Polymer matrix opens up cheaper displays

17 Jun 2002

Researchers at Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, have made a 64 by 64 pixel display in which each pixel is driven by a thin-film transistor that is based on a polymer semiconductor active-matrix display. The development could lead to low-cost, all-polymer, flexible displays.

Each one of the 4096 pixels of the demonstrator is switched by its own transistor. The display operates at switching frequencies of as much as 100 Hz.

The advantage of a polymer-based active matrix is a lower production cost owing to fewer production steps and less stringent cleanroom standards. It is also possible, in theory, to print the switches on plastic foil in a reel-to-reel process to produce large matrices.