Category Archives: Flexible Displays

Day 2 of the 2012 TechConnect World Summit, Expo & Showcase opened with fifteen parallel sessions ranging from printed and flexible electronics to device modeling to green chemistry and water to nanotechnology for cancer diagnostics. The unifying theme for this conference is promising technology in search of funding and the opportunity for market validation.

Liyong Diao of Brewer Science described the fabrication and characterization of CNT inductors on flexible plastic substrates. The Brewer operation in Springfield, MO is focused on materials & process development for printed electronics. Both SWCNT and MWCNT have a maximum current density, electron mean free path and thermal conductivity several orders of magnitude higher than copper. The Brewer material is applied as a spray suspension of CNT, and thin films had a sheet resistance <1Ω/square. Multiple spray/dry cycles are used to build up film thickness to the target 10µm. The CNT film resistance is not temperature sensitive, but RLC circuit resonance was environmentally sensitive to parasitic capacitance.

T.H. Chang of U Wisconsin, Madison showed a printing transfer method for fabricating flexible graphene transistors. The graphene was conventional CVD monolayer grown on copper film. Transfer is accomplished by proper sequencing of the surface energies of the device substrates and the transfer substrates so that the material you want moves when and where you want it to move. 140nm channel devices were fabricated with e-beam lithography.

 

Jean-Pierre Simonato of CEA Grenoble (France) presented a highly flexible transparent film heater based on metallic nanowires. The devices works on Joule heating, P=V2/R, of Ag nanowires. The device provides high heating rates and stable steady-state temperature control at operating voltages ≤12V. Sheet resistance is <20Ω/o up to 80% transmittance at 550nm. Unlike ITO, the Ag nanowire film is highly flexible, maintaining low resistance even during crinkling. The material set can be used to fabricate thermochromic displays. Heating and cooling rates are dominated by the substrate material, but good repeatability in thermal cycling was demonstrated with all substrates used. The group believes a reasonable trade-off can be achieved between transparency, conductivity and cost with the Ag nanowire system.

Junghyun Cho of SUNY Binghamton talked about the growth of nanostructured ceramic films from liquid solution. Their process strategy focuses on low temperature processing, mimicking biological processes where applicable. A variety of materials and applications were demonstrated, as shown in the table, with film morphology and as-deposited density depending on deposition parameters in solution. Activity is underway to extend the material/process technology to dye-sensitized solar cells in which the dye is incorporated into the ceramic film layer.

Toivo Kodas of Cabot Corp. gave an overview of functional nanomaterials technology at Cabot. His primary mission is to find problems that require particles as part of the solution, since the corporate banner is that they are the world’s largest ($3B) pure-play nanomaterials producer. Complex metal oxides made by spray pyrolysis are finding expanded use in security applications based on their unique spectral signatures, as they are extremely difficult to counterfeit. Custom coatings on gold nanoparticles exploit the surface enhanced Raman effect for security applications at extremely low reporter particle concentrations.

Also read Conference Report: TechConnect, Day 1

 

June 14, 2012 — imec and Panasonic Inc. have entered into the next phase of a comprehensive and broadened collaboration agreement for joint R&D on healthcare, wireless communication, flexible electronics and advanced CMOS process technologies. The signing ceremony at the Panasonic Headquarters in Osaka (Japan) today was endorsed by the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium.

imec also signed research agreements with Tohoku University and HiSilicon recently.

Panasonic has been a core partner in imec’s research platform on advanced semiconductor process technologies since 2004. This collaboration has been fundamentally broadened in 2008, expanding the collaboration scope from advanced semiconductor process technology to also include various application areas of semiconductors. Throughout recent years, Panasonic residents have been working closely together with imec’s research teams both in Leuven, Belgium and Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Together, they have achieved breakthrough results in wireless communication, healthcare and next-generation CMOS technologies. The new agreement extends this collaboration for a period of 3 years and further expands to research on flexible electronics.

Luc Van den hove, President and CEO of imec, “I am very pleased that we will continue our strategic collaboration with Panasonic the coming years. The extension and expansion of our research collaboration is a confirmation of the value of our research offering to the industry. Through a collaborative approach of R&D, sharing resources and results, but also strongly protecting the generated IP, imec supports Panasonic already for 8 years to be at the forefront of innovation.”

Yoshiyuki Miyabe, the member of the board, managing director and CTO of Panasonic, “Panasonic continued to keep good relationship with imec for these 8 years. We hope to strengthen our “win-win” relationship for both imec and Panasonic to prosper.”

