May 30, 2012 – Marketwire — The Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University (ASU), in conjunction with Army Research Labs scientists, manufactured what it is reporting as the world’s largest flexible, full-color organic light emitting display (OLED) display prototype. FDC used advanced mixed-oxide thin film transistors (TFTs) to build the 7.4” device.
The U.S. Department of Defense needs thin, lightweight, bendable, and highly rugged display devices for video and other uses. This prototype represents “a realistic path forward for the production of high-performance, flexible, full-color OLED displays,” said Nick Colaneri, director of the FDC.
Mixed-oxide TFTs are lower-cost than low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) and high performance, with vibrant colors, high switching speeds for video, and reduced power consumption from conventional displays. Mixed oxide TFTs offer a better ability to drive currents and improve the lifetime and stability of transistors used for OLED displays, ASU says. Mixed-oxide TFTs can be manufactured on existing amorphous silicon (a-Si) production lines, which was a major consideration for the FDC. The display production makes use of FDC’s proprietary bond/de-bond technology.
The prototype OLED display will be on the FDC booth #643 at SID Display Week, June 5-7, 2012 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, MA.
The FDC is a government/industry/academia partnership for advancing full-color flexible display technology and fostering development of a manufacturing ecosystem to support flexible electronic devices. More information on the FDC can be found at flexdisplay.asu.edu.