Researchers develop intrinsically stretchable QLED displays

[Courtesy of Institute for Basic Science]

A team of Korean researchers achieved a breakthrough in stretchable quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLED). Led by Kim Dae-hyeong and Hyun Taeg-hwan, both of whom work for the Nanoparticle Research Center of Institute for Basic Science (IBS), the team collaborated with Choi Moon-kee, a professor at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) Department of Energy Science and Engineering Professor Yang Ji-woong.

The researchers unveiled a stretchable QLED on Tuesday that maintains image quality even when it is t stretched significantly.

Unlike previous stretchable displays that only stretched the wiring part, leaving the light-emitting part unchanged and prone to image quality degradation as well as mechanical errors, the new stretchable light-emitting layer features a novel high-resolution with a technique applicable to the stretchable quantum dot emissive layer, resulting in a full-color stretchable QLED incorporating red, green, and blue pixels.

The newly developed QLED device boasts a maximum luminance of 15,170 cd m−2 at a turn-on voltage of 6.2 V without loss of brightness and has the best performance among stretchable QLED devices to date. The device can endure stretching up to 1.5 times without suffering mechanical damage or loss of luminous performance, which, in practical terms, means that a 20-inch QLED TV equipped with the latest device could stretch to 30 inches while maintaining a consistent luminous performance.