Imec performs world-leading research in nanoelectronics. Further information on imec can be found at www.imec.be.

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products in three business fields, consumer, components & devices, and solutions. For more information on Panasonic, visit the company’s website at http://panasonic.net/

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June 11, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:PANL), enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED technology and materials, announced record-breaking performance of its white organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting technology at the 2012 Society for Information Display (SID) International Symposium, Seminar, and Exhibition.

Also read: Universal Display intros novel emission layer systems for OLEDs

Advances in white OLED device performance, reported for both flexible OLED and rigid glass formats, using Universal Display’s all-phosphorescent OLED architecture, may accelerate the commercialization of a variety of novel white OLED products for specialty and general lighting application.

“White OLED lighting has great potential to transform the way we use and experience lighting. With our power-efficient UniversalPHOLED technology and materials, OLEDs can play a meaningful role in reducing the energy impact of lighting, and, with advances in our flexible OLED technologies, OLEDs have the potential to enable innovative design concepts with novel form factors,” said Steven V. Abramson, president and CEO.

Believed to be a record for a flexible lighting panel, the 15cm2 white OLED lighting panel demonstrates a power efficacy of 47 lumens per Watt (lm/W) at 1,000 candelas per square meter (cd/m2) with an outcoupling enhancement of 1.4X. The white OLED panel, built on plastic substrate using the company’s novel single-layer barrier technology and highly-efficient UniversalPHOLED technology and materials, operates at a color rendering index (CRI) of 83 and a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3470K. This advance is a significant milestone toward the commercialization of thin, lightweight, rugged and flexible white OLED lighting.

Based on enhancements in materials and panel design, the 15cm2 all-phosphorescent white OLED panel, with a CRI of 85 and CCT of 3030K, demonstrates 70 lm/W and an operating lifetime of 30,000 hours (to 70% of an initial luminance of 1,000 cd/m2) with an outcoupling enhancement of 1.75X.

Universal Display’s phosphorescent OLED technology and materials offer up to a four-to-one power advantage over other OLED technologies, resulting in record energy-efficient OLEDs, the company reports.

Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: PANL) is a leader in developing and delivering state-of the-art, organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies, materials and services to the display and lighting industries. To learn more about Universal Display, please visit www.universaldisplay.com.

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June 5, 2012 – PRNewswire — The Society for Information Display (SID), a global organization dedicated to the advancement of electronic display technology, announced the winners of its 17th annual Display Industry Awards. The honorees will be recognized during a special luncheon as part of Display Week 2012, SID’s annual International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, taking place this week in Boston.

According to DIA chair, Robert L. Melcher, "Over the past five decades since SID was founded, we have witnessed new technology developments that would have been unimaginable even 10 years ago. This year’s crop of DIA winners is no exception, representing an exciting array of products that continue to advance the ‘state of the art’ in the display industry, and the consumer electronics industry at large. On behalf of SID, I want to congratulate each of these companies in winning the display industry’s top honor.  It’s great to see the impact that these products are already having in the commercial marketplace."

To qualify for consideration for a 2012 Display Industry Award, a product had to be available for purchase during the 2011 calendar year. The six winners, two in each of three main categories, were chosen by a distinguished panel of experts who evaluated the nominees for their degree of technical innovation and commercial significance, in addition to their potential for positive social impact.  The winning products and a brief description of each are listed below. A more comprehensive description of the award winners is included in the Display Week 2012 Show Issue of Information Display magazine.

Display of the Year: Granted to a display with novel and outstanding features such as new physical or chemical effects, or a new addressing method.

Gold Award: AU Optronics 55-in. 4K x 2K 2D/3D Switchable Glasses-Free TV Display

This year’s gold display winner is not only the world’s first 4K x 2K (or "quad-HD") TV display, but is also the currently the largest commercially available glasses-free 4K x 2K 3-D TV display.  Its 3840 x 2160 resolution delivers vivid, lifelike 2D images, while a simple switch by the viewer converts the image instantly into 3D format.  Thanks to the display’s lenticular lens 3D technology, no 3D glasses are necessary to view outstanding 3D images. Viewers can simply choose their preferred viewing positions and enjoy a pleasant and comfortable experience, without requiring additional eyewear or having to compensate for viewing "dead zones."  In addition, its glasses-free technology facilitates design-in of the display by AUO partners into their current systems.

