4. Next Generation of Flexible Displays
Paul Cain, FlexEnable, Mike Hack, Universal Displays, Asad Khan, Kent Displays, D. Scott Bull, E Ink
In this course, the future of flexible displays for multiple different electro-optic materials will be presented, including; Organic Liquid Crystal Display (OLCD) and Organic Thin Film Transistors (OTFTs) from FlexEnable, Electrophoretic materials from Eink, Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays from Universal Display Corporation, and Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals (PDLCs) as applied to eWriter technologies from Kent Displays. The anticipated products, markets and applications enabled by each type of flexible display will be discussed. In addition, the substrate requirements, key materials and processes, flexible electrodes and backplanes, and ideal manufacturing processes will be reviewed for each technology.
Organic liquid crystal displays (OLCDs) can be conformed, shaped and wrapped around almost any surface. Compatible with existing flat panel display production lines, OLCD is the lowest cost flexible display technology and is scalable to large area areas while providing high brightness and long lifetime. With OLCD beginning mass production in 2018, it will enable new product paradigms and use cases for a range of applications across consumer electronics, smart home appliances, automotive, digital signage and beyond.
Electrophoretic display (EPD) technology is the basis for flexible ePaper displays already in mass production. EPD front planes are coated roll to roll thousands of feet long and are then cut and combined with a variety of flexible segmented and TFT backplanes. Daylight readability, low power, true bistability, and paper-like viewing characteristics have made it the display of choice for electronic readers. EPD technology is also already in production for flexible watches and wearables, electronic suitcase tags, and even large scale solar powered architectural highlight modules, with more exciting applications soon to be announced.
Flexible OLEDs offer the ability to make bright emissive displays on a range of substrates. Current commercial products are now being fabricated on plastic substrates, and foldable and rollable OLED displays with radii of curvature down to 1mm will be available in the next few years, allowing for the realization of exciting new generations of consumer products.
The bistable, roll-to-roll manufactured PDLC eWriters allow for flexible, rugged, thin, lightweight liquid crystal displays that are compatible with non-rectangular shapes due to the base plastic substrates. The unique PDLC materials and processes promote excellent line acuity when localized pressure is applied to the display with a stylus (or other object) writing a bright line on a dark background.