KENT STATE PHYSICS PROFESSOR RECEIVES GRANT TO DEVELOP OLED TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD BE USED IN FLEXIBLE DISPLAYS

A Kent State University professor in the College of Arts and Sciences has received a grant from the Binational Science Foundation to continue his development of a combined LED (light-emitting diode) and organic transistor that could be used in flexible displays. Bjorn Lussem, Ph.D., an assistant professor of physics, was awarded $180,000 to use vertical transistors to create organic displays that are more power efficient and could potentially have a higher resolution. 

Organic light-emitting diode technologies, known as OLEDs, are presently used in many models of mobile phones and television sets, allowing for greater image quality and high-resolution display. 

Lussem believes the most promising feature of OLEDs is not high image quality, but their flexibility. The structure of OLEDs allows them to be bended and folded, which means new types of information display technologies could be developed. 

“Truly bendable or even foldable displays will allow for completely new designs of information displays, such as roll-up displays or wearable displays integrated in fabrics,” Lussem said. “Flexible displays will also open the way for low-cost, roll-to-roll processing for disposable medical devices and food packaging.”

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