Silver Award: Qualcomm mirasol Display Technology

Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Inc. designed mirasol displays to provide consumers with a display that delivers colorful and interactive content unfettered by lighting environments, including bright sunlight, while simultaneously significantly extending battery life. Already featured in e-readers currently in the market, mirasol display’ benefits can extend to other commercial applications. The MEMS-based technology mimics optical resonant cavities found in nature to create color via reflective interference and switching speed that makes mirasol displays video capable. Moreover, mirasol displays consume near- zero power when the display image is unchanged, making it highly energy efficient and especially well-suited for mobile devices.

Display Application of the Year: Granted for a novel and outstanding application of a display, where the display itself is not necessarily a new device.

Gold Award: Samsung Galaxy Note

A portable communication device designed with a 5.3-inch display using HD Super AMOLED technology, the Galaxy Note features a high-resolution (800 × 1280 pixel) screen that provides a dynamic, colorful, and comfortable viewing experience for content such as videos, photos, documents, and Web sites. Super AMOLED can depict more vibrant images since it has deeper blacks than LCDs and covers 95 percent of all natural colors. Also, depending on the screen’s white area, the AMOLED display adjusts its luminance for eye comfort.  With its large, dynamic screen and unique input technology, the Galaxy Note enables mobile communications in a more personal, creative way.

Silver Award: Perceptive Pixel 82-in. Projected-Capacitive True Multi-Touch and Stylus LCD

In August 2011, Perceptive Pixel introduced the first large-scale pro-cap interactive display that achieves the level of fidelity and performance necessary for real productivity. It is the world’s largest projective-capacitive multi-touch and stylus display, featuring true full-frame unlimited-finger touch and precision stylus sensing at 120 Hz across a proprietary sensor that is optically bonded to an 82-in. LCD panel. The display utilizes novel state-of-the-art projective-capacitive controller electronics with an unprecedented signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), specifically designed for application at these large dimensions and in optically bonded sensor stack-ups. The unit’s proprietary 82-in. transparent conductor sensor is constructed on a thin 2-mm Gorilla Glass substrate, which Perceptive Pixel then optically bonds onto the LCD cell. Optical bonding greatly enhances the ruggedness of the system, serving as a protective cover glass to the cell against the focused force of a stylus tip. Perceptive Pixel’s 82-in. display can be frequently seen on CNN as well as other networks being used to cover this year’s historic presidential primaries and election.

Display Component of the Year: Granted for a novel component (sold as a separate part and incorporated into a display) that has significantly enhanced the display’s performance. A component may also include display-enhancing materials and/or parts fabricated with new processes.

Gold Award: Nanosys Quantum-Dot Enhanced Film (QDEF)

Color is the next major differentiator in the display market. A quantum dot, which is about the size of a water molecule, can emit any color of light at precise wavelengths. QDEF from Nanosys combines red- and green-emitting quantum dots in a thin, optically clear sheet that emits white light when stimulated by a blue LED light source. The result is lifelike, high-color displays that enhance the consumer experience, allowing more realistic digital viewing of photos, movies, and video games. Manufacturers that have invested billions in equipment for LCD production can simply slip QDEF into their manufacturing process, change their "white" LEDs to blue, and start producing LCD panels with OLED-like color performance and better energy efficiency, at a significant cost savings.

Silver Award: LG Chemical Film Patterned Retarder Incorporating Merck KGaA’s Proprietary Reactive Mesogen (RM) Layer

First commercialized by LG Chemical in 2010, this technology is 10 times thinner and 20 times lighter than glass-based patterned retarders, can be easily mass-produced, and makes enjoyment of 3D content more convenient. A film patterned retarder (FPR) is an optical component attached to a 3D LCD TV’s front polarizer to convert left- and right-eye images to left- and right-circular-polarized light, allowing viewers to enjoy 3D images through passive-polarized glasses. The reactive mesogen film used for LG Chemical’s FPR is made using Merck KGaA’s licrivue materials, formulated for coating onto flexible plastic substrates by using a roll-to-roll coating process. The coated licrivue RM materials align and follow the pattern of the photoalignment layer. This alignment is preserved by UV polymerization of the RM film to form the patterned retarder, delivering dimensional stability and superior performance in 3D displays.

The 49th SID International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, dubbed Display Week 2012, will take place this week through June 8, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Display Week is the premier international gathering of scientists, engineers, manufacturers and users in the field of electronic-information displays. For more information on Display Week 2012, visit www.displayweek.org.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Society for Information Display (SID) is the only professional organization focused on the display industry. In fact, by exclusively focusing on the advancement of electronic-display technology, SID provides a unique platform for industry collaboration, communication and training in all related technologies while showcasing the industry’s best new products. For more information, visit www.sid.org.

