All-plastic display demoed

Researchers from Philips Research in the Netherlands have demonstrated a fast, flexible computer display that is nearly as thin as paper.

The five-centimeter-square prototype is a little less than a third of a millimeter thick and still functions when rolled into a tube as narrow as a centimeter. The key to the flexibility was making the screen from plastic transistors, which are also relatively inexpensive.

The researchers' prototype 64-by-64-pixel display contains 1,888 organic transistors that control each pixel in the active matrix display. The plastic transistors allow for the display's flexibility, and they are also less expensive than silicon transistors because they can be made in a relatively simple room-temperature process.

The display combines the flexible organic backplane with the E Ink Inc. electronic ink scheme, which switches oppositely-charged particles of black and white pigment suspended in fluid-filled microcapsules. The Philips backplane switches the ink as quickly as 5 kHz, which is quick enough to run video, according to the researchers.

The researchers are working on extending the lifetime of the backplane and improving its resolution. The displays could be used commercially in two years, according to the researchers. The work appeared in the January 25, 2004 issue of Nature Materials.