Category Archives: Flexible Displays

March 1, 2012 — Kent Displays is installing its second roll-to-roll (R2R) production line at its Kent, OH headquarters, manufacturing Reflex No Power flexible liquid crystal displays (LCDs). The additional capacity will build LCDs for Boogie Board eWriters sold by Kent’s consumer products subsidiary, Improv Electronics.

The new R2R LCD production line is expected to ramp to full operation in H2 2012, tripling Kent Displays’ production capacity for flexible Reflex LCDs. It joins a roll-to-roll line installed in late 2008, which makes flexible LCDs for eWriters, electronics skins and eCards.

Once Kent Displays introduced the Boogie Board eWriter model in early 2010, global demand ramped, and the company introduced several new models and accessories with additional functionalities. The added demand caused Kent Displays to invest in the second R2R line, which will also increase efficieny in Boogie Board eWriter production. The company secured funding for the new production line from a combination of sources.

Kent Displays Inc. researches, develops and manufactures Reflex No Power LCDs for multiple applications. For more information about Kent Displays, go to www.kentdisplays.com.

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February 29, 2012 — Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. recently spun off its liquid crystal display (LCD) operations, which IHS analysts say will boost the short-term competitiveness of the business, and may herald the long-term dominance of active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) in display technology, according to the IHS iSuppli Display Materials & Systems Service.
 
Prior to 2011, Samsung’s LCD business unit had predominantly been profitable, buoyed by rising demand for LCD TVs in particular. In 2010, the LCD unit recorded an impressive operating margin of 6.7 percent, with annual revenue growing to 30 trillion Korean won. This changed dramatically in 2011, with the division recording four straight quarters of unprofitability, leading to an operating loss of 750 billion won in 2011.

Samsung’s LCD business is becoming a new company, Samsung Display Co., on April 1. Samsung Display Co. may well merge then with Samsung Mobile Display Co Ltd., a joint venture between Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI Co. that makes both LCD and AMOLED displays. In addition to merging with Samsung Mobile Display, Samsung Display Co. may combine with S-LCD (A former Samsung/Sony Corp. joint venture for Gen-7.5 and newer fabs) in an effort to shore up its flagging business in television LCD panels.

Samsung’s LCD division is the second-largest LCD panel maker globally, in terms of unit shipments. Samsung Mobile Display is the top AMOLED display supplier, noted Sweta Dash, the senior director for liquid crystal displays at IHS. The potential merger represents combining the future-looking OLED technology with "internal prodigious experience and market influence in the LCD segment." AMOLEDs offer wider viewing angles, faster response times and lower power consumption than LCDs, and do not require the added power consumption and bulk of backlights. OLEDs are also compatible with flexible substrates.

In 2011, Samsung Electronics had the second-largest market share (22.9%) for global large-sized LCD shipments (see Table 1). Samsung Mobile Display dominated in AMOLEDs, with 85% share (see Table 2), although the new market is a fraction the size of the established LCD sector. Global AMOLED shipments are set to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29% from 2011 to 2015, compared to 5.8% for LCDs.

AMOLEDs already have been used in large volumes in high-end Android smartphones. Samsung and LG Display have demonstrated 55" AMOLED TV prototypes at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

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AMOLED panel production costs are considerably higher than LCD fab, especially for 55"+ TVs. AMOLED manufacturing only takes place at Gen 4.5 and 5.5 fabs, which can make — at maximum — 2 55" displays per substrate. In contrast, 8.5-generation LCD fabs can make 6 55" displays on a single substrate. AMOLED costs are exacerbated by lower yields and a limited materials supply ecosystem. This costs barrier will abate over several years, IHS predicts.

Table 1. Large-sized LCD panel market rankings in 2011 (by percentage share of unit shipments). SOURCE: IHS iSuppli February 2012.
Rank Company Market share (%)
1 LG Display 25.8
2 Samsung 22.9
3 CMI 18.5
4 AUO 17.4
  Others 15.3
  Total 100

Samsung Mobile Display is making the largest investment in AMOLED manufacturing, planning a Gen-8 fab in H2 2013. Additionally, LG Display, Chi Mei Innolux, AUO Irico and Tianma are all aiming to enter or expand their AMOLED operations. LG Display’s current AMOLED capacity is limited to a 4.5 Gen fab, where the company is making panels for smartphones. However, LG also plans to commence operations at its own Gen-8 AMOLED fab in 2013.

