The Cambridge Graphene Center of Cambridge University, together with the company Plastic Logic, has developed a bendable and transparent screen in which the backplane for controlling the pixels is made on the basis of the ‘wonder material’ graphene.
The flexible screen is a so-called electrophoretically active matrix display. Such screens are already used in e-readers with e-ink technology, but researchers at the Cambridge Graphene Center have modified the backplane that controls the pixels: graphene was used instead of metal or ceramic materials such as indium tin oxide. This material ensures that active matrix displays are much more flexible.
The prototype has a 150 pixel per inch backplane. This graphene control layer is combined with an electrophoretic film layer using organic thin film transistor technology from Plastic Logic. This happens at a temperature below 100°C.
The researchers, who have received a European grant for their graphene project, are considering using LCD and OLED technology in subsequent prototypes. In the future, the technology may be used for bendable and even foldable screens. Such flexible screens would also lend themselves perfectly to the emerging wearables market.