Electronic devices are about to become significantly more adaptable due to the effort made by researchers at Tohoku University. The team developed a new liquid crystal device based on a new technology characterized by stability and flexibility. The avenues opened by this development are practically unlimited, allowing a much better interaction between users and technology.
The Challenge
Creating flexible devices has been a goal for both numerous researchers and companies, but until now, the results have not been very promising. A proposed solution involved using an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with a very thin plastic substrate.
The main problem identified with this technology is that the end products were unstable and, as a result, could not be used at a large scale.
The plastic seems to have been the main cause, as it proved to be an inadequate barrier for gases and water vapors, which affected the very delicate OLED. Other attempts involved using flexible OLEDs, but the technology is very complex. Hence, no low-cost or high-resolution alternatives could be developed.
Flexible Devices Of The Future
Professor Hideo Fujikake, Associate Professor Takahiro Ishinabe, and their team decided to tackle these issues by using a different approach. Thus, the LC (Liquid Crystal) technology they developed includes two extremely thin plastic substrates, which are bound by polymer wall spacers in a manner that makes the entire device very stable.
The biggest innovation is thus represented by the replacement of the thick glass substrates with much thinner plastic ones, which are lighter and more flexible. Moreover, the LC materials are not affected by gases or vapors. Therefore, no damage occurs.
LC materials seem to be the best choice for such devices, as they can be mass produced in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They are much more affordable than other similar materials. However, some problems remained.
Initially, the gap between the plastic substrates and the LC was no longer uniform when the device was bent. Thus, the image became distorted. The problem was solved by adding some very thin polyimide substrates (approximately 10 μm thick) bonded together by the polymer wall spacers mentioned above, which prove to be very sturdy in spite of their microscopic size.
The resulting substrate is very similar to food-wrapping film, but its qualities go way beyond appearances. The new technology promises to deliver high-quality images while also being resistant to a variety of factors such as heat.
Most impressively, the devices are extremely flexible. The technology has no size restrictions and can be used for signage, wearable technologies, and many other purposes.
Part of the research was presented this year at a symposium in San Francisco. Currently, the team is working on increasing the image quality.