Table 2. Global AMOLED panel market ranking in 2011 (by percentage share of unit shipments). SOURCE: IHS iSuppli February 2012.
Rank Company Market share (%)
1 Samsung Mobile Display 85
2 LG Display 15
  Total 100

With its new independence from Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display Co. can "develop its own innovative products, expand its customer base and establish strategic partnership with other brands," said Dash, noting that is can attract many more customers without concerns about competitors with Samsung Electronics. Conversely, Samsung Electronics can source panels from multiple suppliers.

LCD panel suppliers have been losing money for the last four quarters due to the global economic slowdown, which has particularly hit television sales. This comes on top of over-expansion of fab capacity and fierce competition. More new suppliers from China are starting to enter the LCD market with new Gen 8.5 fab capacity. Because of this, the industry is bracing for more competition and further price erosion in the coming years. The antidote to lower profits is shifting production to larger Gen-6 and 8.5 fabs, as well as moving away from television panels and toward more profitable tablet and smartphone applications.

Also read: Large-size LCD panel prices stabilize

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February 28, 2012 – JCN Newswire — Hanyang University of Korea, RIKEN of Japan, and other Asian universities and research institutes launched the Asian Research Network (ARN) to strengthen research and educational cooperation across Asia. ARN members have produced transparent touch sensors using carbon nanotubes (CNT), and inks that can print electronic circuits that change color under heat or UV exposure.

Choi Eunsuk and colleagues made a transparent touch sensor using optically transparent and electrically conductive CNT thin films. Applications include flexible electronic interfaces such as e-paper or television displays. Access the article: Choi Eunsuk, Kim Jinoh, et al. "Fabrication of a flexible and transparent touch sensor using single-walled carbon nanotube thin-films" Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Vol. 11 7 pp. 5845-5849 (2011). DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2011.4450

Jong-Man Kim and his team developed an ink solution that can repeatedly change color upon exposure to heat or UV radiation. Applications include printed electronic circuits on paper for lightweight, disposable products. Access the article: B. Yoon, D.-Y. Ham, O. Yarimaga, H. An , C. W. Lee, and J.-M. Kim, "Inkjet Printing of Conjugated Polymer Precursors on Paper Substrates for Colorimetric Sensing and Flexible Electrothermochromic Display", Advanced Materials, 2011, 23, 5492-5497. DOI: 10.1002/adma.201103471

Prof. Haiwon Lee, Director of the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology at Hanyang University in South Korea has decades of experience building research alliances across Asia. ARN started as an alliance between two universities, and now incorporates dozens of organizations across Asia: The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Samsung Electronics, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research and National University of Singapore, among others. They collaborate at the Fusion Technology Center in Seoul, South Korea.

To find out more about the research conducted at the recent studies mentioned here, the Fusion Technology Center or how to get involved with the Asian Research Network please visit http://www.asianrn.org.

Distributed for Hanyang University by ResearchSEA. See more at http://www.researchsea.com/html/article.php/aid/6999/cid/1/.

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Europe’s leading organic and large-area electronics (OLAE) organizations have joined forces in the Framework 7 project COLAE, which aims to speed up the commercialization and adoption of organic and large area electronics by promoting collaboration between industry clusters throughout Europe. COLAE will utilize the resources and know-how of the project partners to provide tools and services for the existing organic electronics industry, as well as supporting the entry of new players.

The OLAE market is expected to grow swiftly, with leading forecasters predicting a worldwide industry worth up to $96bn by 2020 (IDTechEx, 2011) as it promises the opportunity for low cost manufacturing of electronic circuits on rigid or flexible substrates leading to the creation of an innovative range of products such as flexible displays, large-area lighting, logic & memory, sensors, batteries, smart bandages, intelligent tickets, low-cost solar cells and entirely new physical forms for functional electronic devices. Ilkka Kaisto of VTT, the project coordinator says, “The COLAE collaboration will allow Europe to remain at the forefront of developing this key technology area, while driving future advancements in highly lucrative markets.”

COLAE will provide training events for newcomers to the technology as well as for experienced researchers and production staff. “We aim to help Europe’s OLAE technologists stay at the leading edge. We need a strong and growing talent pool in order to compete on a global level,” says Chris Rider of The Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre (CIKC). COLAE will also provide training to stimulate entrepreneurship within the sector.

COLAE will help companies assess the viability of implementing their product ideas using OLAE technologies, with technology feasibility analyses covering a wide range of topics from IPR landscaping to product design and cost estimation. In addition, COLAE will assist companies in accessing pilot production facilities located throughout the COLAE network.

