Open Competition 1 - Electronics and Photonics

Printed Organic Transistors on Plastic for Electronic Displays and Circuits

Sponsor: Sarnoff Corporation

• Project Performance Period: 11/1/2002 - 10/31/2005
• Total project (est.): $11,489,147.00
• Requested ATP funds: $5,734,114.00

The materials and processes used to make electronic displays and circuits -- principally photolithography on silicon substrates -- are expensive. Printing on plastic substrates would be cheaper, but it is not yet possible to apply chemically compatible materials to make high-performance circuits and devices. Sarnoff Corporation and partner DuPont (Wilmington, Del.) plan a three-year project to develop and demonstrate printable organic electronic materials and fabrication technologies for low-cost, high-volume production of thin film transistors (TFTs) and displays. Methods will be developed for continuous, high-resolution printing of TFTs on flexible plastic substrates, which will be the basis for an active matrix architecture for high-resolution organic electronic displays. Achieving adequate performance in a printed semiconductor will be the greatest challenge. A variety of organic materials for use in the TFTs, conductors, and dielectrics will be developed, along with processes for patterning and depositing them. Nanostructured materials will be part of the solution. As a demonstration, the new technologies will be integrated to build an active-matrix, organic light-emitting diode display on a flexible plastic substrate. Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, N.J.), a leader in organic thin film transistors, will be subcontracted to develop materials and processes. The research would not be pursued at all without ATP funding because of its high technical risk, need for multidisciplinary expertise beyond the scope of a single participant, and long time horizon. If successfully developed, the new technologies will reduce substantially the cost of active matrix displays, spur the development of new display products, and lead to new electronic packaging products. U.S. companies could capture a substantial portion of the fast-growing $50 billion market for flat-panel displays and lead the development of a new industry focusing on ultralow-cost printable electronics. In addition to video displays, the technology could be used in applications such as smart cards, smart packaging, and digital X-ray imagers installed in doctors' offices and ambulances.

For project information:

Tom Lento, (609) 734-3178
tlento@sarnoff.com

Active Project Participants

• DuPont (Wilmington, DE)
  [Original, Active Member]
  

ATP Project Manager

Eric Samuelson, (301) 975-6393
eric.samuelson@nist.gov