with optimized circuit designs.
Applications
Development and evolution of autonomous vehicles
Edge Computing for Smartphone Users
Quantum dots and nanowires are very small components that can be integrated into other semiconductor manufacturing technologies, such as silicon.
Applications
Biomedical sensing based on nanowire conductivity between receptors and charged molecules
Electro-optical transceivers providing fast multiplexed communications on-chip and between data centers
3. Integration
In the future, electronics will be embedded in every surface and substance imaginable: textiles, glass, paper… even our own skin. Injectable electronics and epidemic electronic adhesives will open the door to new possibilities for non-invasive health monitoring. Clothing will become increasingly interactive, cars will charge themselves, and much more.
Conductive, semiconductive , and dielectric inks and pastes enable circuits to be printed on a variety of surfaces, including plastic, paper, glass, and textiles.
Applications
Wireless and stretchable biomedical sensors, implants and wearables, as well as smart skin patches and biodegradable circuits
Thin-film photovoltaics integrated into cars to power smart electronics or charge electric batteries much faster than traditional charging
Smart clothing with built-in LEDs that automatically activate in the dark or built-in radio transmitters that automatically send coordinates to rescue teams during emergencies, improving workplace health and safety
Ultra-flexible electronic meshes are designed with tissue-like structural and mechanical properties, allowing them to be non-invasively injected into human tissues and interact with them at the cellular level, opening up exciting new possibilities in healthcare.
Applications
Multiple health monitoring applications including measurement of chronic immunoreactivity in the brain and multiplexed neuronal recording in vivo.
Impact on several sectors
Just one type of next-generation electronic technology, such as conductive inks or specialized chips for artificial intelligence, could provide significant benefits to multiple sectors of the Canadian economy. For all of the electronic technologies we want to support through our Deep Tech Fund, the areas of application are truly vast.
Aerospace
Specialized chips for AI
Cloud gaming and augmented reality
Small clouds (cloudlets)
Energy
Quantum dots and nanowires
Automobile
Spintronic nanooscillators
Specialized chips for AI
Conductive inks and pastes
Computer science
Spintronic materials Specialized chips for AI
Telecommunications and Internet of Things
Spintronic materials
Conductive inks and pastes
Biomedicine and health care
Quantum dots and nanowires
Conductive inks and pastes
Ultra-flexible electronic meshes
Consumer electronics
Specialized chips for AI
Conductive inks and pastes
Textiles
Conductive inks and pastes
Growing Canada's Deep Tech Ecosystem
Canada’s electronics sector is growing rapidly, driven by universities and government institutes leading the way in fundamental research, and by tech start-ups and incubators moving to the next stage of commercialization. BDC’s Deep Tech Fund is designed to support this growth, identify strong investment opportunities, and actively contribute to a better digital future.
Electronics is one of the deep technology sectors where we are focusing our investments, alongside quantum technologies , photonics and fundamental AI (artificial intelligence). We believe that helping promising companies become international champions in these areas is essential to Canada’s competitiveness and prosperity.
Contact us if you are interested in partnering to build a stronger ecosystem for deep tech.
Disruptive innovations like these are just a few examples of what could be possible with the next generation of electronic technologies being developed by Canadian startups we are supporting through BDC's $ 200 million Deep Tech Fund .
By investing in and supporting promising Canadian electronics companies, BDC aims to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough innovations and help Canada realize its full potential in this field.
Electronic technologies have the potential to improve virtually every industry, from gaming to telecommunications to biomedicine to automotive engineering.
What is the electronics sector?
The term "electronics" refers to any component or piece of equipment used in connection with the emission, flow or control of electrons. The electronics sector includes all companies involved in the production, marketing and maintenance of these products.
In Canada, we see great potential in electronics for communications, processing, computing and embedded applications. These developments will make computer memory, logic and communications functions faster and more efficient for a wide range of commercial, industrial and consumer uses.
Here is an overview of the key technologies being developed and their commercial applications in the electronics sectors.
1. Communications
Spintronics is an emerging field focused on manipulating the spin of electrons. Changing spin can create materials and devices that store more data and send it faster while consuming less energy. Work in this area typically focuses on spintronic nanooscillators and spintronic materials.
Spintronic nanooscillators are nanocomponents that use two spintronic phenomena – spin transfer and the magnetoresistance effect – to modulate the frequency of signals in the gigahertz range and manage how these signals are combined and detected.
