October 4, 2006 – Honeywell Electronic Materials and the US Display Consortium have agreed to jointly develop new materials for flat panel displays, focusing on overcoming the challenges of planarization in fabricating thin-film transistors on low-temperature flexible substrates, and improve display performance for use in ultrathin, lightweight, and rugged displays.

In addition to addressing planarization, the project will also focus on improving display color uniformity, device lifetime, power consumption, and display manufacturer cost-of-ownership. Arizona State U.’s Flexible Display Center (ASU FDC) will evaluate Honeywell materials. A portion of the estimated $1 million cost of the project will be funded by a grant from the US Army Research Laboratory.

Thin-film transistors are a critical component of flat panel displays, acting as switches to individually turn each pixel on or off. Planarization is critical for creating the uniformly flat surfaces necessary during the production of these transistors.

“Honeywell’s expertise in the development and production of thin films for uniformly covering surfaces is significant and this expertise is now being employed to offer materials for the flat-panel display industry,” said Peter Smith, display business director for Honeywell Specialty Materials, in a statement. “The agreement with the USDC will help accelerate the development and integration of Honeywell’s materials within the display thin film transistor, realizing rugged flexible displays as well as improving manufacturing costs, which will help drive industry growth.”