DuPont and Sarnoff Corporation are to work together to develop new organic thin film transistor (organic-TFT) technology on plastic substrates, leading to the rapid commercialisation of flexible display devices.
The technical collaboration combines DuPont’s expertise in OLED display panels, flexible substrates, printing and organic-TFT technologies, and Sarnoff’s expertise in active matrix TFT designs and video display systems. Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs will be subcontracted to develop a new class of organic-TFT materials and design processes.
The research initiative has been sponsored by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Dupont already has a mass production line on-line in Hsinchu, Taiwan that is producing passive matrix, polymer-based OLED displays on glass for use in handheld mobile communication devices such as cell phones and PDAs.
To accommodate the fabrication of flexible polymer-based OLED displays on plastic by end of 2004, the company plans to upgrade its pilot line facility in Santa Barbara, CA.