The COLAE project will create a ‘virtual foundry’ which will offer a networked hub of expertise and facilities that can be accessed by companies across Europe. Martin Raditsch of InnovationLab in Germany says “This is a real opportunity for business to de-risk their development by not investing in facilities until their product is ready for large scale production. The partners bring together a real variety of knowhow and services which together can provide integrated solutions for the industry”.

As well as assisting OLAE organizations, COLAE will focus on raising awareness with end users. “We have a remit to get end users interested in using organic electronics in their products. These technologies can revolutionize some of the main application areas but the manufacturers may not realize that the opportunities are out there,” says Ed Van Den Kieboom of Innovation Fab in The Netherlands.

“This project involves some of the key movers and shakers in the OLAE industry, and together we can make a real difference to the pace of commercialization and adoption for this exciting technology” said Martin Walkinshaw of CPI in the UK.

February 14, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — In the company’s first use of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), Konica Minolta IJ Technologies Inc. developed the KM128SNG-MB high-precision inkjet printhead for manufacturing printed electronics.

KM128SNG-MB delivers 1 picoliter drop sizes. The use of MEMS technology enabled a 38mm-wide printhead with 128 nozzles in a row, as well as future nozzle integration by customer need. The ink path design, coupled with high-precision, semiconductor-style assembly technology, enable reportedly stable, high-precision printing with picoliter droplets, and ink resistance and optimization for low viscosity inks. It provides highly uniform thin film print thickness at the 100nm level. Konica Minolta’s proprietary DPN (Drive Per Nozzle) drive board and evaluation equipment are available.

KM128SNG-MB will be used to pattern organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, deposit thin films for OLED lighting, and other industrial electronics manufacturing applications. It will be sold in sample quantities this spring.

Konica Minolta IJ Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. (TOKYO:4902), develops compact and high-performance inkjet printheads, high-value-added inks, complete inkjet print units and textile inkjet printers and peripheral equipments. For more information, please visit http://konicaminolta.com.

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February 9, 2012 — FlexTech Alliance awarded its 2012 FLEXI Awards for flexible, printed electronics and displays industry to PARC and Thin Film Electronics, Western Michigan University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech). The awards cover innovation, R&D, and leadership in education, with an eye on commercial viability.

Awards were presented at the 11th Annual Flexible Electronics and Displays Conference held this week in Phoenix, AZ. Also read: 2012 Flexible Electronics & Displays: The future is flexible

Thin Film Electronics and PARC, a Xerox Company, were the combined recipients of the FLEXI Innovation Award. In 2011, the companies debuted a working prototype printed, rewritable memory addressed with complimentary organic circuits, the equivalent of CMOS circuitry. It combines Thin Film Electronic’s polymer-based memory technology with PARC’s transistor technology. The Thinfilm Addressable Memory is designed for commercial production. The work is a step toward integrating thin-film memory with other devices such as sensors, displays, power sources and antennas. The award was accepted by Thin Film Electronic’s VP, North America, Jennifer Ernst and PARC’s Ross Bringans, VP, Electronic Materials and Devices Laboratory. The award recognizes the most innovative flexible and/or printed electronics product announced in the last twelve months, based on product design & ingenuity, potential market adoption, and revenue generation.

The Center for the Advancement of Printed Electronics (CAPE) at Western Michigan University took the FLEXI R&D Award. CAPE is an application-driven research group comprised of PhDs in chemical, electrical, mechanical, paper and material engineering. For printing and deposition, CAPE offers a variety of roll-to-roll (R2R) and sheet techniques including: gravure, inkjet, screen, flexography, spin coating and various CVD techniques. Their research groups are also actively building analytic tools to model the printed electronics world. The award was accepted by Dr. Erika Rebrosova, Assistant Professor, Department of Paper Engineering and Imaging at Western Michigan University. The award celebrates world-class research, technologically outstanding and original product development, and new significant commercial potential for implementation into flexible or printed electronics.

The Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology received the Technology Leadership in Education Award for quality of education, practical applicability, number of students completing the course, and degree of focus on flexible, printed electronics. COPE offers several interdisciplinary courses in organic chemistry, materials and optoelectronics. More than 90 students have graduated from these programs and now work at some of the leading research institutions and photonics and electronics companies in the world. The award was accepted by Dr. Bernard Kippelen, Director of the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics.

