OLED arrays integrated on planarized Si micro-sphere active-matrix backplanes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The display market is currently ~ $100B US per year, worldwide, and relies predominantly on the LCD technology. Downward pressure on price is making Organic Light Emitting Device (OLED) displays the logical evolution for display industry as OLED displays can be cheaper to make, more energy efficient and have superior image quality than LCD displays. However, OLED displays have been limited to small sizes due to low manufacturing yield of large display "backplanes", the electronics that drive the pixels in Active-Matrix (AM) displays. The lack of high performance and manufacturable electronics for OLED displays is known as the "backplane problem" for OLEDs. Christie Digital is investigating a new technology that will resolve this issue. In this technology, crystalline Si micro-spheres, embedded in a ceramic sheet, are used a backplane substrate in which the transistors of the AM electronics can be fabricated. Using crystalline Si allows realizing transistors with very high carrier mobility (>500 cm2/V·s), providing screen brightness levels and switching speeds that are several orders of magnitude higher than those achievable via the existing technologies. At the same time the approach is not constrained by the size scale-up limitations of existing technologies and therefore can allow the realization of very large displays, for example, for the entertainment industry and other large size screen applications. In this ENGAGE project, we will integrate these novel backplanes with OLED arrays in order that the performance of the Si-microsphere technology can be assessed and optimized. In taking this step, a new approach that will lower manufacturing costs will also be pursued. The successful completion of the project will therefore produce a more reliable method for producing OLED displays, resulting in new jobs and other economic benefits in Canada, and will strengthen and expand Canada's competitive position in generating knowledge and technology solutions in this fast growing and critical area of technology.