SBIR Phase I: Transparent and Elastic Organic Light Emitting Diode Displays

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的广泛影响/商业潜力将是人们与电子设备互动方式的根本改变。无论是手机还是可穿戴健身追踪器，当前电子设备的形式最终都受到矩形和刚性显示屏的限制。该项目将开发高度透明和弹性的显示器，与最先进的柔性显示器相比，实现机械弹性的数量级提高。增加的灵活性将带来变革性的技术，使各种新颖的保形和可穿戴电子产品成为可能。与商业可穿戴电子产品市场直接相关的应用包括衣服或皮肤上的健身追踪器和健康监视器。与军事相关的应用包括自适应伪装和可穿戴抬头显示器。该项目将开发一种弹性插入式替代现有刚性显示技术，直接为当前各种电子设备提供灵活的外形因素。这个项目将为市场带来一种创新的显示器，它将永久地改变人们与电子产品的交互方式。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发和制造高弹性和透明的显示器。目前的显示器由于使用的刚性、脆性材料，特别是氧化铟锡（ITO），在灵活性上受到限制。该项目将用可拉伸的纳米材料，特别是石墨烯和碳纳米管取代所有刚性材料，从而产生高度透明和弹性的有机发光二极管显示器。石墨烯和碳纳米管具有高光学透明度和导电性的技术优势。最重要的是，这些纳米材料具有优异的弹性性能，其应变极限大于20%。所采用的先进纳米材料的技术优势将使具有电视功能的视频显示器的发展成为可能，但它像纸一样薄，像玻璃一样透明，像橡胶一样可拉伸。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be a fundamental change in how people interact with electronic devices. Whether a cell phone or wearable fitness tracker, the form of current electronic devices is ultimately limited by the rectangular and rigid display. This project will develop highly transparent and elastic displays, achieving an order of magnitude improvement in mechanical elasticity when compared to state-of-the-art flexible displays. The increased flexibility will result in a transformative technology, enabling a wide range of novel conformal and wearable electronics. Applications immediately pertinent to the commercial wearable electronics market include clothing- or skin-mounted fitness trackers and health monitors. Applications pertinent to the military include adaptive camouflage and wearable heads-up displays. This project will enable the development of an elastic drop-in replacement for existing rigid display technologies, directly enabling a flexible form factor for a wide range of current electronic devices. This project will bring an innovative display to market that will permanently change how people interface with electronics.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and fabricate highly elastic and transparent displays. Current displays are limited in flexibility due to the rigid, brittle materials employed, specifically indium tin oxide (ITO). This project will replace all rigid materials with stretchable nanomaterials, specifically graphene and carbon nanotubes, resulting in a highly transparent and elastic organic light emitting diode display. Graphene and carbon nanotubes offer the technical advantages of high optical transparency and electrical conductivity. Most importantly, these nanomaterials provide superior elastic properties with demonstrated strain limits greater than 20%. The technical advantages of the advanced nanomaterials employed will enable the development of a video display with the functionality of a TV, yet as thin as paper, as transparent as glass, and as stretchable as rubber.