"These organizations are helping address technology gaps and drive the development of innovative products to the marketplace," said Michael Ciesinski, CEO of FlexTech Alliance.

The FlexTech Alliance is an organization, headquartered in North America, devoted to fostering the growth, profitability and success of the electronic display and flexible, printed electronics supply chain. Learn more at www.flextech.org.

February 8, 2012 — Flexible electronics, now being printed, represent the future of sensors, displays, power electronics, and lighting, according to experts gathered at the FlexTech Alliance 2012 Flexible Electronics & Displays Conference & Exhibition, taking place this week in Phoenix, AZ. 

Flexible, printed electronics will usher in the “Organic Age” predicted Dr. Jennifer Ricklin, chief technologist at the US Air Force Research Laboratory and the opening speaker of the 2012 FlexTech Alliance Flexible Electronics & Displays Conference & Exhibition. Dr. Ricklin stated, “Flex electronics is a revolution, following in line with previous electronics industry innovations. It is a disruptive technology that will create, change and disturb markets.” Ricklin further explained that disruptive technology takes decades to mature, and we are now entering the Organic Age — the coming together of nanotechnology, biology, and information technologies to enable multiple applications in commercial and defense markets.

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are a common demonstration of organic electronics, with displays and lighting the most visual applications. Steven Abramson, president and CEO of Universal Display Corporation (UDC), noted that OLED displays will challenge the liquid crystal display (LCD) supremacy because they have fewer parts, a lower bill of materials, and a superior image. OLEDs, which just passed $1 billion in sales, are increasingly found in mobile formats, while large consumer electronics manufacturers are prototyping 50”+ OLED TVs.  Also read: AMOLED TV manufacturing status, price trends

Flexible organic photovoltaics (OPV) demonstrate how energy can be harvested from earth-abundant materials. Jim Buntaine of Konarka presented working examples of off-grid applications of flexible PV such as bus stations in San Francisco and green houses in the Middle East. The large off-grid population opens new markets for this technology.      

In many respects, flexible, printed electronics products will be enabled by advancements in materials technology. A primary example is the e-reader, which has become a huge market based on electronic ink developed and commercialized by E Ink. The e-reader occupies most of the top sales slots on Amazon.com. Future advances in this sector will include a color e-reader recently launched in China, large area signage, and stretchable substrates.

The printing industry is increasingly engaged with the electronics industry, and this merger of capabilities was explained by John McCooey of DuPont MCM and Kevin Manes of Mark Andy. Both noted that there are multiple printing mechanisms that will print electronic circuitry, with gravure and flexography as the most likely contenders. Manes indicated that the printing industry has significant experience in this area for graphics printing which needs to be adapted to functional printing. He commented that “it is possible to fool the eye, but you cannot fool electrons.”   

Can glass be made flexible?  That question was answered affirmatively by Corning Inc., which demonstrated very thin glass moving over rollers and through processing tools. Flexible glass offers significant advancements in optical transmission, dimensional stability, and prevention of water vapor and oxygen permeation; it’s a true “game-changer.” Corning shared a glimpse into the future with a showing of their video — A Day in Glass 2 — illustrating how flexible glass can improve quality of life.  Also read: Corning ultra-thin glass could enable new displays, roll-to-roll fab

David Barnes of Biz Witz offered product packaging and wearables as targets of flexible electronics opportunities. Furthermore, Barnes advised that sharing the risk in developing and deploying new technology, as well as collaboration, can propel an emerging industry to success.       

“Collaboration was a strong theme being echoed throughout the opening day presentations,” said Michael Ciesinski, CEO of FlexTech Alliance. “FlexTech Alliance has long been facilitating this collaboration by developing the flexible supply chain with an R&D funding program and providing forums to exchange ideas. The Flex Conference, now in its 11th year, has shown steady growth in the number of exhibitors and attendees as well as the diversity of products and technology being presented. This year’s conference has experienced record breaking attendance, up 15% over 2011, and a 30% increase in exhibiting companies.”

The FlexTech Alliance is an organization, headquartered in North America, devoted to fostering the growth, profitability and success of the electronic display and flexible, printed electronics supply chain. Learn more at www.flextech.org.

PARC, a Xerox Company, is a pioneer in the development and commercialization of thin film transistors, circuits, and sensors. With a 40 year history of commercial innovation, PARC scientists have a deep knowledge of printing technology applied in domains such as displays, image sensors, and medical sensors, PARC’s technical expertise and facility support printed dielectrics, nanoparticle metals, organic, oxide, and silicon (amorphous, polycrystalline, printed nanowire) semiconductors.

