Bendable Displays Are Finally Headed to Market
Kateeva has developed an inkjet printing process that can apply a protective coating to OLEDs far faster than previous methods. This promises to cut manufacturing costs in half, and make it possible to integrate the process into existing production lines more easily.
Canatu, based in Helsinki, Finland, makes thin films covered with a network of carbon nanobuds (a nanotube with a sphere of carbon atoms attached to it) for flexible touch displays. The nanobuds have better conductivity than conventional nanotubes, and can be both stretched and curved around a radius as thin as a millimeter.
Raupp says Samsung and other phone makers are taking a conservative approach, starting with curved displays that can’t be bent to make sure the flexible screens inside them work well. He says the first truly flexible displays will probably be in designs that control how much they can be folded, to prevent damage to the display.