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A couple of days ago, Hewlett-Packard announced that, in cooperation with Arizona State University’s (ASU) Flexible Display Center (FDC), they developed the first “prototype of affordable, flexible electronic displays”.

If you’re not familiarized with flexible displays, let me tell you they are computer displays, a little bit different from others that you have ever seen. They look like paper and they’re based almost entirely on plastic. The technology that made such displays possible also allows them to become portable, consuming less power in comparison with computer displays that are available on the market.




This unbreakable display is entirely the creation of HP and FDC and it’s based on technology invented by specialists from the HP Labs, called the self-aligned imprint lithography (SAIL). “Self aligned” means that the information that has to be patterned is imprinted so that the perfect alignment isn’t ruined despite the “process-induced distortion”.

“The display HP has created with FDC proves the technology and demonstrates the remarkable innovation we’re bringing to the rapidly growing display market”, said Carl Taussig, director, Information Surfaces, HP Labs. “In addition to providing a lower-cost process, SAIL technology represents a more sustainable, environmentally sensitive approach to producing electronic displays”.



If you imagine that succeeding the first practical demonstration of the flexible displays is a piece of cake (though I suppose that readers are well informed with the technological progress and the difficulty that precede impressive inventions), then let me tell you you’re kind of wrong. The event is the result of hard work, lots of people being involved. The collaborative efforts between FDC and HP as well as other partners brought by FDC, including DuPont Teijin Films and E Ink made the flexible display come true. In order to be created, tasks are very well distributed. FDC is the one who “produces stacks of semiconductor materials and metals on flexible Teonex Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) substrates from DuPont Teijin Films”.

Then, the substrates are patterned by HP using the SAIL technology, integrating E Ink’s Vizplex imaging film, in order “to produce an actively addressed flexible display on plastic”. This imaging film has a very precise role, meaning it helps images to persist even if voltage isn’t applied, so power consumption is less needed when someone wants to view text.

I’m sure that you’re all conscious about the consequences the production of such affordable displays will have, as it’s going to bring high-resolution flexible displays on the market that can be used for notebook computers, smartphones and all sorts of electronic devices. Not to mention the fact that they will be less expensive than in the present, since one of the most important and more costly components is the display. Let’s pray for HP to achieve its goal, then!

(Source: phonearea.net)