AVS 46th International Symposium
    Flat Panel Displays Topical Conference Tuesday Sessions
       Session FP-TuM

Invited Paper FP-TuM4
High-Speed Assembly of Flexible Film LCDs: Materials and Process Development

Tuesday, October 26, 1999, 9:20 am, Room 604

Session: Novel Materials for Field Emission Displays and Technologies for Flexible Displays
Presenter: W.K. Smyth, Polaroid Corp.
Authors: J.T. Richard, Polaroid Corp.
W.K. Smyth, Polaroid Corp.
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Thin, flexible displays have long been considered ideal for portable display applications where weight, ruggedness and product packaging are critical performance criterion. Materials research and display assembly process development targeting flexible displays have resulted in low volume plastic display production using new materials on typical LCD production lines with comparable throughput. In order for flexible displays to become pervasive in the portable applications, new materials, equipment and processes which take advantage of high speed and low cost web assembly techniques will be required. As part of ongoing optical films research at Polaroid, new materials and processes have been developed which improve the performance of flexible displays as well as increase the potential throughput of production volume display manufacturing. A conductor film has been developed which incorporates a high temperature, low birefringence substrate and hard-coat with a thin film optical structure. The unique structure of the sputtered layers integrates high optical transmission, high electrical conductivity, and the ability to be directly patterned with commercially available, IR laser patterning equipment. This thin, durable film can be patterned in continuous rolls to enable web based display assembly. Conventional display assembly processes for edge seal and alignment layer curing and vacuum filling of liquid crystal have prohibitively long cycle times to be feasible for roll to roll display assembly. Fast curing edge seal adhesive and process conditions suitable for web based coating and drying of alignment layers have been developed. In addition, a novel display assembly process, which eliminates the need for vacuum filling, has been demonstrated.