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May 31, 2012 — SouthWest NanoTechnologies (SWeNT) released SG65i, a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) product with >95% semiconducting concentration, before secondary processing to remove metallic SWCNT content.

SG65i, building on SWeNT’s grade SG65, was developed for use in printed semiconductor devices, such as thin-film transistors (TFT) in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, next-generation non-silicon semiconductor computing devices, and more.

SG65i is produced via the proprietary CoMoCAT process, which controls SWCNT structure, or chirality. Single-wall carbon nanotubes can be metallic or semiconducting, depending on diameter and chirality.

The >95% semiconducting content is approximately 28% more than most other SWCNTs, SWeNT reports. This high concentration avoids much slow, expensive, low-yielding secondary processing for semiconductor applications. Secondary processing to remove metallic SWCNTs can damage the remaining SWCNTs, SWeNT notes.

SG65i is available either as dry powder, aqueous or solvent based dispersions, or as printable ink.

SWeNT will continue improving processes to synthesize even more semiconductor-enriched products, with the goal of eliminating secondary processes altogether.

SouthWest NanoTechnologies (SWeNT) is an advanced materials company that manufactures high-quality single-wall and specialty multi-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT, MWCNT) products in various forms, including powders, pastes, dispersions and inks. For more information, please visit www.swentnano.com.

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May 30, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — AGC (TOKYO:5201), glass, chemicals and high-tech materials manufacturer, has developed 0.5mm carrier glass for handling and transport of its 0.1mm-thick ultra-thin glass during display manufacturing processes. The carrier glass enables display manufacturers to use ultra-thin AGC glass without altering their existing production facilities.

Ultra-thin glass offers excellent transparency, heat resistance, and electrical insulation. It is laminated to the carrier glass during processing. The thin form enables flexible displays, lighting applications, and other end products. It is designed to be processed in roll-to-roll (R2R) production lines.

To use ultra-thin glass in traditional sheet-to-sheet display manufacturing lines, substantial alteration is required to equipment and handling tooling. With carrier glass, the same tools and equipment can be used, enabling low-risk adoption.

The 0.5mm carrier glass is bonded to the 0.1mm glass via a special layer that protects the substrate from heat and chemicals. The carrier glass prevents the ultra-thin glass from coming into direct contact with processing equipment, avoiding scratches and other defects. The materials are easily delaminated after processing.

A sample of carrier glass technology will be exhibited at AGC’s booth at the Society for Information Display (SID) exhibition in Boston, MA, June 3-7.

The AGC Group, with Tokyo-based Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. at its core, supplies flat, automotive and display glass, chemicals and other high-tech materials and components. For more information, please visit www.agc-group.com/en.

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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.

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In an exclusive series of blogs, imec’s science writers report from the International Technology Forum (ITF) in Brussels. This year, ITF’s theme was “It’s a changing world. Let’s make a sustainable change together”. More info: www.itf2012.com

At the recent mobile world congress (MWC) the newest models of smartphones and tablets were showcased. Most probably, you too are the proud owner of a smartphone and tablet. The next big thing according to Charlotte Soens, manager mm-wave communication program at imec, is that people will start using these mobile devices to watch high-quality photos and videos, stored in the cloud. First smartphones with integrated projectors are appearing, so it won’t be long before we will project our holiday videos or professional marketing videos at home or in the office, using our smartphones.

However, this scenario implies huge technological challenges for services, networks and wireless devices. “Research focuses on enabling the scenario in which the user can access the gigabytes of photo and video material in an instantaneous way, wherever the user may be. Moreover, we have to achieve this at low cost and without significantly impacting the battery lifetime, “ says Charlotte Soens.

But let first focus on how this scenario will be put in practice. “Videos and photos are stored in the cloud. When you are outdoors, you will rely on wireless technology such as LTE advanced to stream videos immediatly to your tablet. When you go indoors, you will connect to a small domestic cell with a gigabit per second connection, through for example IEEE802.11ac or IEEE802.11ad,” explains Soens.

An important technology enabling this scenario is a multistandard radio. “You need a tablet or smartphone that can support e.g. LTE and WiFi-like standards. And that’s exactly what imec is working on: reconfigurable radio architectures that can support connectivity standards, cellular standards and broadcasting standards, “ says Soens. “The challenge is to do develop such a radio module with a low power consumption and at a low cost.”

