SBIR Phase I: Electrophotographic Patterning of Flexible Backplanes

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project proposes to develop a novel process for manufacturing flexible active matrix backplanes on plastic substrates. The backplane consists of individual amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs) in a matrix grid pattern fabricated on a thin sheet of plastic. The proposed process will use electrographic printing methods (laser printing) to replace conventional photolithography. The backplanes will be fabricated using techniques such as plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and electrophotograhic patterning. The significance of this innovation is that it will reduce the number of processing steps compared to photolithography, lower manufacturing costs, and be compatible with future roll-to-roll manufacturing. The final goal will be to fabricate a working display based on these technologies using a polymer dispersed liquid-crystal medium. Commercially the backplanes are used to control both electrophoretic and liquid- crystal displays as part of a radio frequency identification (RFID) label. The commercial applications for the backplane/RFID label include retail electronic shelf labels, airline security luggage tags, and dynamic camouflaging. The total market size is estimated at $33 billion annually, with $13 billion in the United States and $20 billion internationally.