Flexible electronic-paper active-matrix displays

\u3cp\u3eA 100-μm-thick 320 × 240-pixel active-matrix display integrated into a functional-device prototype is presented. The active matrix is composed of alternating layers of organic materials and gold. A six-mask photolithographic process is used. An electrophoretic electronic imaging film is laminated on top of the active matrix. The display is bendable to a radius of 7.5 mm for more than 30,000 repetitions.\u3c/p\u3

Robust flexible LCDs with paintable technology

\u3cp\u3eIn this article, second-generation liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) made by Paintable LCD technology is presented. With this technology, LCDs are manufactured by a sequence of simple coating and UV curing processes. Since the process can be carried out on plastic substrates and the stack of optical layers is only tens of micrometers thick, the resulting LCDs are ultra-thin and flexible.\u3c/p\u3

Stratified LCDs:Paintable LCDs produced by photo-enforced stratification

\u3cp\u3eThe Paintable LCD approach allows the preparation of an LCD on a single substrate by the sequential coating and curing of a stack of tailored organic layers. This revolutionary new technology for the manufacturing of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) provides freedom in display design as well as in production methodology. In fact, displays can be prepared on any substrate. The key process that enables layer stacking on top of the liquid crystal (LC) layer is called photo-enforced stratification (PES). It comprises a two-step photopolymerisation-induced phase-separation of an LC blend and a polymer precursor. In these polymerization steps, the single thin layer (a homogeneous mixture of an LC blend and a polymer precursor) very accurately phase-separates in a hard polymer top coat and a pure LC layer underneath. Directionality with respect to the phase-separation can be achieved by using the absorption of one of the compounds in the mixture which provides a UV intensity gradient over the layer thickness. As a result, the photopolymerisation predominantly takes place where the UV intensity is the highest i.e. near the film surface that is directed towards the UV source. Also other optical layers, like polarisers or retarders, can be deposited by simple coating techniques, so that the complete display can be made using one, very simple and versatile, technology.\u3c/p\u3

Rollable QVGA active-matrix displays based on organic electronics

\u3cp\u3eA 100μm thin QVGA active-matrix electrophoretic display is produced using organic transistors. The display can be bent to a radius less than 1 cm without any performance loss. Higher contrast and low crosstalk was achieved by addition of a field shield to our backplane\u3c/p\u3

Active-matrix displays driven by solution processed polymeric transistors

\u3cp\u3eAn active-matrix display, refreshable at video speed, based on a solution-processed organic semiconductor (the principle underlying low-cost electronic paper) is presented. The combination of a sufficient on-current, a very low off-current, and a high uniformity allows display images with 256 gray levels, while using line-by line addressing. The Figure shows a 65 × 65 display driven by 4096 polymer thin film transistors (see also cover).\u3c/p\u3