Applications
Faster data transmission and reduced power consumption for wireless communications
High density data storage
Improved radar capabilities for autonomous vehicles
Spintronic materials are used to create giant magnetoresistance devices and polymer waveguides (flexible, self-contained film) that improve data storage and transmission.
Applications
Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) offering lower power consumption and faster data transfer rates
Polymer waveguides integrated into motherboards enable high-speed data transfer for short-range communications (e.g., data bus systems inside a vehicle)
2. Processing and computing
Microelectronics and nanoelectronics will change the world of computing. In addition to making Internet of Things (IoT) sensors extremely energy efficient, future electronics designs and components will include nanoscale security to better protect the data transmitted by IoT devices; neuromorphic chips that make better use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for adaptive and self-modifying computation; and countless other innovations.
Cloudlets are small data centers located in the cloud . They can support resource-intensive mobile applications, improve response times , and reduce latency by providing powerful computing resources closer to end users.
Applications
Faster, more responsive augmented reality and cloud gaming
Better data privacy by giving users more control over how they access information
Uninterrupted digital services – unlike typical cloud data centers, if a cloudlet fails, users are simply redirected to the next neighboring cloudlet
Specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips are designed lawyer database specifically for computing, often relying on traditional silicon manufacturing but with optimized circuit designs.
Applications
Development and evolution of autonomous vehicles
Edge Computing for Smartphone Users
Quantum dots and nanowires are very small components that can be integrated into other semiconductor manufacturing technologies, such as silicon.
Applications
Biomedical sensing based on nanowire conductivity between receptors and charged molecules
Electro-optical transceivers providing fast multiplexed communications on-chip and between data centers
3. Integration
In the future, electronics will be embedded in every surface and substance imaginable: textiles, glass, paper… even our own skin. Injectable electronics and epidemic electronic adhesives will open the door to new possibilities for non-invasive health monitoring. Clothing will become increasingly interactive, cars will charge themselves, and much more.
Conductive, semiconductive , and dielectric inks and pastes enable circuits to be printed on a variety of surfaces, including plastic, paper, glass, and textiles.
Applications
Wireless and stretchable biomedical sensors, implants and wearables, as well as smart skin patches and biodegradable circuits
Thin-film photovoltaics integrated into cars to power smart electronics or charge electric batteries much faster than traditional charging
Smart clothing with built-in LEDs that automatically activate in the dark or built-in radio transmitters that automatically send coordinates to rescue teams during emergencies, improving workplace health and safety
Ultra-flexible electronic meshes are designed with tissue-like structural and mechanical properties, allowing them to be non-invasively injected into human tissues and interact with them at the cellular level, opening up exciting new possibilities in healthcare.
Applications
Multiple health monitoring applications including measurement of chronic immunoreactivity in the brain and multiplexed neuronal recording in vivo.
Impact on several sectors
Just one type of next-generation electronic technology, such as conductive inks or specialized chips for artificial intelligence, could provide significant benefits to multiple sectors of the Canadian economy. For all of the electronic technologies we want to support through our Deep Tech Fund, the areas of application are truly vast.
Aerospace
Specialized chips for AI
Cloud gaming and augmented reality
Small clouds (cloudlets)
Energy
Quantum dots and nanowires
Automobile
Spintronic nanooscillators
Specialized chips for AI
Conductive inks and pastes
Computer science
Spintronic materials Specialized chips for AI
Telecommunications and Internet of Things
Spintronic materials
Conductive inks and pastes
Biomedicine and health care
Quantum dots and nanowires
Conductive inks and pastes
Ultra-flexible electronic meshes
Consumer electronics
Specialized chips for AI
Conductive inks and pastes
Textiles
Conductive inks and pastes
Growing Canada's Deep Tech Ecosystem
Canada’s electronics sector is growing rapidly, driven by universities and government institutes leading the way in fundamental research, and by tech start-ups and incubators moving to the next stage of commercialization. BDC’s Deep Tech Fund is designed to support this growth, identify strong investment opportunities, and actively contribute to a better digital future.
Electronics is one of the deep technology sectors where we are focusing our investments, alongside quantum technologies , photonics and fundamental AI (artificial intelligence). We believe that helping promising companies become international champions in these areas is essential to Canada’s competitiveness and prosperity.
Contact us if you are interested in partnering to build a stronger ecosystem for deep tech.