PFI-TT: Development of a Bubble Printer for Low-cost, Rapid Fabrication of High-Resolution Displays

这一创新技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种新型打印机，使低成本、快速制造高分辨率显示面板成为可能。这种显示对于虚拟现实和增强现实等许多新兴应用至关重要，这些应用可用于外科训练、军事训练和虚拟旅游。目前，高成本的显示器制造限制了广泛的实施。拟议的气泡打印机预计将克服大规模实施高分辨率显示器的成本和分辨率障碍。拟议中的项目将在研究、开发、销售和营销的各个层面创造就业机会，并有助于建立工业界和学术界之间的合作。该项目将通过市场研究、最终客户验证和显示器成本分析的实践经验，让工科学生接触到创业精神。鼓励来自代表性不足群体的学生参与创业、研究和发展。拟议的项目将解决制造高分辨率显示器的高成本问题，这与提高显示器的亮度和对比度，同时减少显示器的像素尺寸有关。随着泡泡印刷的提出，一种专有的光刻技术将被用于将发光材料高分辨率图案化成小像素。基板和有源层之间的等离子体相互作用将增强像素发射特性。项目完成后，该团队预计将通过研究高速Marangoni流动并通过使用表面活性剂分子实现气泡的稳定，以1000 mm/S的激光扫描速度实现图案面积增加100倍(增加10倍)。为了增加不同衬底上气泡印刷的通用性，将利用连续波和飞秒激光来产生气泡和构图。一台独立的气泡打印机将证明其可集成到当前的显示器制造生产线中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to develop a novel printer that will enable low-cost, rapid fabrication of high-resolution display panels. Such displays are critical for many emerging applications such as virtual reality and augmented reality, which can be used for surgical training, military training, and virtual tourism. Currently, the high cost of display fabrication limits wide implementation. The proposed bubble printer is expected to overcome the cost and resolution barriers for the large-scale implementation of the high-resolution displays. The proposed project will create jobs at various levels in research, development, sales, and marketing and help establish collaborations among industry and academia. The project will expose engineering students to entrepreneurship through hands-on experiences with market research, end-customer validation, and cost analysis of displays. Students from underrepresented groups are encouraged to participate in entrepreneurship, research, and development. The proposed project will tackle the high cost of fabricating high-resolution displays, which is associated with enhancing the brightness and contrast while reducing the pixel size of the displays. With the proposed bubble printing, a proprietary lithography technique will be used for high-resolution patterning of light-emitting materials into small pixels. Pixel emission characteristics will be enhanced by plasmonic interactions between the substrates and the active layers. Upon completion of the project, the team expects to achieve a 100-fold increase in patterning area at a laser-scanning speed of 1000 mm/s (a 10-fold increase) by studying high-speed Marangoni flows and achieving stabilization of bubbles through use of surfactant molecules. To increase the versatility of bubble printing on different substrates, both continuous wave and femtosecond lasers will be utilized for bubble generation and patterning. A stand-alone bubble printer will demonstrate its integrability into current display manufacturing production lines.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.