Dave Savastano05.27.14
SmartKem Ltd. is to present its latest advances for organic semiconductor materials at SID’s Display Week Conference, San Diego, CA, June 1-6, 2014. The data will demonstrate the potential for the commercial use of organic semiconductor materials (OSCs) in the industrial production of organic thin-film-transistor backplanes (OTFTs) for flexible AMOLED displays.
This latest OSC data will be presented by Dr. Julian Carter, technology manager at SmartKem, on June 4. The results demonstrate that SmartKem’s formulated OSC materials offer manufacturers a solution-printable semiconductor that yields high mobilities and excellent levels of thin-film-transistor (TFT) uniformity across arrays, independent of electrode configuration.
“The new data shows why the market is adopting SmartKem’s p-FLEX technology platform for the commercial production of OTFT backplanes for truly flexible displays, and specifically for AMOLEDs,” said Dr. Mike Cowin, head of product management at SmartKem. “The results clearly demonstrate that high mobility values and high levels of uniformity can be achieved regardless of the source/drain electrode configuration. Added to this, the adoption of a corbino TFT approach enables OTFTs with high on/off ratios to be realised with fewer process steps using solution processed OSCs – simplifying the production process for OEMs.
“The commercial market for AMOLED displays is currently dominated by low temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) and indium gallium zinc oxide-based (IGZO) backplanes,” Dr. Cowin added. “However, neither of these inorganic approaches enable deposition of the semiconductor at temperatures that are low enough for coating onto low cost flexible polymer substrates. Furthermore, given the intrinsic incompatibility between the inorganic materials and the flexible substrate, without sophisticated strain management techniques the ‘inorganics’ are unlikely to prove suitable for developing fully flexible AMOLED displays that can be ‘folded’ through bend radii < 1mm. We know from the display supply chain that this will be the defining USP in the development of truly flexible, lightweight, unbreakable displays where organic semiconductors offer key advantages with respect to their physical and electrical performance.”
This latest OSC data will be presented by Dr. Julian Carter, technology manager at SmartKem, on June 4. The results demonstrate that SmartKem’s formulated OSC materials offer manufacturers a solution-printable semiconductor that yields high mobilities and excellent levels of thin-film-transistor (TFT) uniformity across arrays, independent of electrode configuration.
“The new data shows why the market is adopting SmartKem’s p-FLEX technology platform for the commercial production of OTFT backplanes for truly flexible displays, and specifically for AMOLEDs,” said Dr. Mike Cowin, head of product management at SmartKem. “The results clearly demonstrate that high mobility values and high levels of uniformity can be achieved regardless of the source/drain electrode configuration. Added to this, the adoption of a corbino TFT approach enables OTFTs with high on/off ratios to be realised with fewer process steps using solution processed OSCs – simplifying the production process for OEMs.
“The commercial market for AMOLED displays is currently dominated by low temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) and indium gallium zinc oxide-based (IGZO) backplanes,” Dr. Cowin added. “However, neither of these inorganic approaches enable deposition of the semiconductor at temperatures that are low enough for coating onto low cost flexible polymer substrates. Furthermore, given the intrinsic incompatibility between the inorganic materials and the flexible substrate, without sophisticated strain management techniques the ‘inorganics’ are unlikely to prove suitable for developing fully flexible AMOLED displays that can be ‘folded’ through bend radii < 1mm. We know from the display supply chain that this will be the defining USP in the development of truly flexible, lightweight, unbreakable displays where organic semiconductors offer key advantages with respect to their physical and electrical performance.”