Curved Flat Panel Microdisplay (CFPM)

ABSTRACT: This proposal is to develop a curved flat panel microdisplay for the purpose of simplifying optics and reducing the weight of the optical system in near eye head-mounted systems, 3D and other projection designs. The curved image generation is achieved by fabricating AMOLED directly on the desired curve surface. The active matrix pixel electronics is implemented by metal oxide thin film transistor technology (MOTFT). The lithography for TFT fabrication is direct laser writing on curved surfaces. The metal oxide is deposited by sputtering which can be adapted to curved surface easily. Top emitting OLED will be used to improve the aperture ratio for AMOLED. In order to achieve small pixel size (less than 50 microns initially, with the final goal of less than 20 microns); the organic light generating layer will not be patterned. In Phase I, only the feasibility of white AMOLED on curved surface will be demonstrated. High pixel count AMOLED on curved surface and full color scheme using a single color OLED will be demonstrated in Phase II. BENEFIT: We anticipate that the proposed work will have an immediate impact on military and commercial applications. The curved display with spherical emission plane will revolutionize display devices with large FOV and with low weight and size. In addition to military applications, such a device will also find broad applications in next generation automobiles and portable electronics including mini-projectors.