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

显示器市场目前每年约为1000亿美元，主要依赖于LCD技术。价格的下行压力使得有机发光器件（OLED）显示器成为显示器行业的逻辑演进，因为OLED显示器可以更便宜地制造，更节能，并且具有比LCD显示器更优越的上级图像质量。然而，OLED显示器由于大型显示器“背板”（驱动有源矩阵（AM）显示器中的像素的电子器件）的低制造产率而被限制于小尺寸。OLED显示器缺乏高性能和可制造的电子器件被称为OLED的“背板问题”。科视Christie Digital正在研究一种新技术来解决这个问题。在该技术中，嵌入陶瓷片中的晶体硅微球被用作背板基板，其中可以制造AM电子器件的晶体管。使用晶体Si允许实现具有非常高的载流子迁移率（>500 cm 2/V·s）的晶体管，提供比通过现有技术可实现的那些高几个数量级的屏幕亮度水平和切换速度。同时，该方法不受现有技术的尺寸放大限制的约束，因此可以允许实现非常大的显示器，例如，用于娱乐业和其他大尺寸屏幕应用。在这个ENGAGE项目中，我们将把这些新型背板与OLED阵列集成在一起，以便评估和优化硅微球技术的性能。在采取这一步骤时，还将采用一种降低制造成本的新方法。因此，该项目的成功完成将为生产OLED显示器提供更可靠的方法，为加拿大带来新的就业机会和其他经济效益，并将加强和扩大加拿大在这一快速增长和关键技术领域产生知识和技术解决方案的竞争地位。

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.