Solid State Technology editor Pete Singer caught up with Janos Veres, area manager for printed electronics in the electronic materials and devices laboratory at PARC. Veres’ current interests are in combining disruptive material, process, and device technologies — for printed, flexible circuits; sensor and memory arrays; batteries and display devices — all with a focus on early commercialization opportunities. Janos has experience in components such as novel printed circuits, organic transistors, and printable semiconductors; applications such as OLEDs, displays, and RFID; as well as printing/coating technologies including electrophotography, flexography, and offset printing.

Before joining PARC, Veres was the CTO at PolyPhotonix, where he developed radically new process technologies for OLED devices. Prior to that, he worked at Eastman Kodak as their Program Manager of Printed Electronics, and was a Business Research Associate at Merck Chemicals (formerly Avecia) where he led several of the world’s first demonstrators built using novel electronic materials. Janos also set up unique pilot production lines for solution coating when he was responsible for Organic Photoreceptor development at Gestetner Byfleet. Dr. Veres holds a Ph.D. in Solid State Electronics from Imperial College in London and an MSc in Physical Electronics with distinction from Lviv Technical University in Ukraine.

Veres said described printed electronics as a relatively new field, with the “early years” being only 10-12 years ago. The focus is on materials that can be formulated as inks and deposited over large areas. This is quite useful for applications such as flexible displays, which was the original focus of the work, and more recently on smart cards and printed tags.  Recent progress has printed electronic transistors inching closer to those produced in polysilicon.

“We never believed that they might one day compete with amorphous silicon,” Veres notes. “That’s happened and probably 4-5 years ago, we saw that barrier broken. That means we can now take organic materials and achieve the same kind of performance that you see in displays. That progress is carrying on and at the lab level, you can build devices that are now performing better than what amorphous silicon offers. The progress will not stop there. We might see a significant improvement in mobilities at which point devices we build might be competing with polysilicon.”

This kind of progress could disrupt conventional microelectronics manufacturing. “A factory might look very different than the conventional microelectronics factory. It might look more like a printing press than a microelectronics fab,” Veres said.

Listen to the podcast interview with Veres below:

 

BUSINESS WIRE — Thin Film Electronics ASA (Thinfilm) announced technology partnerships with printed display and printed battery companies. Thinfilm signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Acreo, which develops printed displays. The company also entered into a technology assessment agreement with Imprint Energy, which is developing printed battery technology.

Thinfilm provides roll-to-roll printed, rewritable non-volatile memory products that can be integrated with other printed components from its partners for fully printed systems. The company recently demonstrated the first working prototype of a printed non-volatile memory device addressed with complementary organic circuits, the organic equivalent of CMOS circuitry.

The partnerships are a "key part" of Thinfilm’s roadmap to support the Internet of Things. "Building an ecosystem of complementary vendors will accelerate our delivery of integrated printed systems," said Davor Sutija, CEO, Thinfilm.

Other partnerships have been formed with PARC, a Xerox company, as well as Polyera.

"Acreo’s printed electronic chromic displays are ideal for our display requirements in segmented displays, such as alphanumeric characters and battery meters. The display’s low price — a few cents per display – and low power makes Acreo’s display technology an excellent addition to our technology portfolio," added Sutija. Acreo is one of Europe’s top research institutes providing cutting edge results within the field of printed electronics, optics and communication technologies.

The Imprint Energy collaboration will develop and test samples for low-power, ultra-high volume applications like temperature tags and small-scale displays. Imprint’s technology requires very little packaging, making it cost effective to scale the battery to the requirements of a given application. Imprint Energy, Inc. is commercializing a breakthrough low cost, flexible, rechargeable battery technology developed by its founders from the University of California, Berkeley. Imprint Energy’s exclusive high conductivity polymer electrolyte technology enables scalable print-based manufacturing of energy dense and ultra-thin batteries based on non-Lithium earth-abundant materials.

Thin Film Electronics ASA (Thinfilm) develops printed electronics, and provides fully printed non-volatile, rewritable memory for applications in toys and games, logistics, sensor, and ID systems. Learn more at http://www.thinfilm.no.

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January 24, 2012 — The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeks nominees in the US for the 2012 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI), honoring "this nation’s creative geniuses," said Richard Maulsby, the USPTO