Royole revealed a micro-LED stretchable display with 3D free form shaping
Royole has revealed a new display that it says is the world's first micro-LED-based stretchable display that is designed using technology compatible with current industrial manufacturing processes. The company has presented its new display technology details at the 2021 Society for Information Display, Display Week Symposium. Royole says the technology marks another significant industry milestone in flexible electronics to its credit.Stretchable electronics are currently the cutting-edge for flexible technologies. They rely on building electronic circuits with stretchability and elasticity, allowing them to be flexed and move without breaking. Stretchable displays can be folded and rolled and are capable of 3D free-form shaping such as pulling, twisting, convex, and concave deformations. Royole says the technology opens new applications and possibilities that current flexible displays are unable to achieve.
Using the display technology, three-dimensional folding can accommodate more compact smart devices or domed and spherical shapes for objects found in daily life. The company believes the display breakthrough will inspire new form factors that require elastic qualities in industries like health and fitness and sports and fashion along with smart transportation. Royole says that stretchable electronics will fundamentally shift the way the world builds and designs smart devices and tools for the future.
Royole's technology can be stretched by 130 percent from normal and can survive convex bending of up to 40 degrees. It offers a resolution of up to 120 pixels per inch, which is a resolution that supports use in laptop screens. The technology also allows transmittance of up to 70 percent, which is much higher than current flexible OLED technology.
The significantly improved transmittance makes the technology highly applicable for smart solutions that require transparency, such as car windshields and sunglasses. Royole revealed an experimental display meant to verify the process and design method, which is a 2.7-inch stretchable demo panel with a 96x60 resolution.