Flexible displays are taking many forms, including curved TVs, foldable smartphones, and rollable electronic paper. These technologies are revolutionizing the way electronics look and are used, and to be commercially viable, all components – not just the display, but also the electronic circuitry, batteries, memory, and more – need to be flexible. There are also economic considerations that need to be taken into account to develop products that are mass-producible and attractive to consumers.
Computers that can be worn like clothes, electronic paper that can be folded or rolled up like a newspaper, multifunctional e-skin that can be worn to monitor health conditions, and futuristic objects depicted in science fiction movies and novels. These objects are being developed by scientists and engineers in the real world. They all have a common characteristic: they are deformable electronics, or flexible devices.
Flexible devices have the potential to revolutionize the way we shape and use the electronics we use every day. As one of the devices that visually convey information from electronics, displays are a key component of electronics, and their ability to convey information is expected to expand in the future. Flexible devices are also in great need of displays, and many research centers and companies are working to develop flexible displays. As of 2024, Samsung, Lenovo, and others have announced new foldable smartphones and rollable laptops with bendable displays. These are examples of new possibilities that go beyond the form and function of traditional smartphones and tablets.
Flexible displays have several advantages. Curved TVs reduce the distance between the center and edges, which reduces distortion and increases viewing angles. Curved displays on smartwatches make them more comfortable to wear. Folding smartphones allow you to change the size of the screen depending on the situation: you can fold it down to a smaller size when you’re out and about, and watch a movie on the big screen at home. Rollable e-paper also has the added benefit of being unbreakable. If it’s rollable, it shouldn’t break. A rollable smartphone can be made to be worn like a smartwatch.
How do you categorize flexible displays? There are many different types of displays, but according to Kimberly Allen, there are three main categories. The first is displays that are not flat, but cannot be reshaped, such as Galaxy Edge smartphones or curved monitors. These products are commercially available. The second is a more advanced type of display that can only be folded once, with limited deformation. These are used in things like e-books that fold in half. These displays are technically feasible, but economically it’s better to have two separate displays. The third category is the pinnacle of flexible displays: those that can be freely transformed, like paper. This is the technology used in products that can be rolled up and stored or worn like clothes.
Electronics can be categorized by the material of the substrate on which they are based. There are three main types of materials: glass, plastic, and metal. Glass has several advantages over plastic. Glass is highly permeable, which is why it was the main material for optical components. Glass is stable at high temperatures and resistant to chemical reactions. While other organic materials are attacked and deformed by water and oxygen, glass is less permeable and can be used as a barrier. It’s scratch-resistant, which is why it’s used in touch panels.
People don’t usually think of glass as bending. This is because the glass we usually see is easily broken. However, it’s possible to make glass that can be wheeled. Wheelable glass should be less than 200 μm thick. For the same force, the mechanical pressure is inversely proportional to the square of the thickness, so it’s easier to break a thin sheet of glass than a thicker one. Also, the substrate is made to bend, so it needs to be more stable. Methods to prevent glass from breaking include surface hardening, multilayering, or using composite glass. These methods all apply to thicker glass or reduce the amount of bending. The only option left is to strengthen the glass with a coating. Coatings are effective because they can reduce the impact of existing flaws and make it less fragile.
While there are some applications that don’t need a display, such as e-skin, most smartwatches, wearable computers, and e-newspapers do. Flexible displays can make these devices even better. Glass, the material used to make touch panels, can be thinned and coated to make flexible displays.
There are no commercialized products yet that use displays that can be rolled up and stored like in movies and novels. It takes more than just a bendable display to make it commercially viable. The electronic circuits, processors, batteries, memory, and even communications devices, as well as the substrates and cases they are mounted on, all need to bend with it or find other solutions to overcome the bending. Once you have a solution, it’s not over. You need to make sure that your product is durable enough to withstand deformation and not break. You’ll also need to develop a new process to mass-produce your product. Creating these flexible displays requires a lot of investment. These technologies will not be obsolete until they are worth the money consumers are willing to pay for them. We need to think outside of the box and come up with breakthrough products.
The economic aspect is also important for flexible display technology to be commercialized. Since the technology is expensive to develop, it is also important to consider the financial burden on consumers who will buy the product once it is commercialized. Companies need to not only develop products based on innovative technologies, but also make them economically attractive. This process requires an overall strategy from the early stages of technology development to commercialization, and it has a major impact on a company’s competitiveness.
What kind of displays will we see in the future? Currently, projectors need a wall to be viewed, like a screen. Some smartwatches project images onto your hand or arm. In the future, we might even be able to use projectors in empty spaces and not need a display at all. There are also ways to deliver audiovisual information by directly stimulating the brain. It’s an evolution of augmented reality. The display of the future may not be anything else, but our own brains.
I’m a blog writer. I want to write articles that touch people’s hearts. I love Coca-Cola, coffee, reading and traveling. I hope you find happiness through my writing.