Between foldable phones and Corsair’s Xeneon Flex, foldable displays have been in consumer electronics for several years. But researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (opens in new tab) We also demonstrated a thin OLED display that is not only flexible but can stretch to twice its original size.
There are certainly many projects where flexible, stretchable OLED displays could be useful, with researchers touting them as “from wearable electronics and health sensors to foldable computer screens.”who developed the material Wang Sihong Juan de Pablo of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
According to the university blog postcreating stretchable OLEDs has indeed been the goal of researchers (invention/discovery is not always so targeted). It is brittle,” he noted, and lacks inherent elasticity.
The basis of materials science is that stretchable materials generally use long polymers with bendable molecular chains. With advanced polymer knowledge and understanding of stretching and electroluminescence at the molecular level, scientists have created a framework for designing optimal materials for OLEDs.
They started with a computational prediction of a new flexible electroluminescent polymer. Inspired by the success of the prototype, they chose materials with the most efficient ‘heat-activated delayed fluorescence’. Apparently, this will be important for creating materials that compete with commercial OLED technology.
The luminous efficiency of our TADF polymer remains very stable while being stretched to 100% strain. His EQE of 10% achieved is more than double the efficiency of all previously reported first-generation fluorescence-based stretchable OLEDs. pic.twitter.com/6I4QEW0K82April 6, 2023
Wang has a proven track record in stretchable electronics, having previously developed neuromorphic computing chips. bent and stretchedHe said on his University of Chicago blog that the development of stretchable OLEDs would help him realize his “whole dream” of creating stretchable versions of all critical computing components. This display/emissive component is a big step towards that goal.
The development team already has some plans to build on the work done so far. For example, the team wants to add more colors to the color gamut of stretchable OLED displays. Efficiency and performance improvements are also on the list for the near future. Ultimately, stretchable OLEDs are expected to offer “the same level of performance as existing commercial technologies,” Wang said.