The user will also demand for very high data rates. Knowing that the spectrum below 10GHz is really crowded, it seems obvious to turn to higher frequency bands such as the unlicensed band around 60GHz. However, developing a low-cost compact 60GHz radio for mobile consumer devices is a real technological challenge. “To achieve a low-cost solution, we work with digital CMOS. But it is very difficult to the good performance at mm-wave out of digital CMOS. Especially if you want to go for a low power consumption. It’s certainly not business as usual,” states Soens. But that it’s possible demonstrates the latest achievement of imec researchers: a 7Gbps 60GHz transceiver implemented in 40nm low-power digital CMOS targeting low-cost volume production.

Els Parton, Scientific editor imec

In an exclusive series of blogs, imec’s science writers report from the International Technology Forum (ITF) in Brussels. This year, ITF’s theme was “It’s a changing world. Let’s make a sustainable change together”.

What would our smart world be without displays? That was the question posed by imec’s Paul Heremans, Fellow and Director Large Area Electronics, in a presentation titled “Towards flexible active matrix OLED displays.” On a daily basis, we run our eyes over dozens of displays for various purposes, he said. And this number might increase if we look at the innovations that the display industry has in mind. No more newspapers or paper novels, but digital e-readers on mobile displays. No more paper posters for advertisement, but digital posters on large flexible screens. It’s time for a new era where OLED displays and flexible displays on plastic substrates enter the market and gradually replace cathode ray tubes and liquid crystal displays. They will enable a new wave of products and an increase of the display market size in general.

Meanwhile, the first commercial OLED displays have appeared in consumer products. So, how can an R&D centre such as imec and Holst Centre contribute to such a promising and fast evolving industry? Flexible OLED displays can be extensively adopted, e.g. in flexible posters for advertisement, as rollable TV screens, or, in smaller format,  as an e-reader or on a smart card. And all these applications come with very different specifications. Therefore, says Heremans, it’s important to focus on just one, or on a very few, applications. And they chose the mobile tablet display as the point of focus of their new technology integration program, launched by imec and Holst Centre at the beginning of 2012. The mobile tablet will gather all functionalities of a mobile phone, e-reader, digital camera, MP3 player, tablet pc, netbook… in just one device. The screen must be comfortable enough to be read and touched, and small, thin and flexible enough to be mobile. Such a display must be low power, low cost and high resolution. A humidity barrier, new thin-film transistor technology to drive the pixels, innovative technologies for patterning… the list of required innovations is impressive.

According to Heremans, the prospects are good. The researchers involved in the program can rely on 6 years of experience in the various building blocks, obtained from collaboration within Holst Centre. As a result, only one quarter after the launch of the program, they have realized the first integrated display. It’s not yet the targeted 300ppi OLED display, but it’s good enough to study the pixel engines and to understand what improvements need to be done in order to get to the ultimate targeted mobile tablet display.

Mieke Van Bavel, science editor, imec, Belgium

May 22, 2012 — 3M’s Optical Systems Division made its flexible, optically clear 3M FTB3-50 and FTB3-125 films available commercially, to protect sensitive electronics displays from water vapor and oxygen. The films previously were sold under limited R&D agreements.

FTB3 (for flexible, transparent, barrier) film has application in a range of emerging display technologies. FTB3 consists of a base polyester layer (50-125µm thick) with a <2.0µm barrier coating made up of layers of polymer and oxide. It is available in rolls 300mm wide, with larger widths entering the market in Q2.

New technologies incorporating organic electronics or other sensitive components need protection from water vapor and oxygen, said Art Lathrop, marketing manager for 3M Optical Systems Division.

FTB3 is thinner, lighter, more flexible and more impact resistant than glass, 3M reports, which could enable new form factors. “It offers from two to three orders of magnitude better protection from water vapor than packaging grade barrier films, said Lathrop.

The film has a water vapor transfer rate of less than 1×10-3 grams per square meter per day at 20°C. It has an Ra of about 1nm.

“Unlike metal foils, the barrier layer in FTB3 doesn’t conduct electricity,” said Dr. Fred McCormick, senior research specialist within Optical Systems. This could be of interest to display makers requiring an insulating layer.

The film’s flexibility allows roll-to-roll processing of displays.

3M is now developing a range of barrier films using different substrates, additional film layers, and even higher barrier performance for applications ranging from solar panels to electrophoretic, electrochromic, and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. 

3M makes a range of materials for displays. The company recently announced, with HP, the “first all-in-one zero client capable of being powered by Type 1 power-over-Ethernet (PoE, IEEE 802.3af),” using 3M’s Dual Brightness Enhancement Film for LED-backlit monitors.

3M is a diverse company creating products for consumer, electronics, and other markets. For more information, visit www.3M.com

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