AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Thin Films Friday Sessions
       Session TF-FrM

Invited Paper TF-FrM5
Bend Testing of OLED Devices on Polymer Substrates

Friday, November 4, 2005, 9:40 am, Room 306

Session: Thin Films on Flexible and Polymer Substrates
Presenter: J. Lewis, RTI International
Authors: J. Lewis, RTI International
S. Grego, RTI International
E. Vick, RTI International
D. Temple, RTI International
Correspondent: Click to Email
The flexibility of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays on flexible substrates is limited by the use of brittle inorganic films for components such as permeation barriers, transparent conductors, and TFTs. The development of a "rollable" display demands significant advances in the mechanical robustness of these brittle films. We will discuss advances in metrology techniques for the mechanical evalution of thin film components, including bend test and failure analysis methods. The fabrication of highly flexible displays requires not only highly flexible component films but also a well-designed display architecture, as layer-layer interactions can lead to mechanical effects not observed when bending components. We will report on the mechanical testing of OLED devices and demonstrate the effects of bending on the current-voltage characteristics, as well as inter-layer propagation of defects. We will discuss the potential impact of the mechanical failure of thin film components on overall device performance and robustness. This work was supported by the Army Research Laboratory (Contract No. DAAD17-01-C-0085).