Samsung working on the expandable OLED display for mobile

A recent breakthrough in the display technology came when the researchers were able to create flexible displays for the era of folding phones. Samsung’s researchers have now proven that the next major change in display technology is commercially viable. The team has completed its work on free-form screens with a basic technology for this breakthrough being extensible displays that can be stretched in all directions such as a rubber band to change shape. Samsung researchers have recently published a study describing stable performance in an extensible device with a very elongated shape.

One of the most important discoveries of the study was that it is the first of the industry to prove the marketing potential of extensible devices. The new technology described in the study is capable of being integrated into existing semiconductor processes. The researchers combined an extensible organic LED screen and a photopletthysmography sensor (PPG) in a single device for measuring and displaying a user’s heart rate.

The researchers called the prototype technology “Expandable electronic skin” form factor. The test case proved the feasibility of expanding technology to other requests, and Samsung said that research will increase the adoption of expandable devices in the future. The Samsung OLED Extensible Skin Prototype can be stretched with 30% elongation without performance degradation.

during the study, researchers found that the display continues to operate stably after being stretched in 1000 times. The prototype device for measuring the heart rate has been capable of measuring signals of a wrist in motion precisely. The sensor has picked up a heartbeat signal that was 2.4 times stronger than the signal picked up by a fixed silicon sensor.

To overcome the challenge of extensible displays that degrade or degrade in performance, all materials and elements used, including the substrate, the electrode, the thin film transistor, the layer of transmitting material and the sensor, had to have a physical range while maintaining electrical properties. The team replaced the plastic material from the existing expandable screen with elastomer. The test system was the first to implement the display and sensor using photolithography processes, thus allowing micro-structuring and a large surface treatment.