Low-Power Direct-View Flexible Displays

The goal of this U.S. Air Force SBIR program is to develop non-glass, ejection-safe digital displays to replace printed paper maps and checklists on pilots knees in tactical cockpits, and to also enable large displays that can be rolled up for stowage. In this proposal UDC and L3 Displays will develop low power consumption flexible full color video rate phosphorescent OLED displays (LPFD) that can be rolled around a cylinder for stowage. The team will deliver four breadboard subsystems at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5, utilizing a 6 diagonal 480 x 480 pixel full color low power consumption phosphorescent OLED display wrapped around a 2.5 diameter cylinder containing power supplies, and wireless communication electronics. The resultant display device will show full motion video and have wired and wireless connectivity enabled by the electronics contained within the cylindrical housing, with an average luminance of 200 cd/m2. To our knowledge, this display represents the worlds largest and highest resolution OLED display fabricated on a metal substrate, and also the first designed to wrap around a cylinder for stowage. BENEFIT: The successful outcome of this Program will create benefits in a variety of military and commercial applications.  It will provide the U.S Air Force with a demonstrated technology path for flexible displays to replace printed paper maps for pilots knees in tactical cockpits, and enable a large displays to be rolled up for stowage. The work performed under this contract will form the basis of a new generation of flexible AMOLED displays which can be rolled up for storage, while providing a large size high information full color video rate display when deployed.  Beyond current U.S. Air Force application, flexible displays are increasingly being considered for in a range of industrial, medical and consumer applications. For example, these include avionic and automotive applications for conformed instrument panel displays, and consumer cell phones with roll-out high information content OLED displays.  Display Bank, a leading Korean display analyst, predicts that the flexible display market value will surge from $280M in 2010 to $5.9B in 2015 and $12.2B in 2017. By developing the key technology components necessary to fabricate these displays, the UDC team, in part through the work under this Program, expects to commercialize these technologies for military and commercial applications through joint venture and/or licensing partnerships with established flat panel display manufacturers. UDC envisages numerous interim product opportunities on the path to a roll-out AMOLED display, such as ultra-thin-rugged, and bend once, conformable AMOLED displays.