• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2022

As various flexible display products are released, the demand for high-performance colorless and transparent polyimide (CPI) film is continuously increasing. The primary purpose of this study is to establish a systematic procedure for optimizing the optical performance of CPI films by applying the response surface method. After selecting three key factors (monomer type, stirring time for varnish synthesis, and maximum temperature of vacuum furnace for film production) affecting optical performance based on experiences and references, CPI films were manufactured according to the experimental sequence designed by the central composite design, and then the yellowness index (YI) and optical transmittance (Tr) of the films were measured. When producing a CPI film by pouring varnish into a petri dish, the change in optical properties according to thickness should be considered, and there was a meaningful linear relationship between YI and Tr. The species of monomer and the maximum temperature were the critical factors that had an influence on YI and Tr, respectively. It is expected that the procedure proposed in this study can serve as a starting point for CPI film optimization studies considering the other factors that were not considered and responses such as thermal properties.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.49-54
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• 2021

The display industry is transitioning from traditional rigid products such as flat panel displays to flexible or wearable ones designed to be folded or rolled. Accordingly, colorless and optically transparent polyimide (CPI) films are one of the prime candidates to substitute traditional cover glass as a passivation layer to accommodate product flexibility. However, CPI films subjected to repetitive pure bending loads inevitably entail an accumulation of residual strain that can eventually cause wrinkles or delamination in the underlying component after a certain number of static and cyclic loading. The purpose of this study is to establish an experimental method to systematically evaluate the bending residual strain of CPI films. Films were monotonically and cyclically wrapped on mandrels of various diameters to ensure a constant strain in each. After unwrapping the wound CPI film, the residual radius of curvature remaining on the film was measured and converted into residual strain. The critical radius of curvature at which residual strain does not remain was about 5 mm, and the residual strain decreased in proportion to the log time. It is expected that flexible displays can be reliably designed using the data between the applied bending strain and the residual strain.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.66-71
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• 2019

Application of liquid crystal (LC) materials to a flexible device is challenging because the bending of LC displays easily causes change in thickness of the LC layer and orientation of LCs, resulting in deterioration in a displayed image quality. In this work, we demonstrate a prototype device combining a flexible polymer substrate and an optically isotropic LC-polymer composite in which the device consists of interdigitated in-plane switching electrodes deposited on a flexible colorless polyimide substrate and the composite consisting of nano-sized LC droplets in a polymer matrix. The device can keep good electro-optic characteristics even when it is in a bending state because the LC orientation is not disturbed in both voltage-off and -on states. The proposed device shows a high potential to be applicable for future flexible LC devices.