The paper-thin, flexible AMOLED display developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has taken gold in the Wall Street Journal's Technology Innovation Award. Catering for two-sided surface visibility, FlexUPD could see its way into rollable mobile phones or e-Readers, or incorporated into clothing to provide information about the wearer – for medical purposes, for instance.
ITRI says that the "key breakthrough in FlexUPD is its simultaneous adhesive and non-adhesive bonding" where a release layer sticks to the production glass substrate during the whole of the fabrication process but is not stuck to the polyimide film that's stacked on top. This is said to allow the active matrix backplane to be flexible.
When combined with an electrophoretic display, "reusable and rollable electronic paper is produced, and these will be applied towards future electronic reading devices." The company has announced commercialization plans, with AU Optronics said to be on the cusp of releasing a line of flexible e-Readers that use FlexUPD technology.
