Periodic Reporting for period 2 - HI-ACCURACY (High-ACCuracy printed electronics down to µm size, for Organic Large Area Electronics (OLAE) Thin Film Transistor (TFT) and Display Applications.)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-10-01 bis 2023-09-30
HI-ACCURACY aimed to deliver the next generation of large area manufacture of flexible OLAE structures such as organic Thin Film Transistors (OTFTs) and Electroluminescent Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode (EL-QD-LED) displays, to μm-scale feature size printable onto flexible substrates. This has been aimed at the large and excisting printed, flexible and organic electronics global market, estimated at €74bn (until 2030) until then with an annual growth rate of >8% which is mainly dominated by displays. During the last 3,5 years the project partners have worked on front- and back-plane structures with feature sizes approaching 1 μm using low cost materials that can operate at frequencies of >1MHz. Thereby a unique range of cutting-edge materials and printing inks, in combination with inherently scalable, cost-effective printing and deposition approaches, that have non vacuum or minimal vacuum requirement have been developed. For example, materials such as EL-QD-LED material stacks with multilayer barrier layers with low water vapour and oxygen transmission rates, novel organic semiconductors and conductive inks that can be produced at low cost with minimal environmental impact have been developed.
Within this ambitious project a pan-European EU consortium of world leading research centres and cutting-edge SMEs have further developed these materials and technologies of European origin, pathing the way for their commercialisation.
Within this ambitious project a pan-European EU consortium of world leading research centres and cutting-edge SMEs have further developed these materials and technologies of European origin, pathing the way for their commercialisation.
During the last 3,5 years, on the way to the final project demonstrators, the consortium has worked intensively together, forming a strong network between the partners, which opens also the way for future joint projects and collaborations. Expertise in particular for material and process development has been built up, and the results have been disseminated, for example in various peer-reviewed papers, conference talks and posters, press releases, folders, a project video, the project homepage, newspaper articles and social media posts. A patent has been filed, and partners plan post project explanation of their individual results.
Hi-Accuracy has started on 01-04-2020 and the final second period has started on 01-10-2021 and ended on 30-09-2023, which included a 6 months extension owing to the pandemic situation particularly during the first period.
As it became clear, which technologies are suitable to develop a manufacturing process for the 1” 300 ppi full colour RGB quantum dot active matrix display, and which technologies were further developed to manufacture components of the demonstrator. The main goals included the quantum dots to be electro-luminescent (light emission induced by a current instead of a backlight) and the optically active materials to be printed by electro-static jet printing, a method, which differs from well-known inkjet by the physical nozzle being replaced by a suitable electrostatic field. The active matrix backplane of the display, which contains the electronics switching on and off each pixel was manufactured by photo-lithography as a back-up for printing methods originally not only planned for the frontplane but also for the backplane.
The demonstrator displays and all components thereof were manufactured on a 25 µm thin polymer substrate to enable bending that is sufficient to wrap the display around a wrist or mount it in the interior of a car, as specified by end-users. The active-matrix electro-luminescent quantum-dot LED requires a barrier against humidity and oxygen in air, which has been applied on the substrate at the bottom and on the top of the layered material stack by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), after failing attempts to apply novel non-vacuum techniques.
Additional frontplane demonstrators were manufactured without active matrix addressing to show the potential resolution of ESJET printing quantum dot and electron transport layers.
Apart from the demonstrators, there were components of the backplane manufactured by additive methods. Reverse Offset Printing (ROP) is a scalable roll-to-sheet process that was employed to manufacture the organic semi-conductor and gate-electrodes of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs)
Nanoimprint Lithography pre-structured trenches that were filled by ESJET printed nano-Ag-inks to form the source-drain electrodes of OTFTs in pixel driver circuits.
Finally a number of fundamental printing tests of layered materials were carried out to evaluate processes and materials.
More information on the project can be found on the project homepage www.hi-accuracy.eu which is regularly updated with the latest news. Final project results will be presented by consortium partners to the public at major scientific conferences e.g. LOPEC 2024.
Hi-Accuracy has started on 01-04-2020 and the final second period has started on 01-10-2021 and ended on 30-09-2023, which included a 6 months extension owing to the pandemic situation particularly during the first period.
As it became clear, which technologies are suitable to develop a manufacturing process for the 1” 300 ppi full colour RGB quantum dot active matrix display, and which technologies were further developed to manufacture components of the demonstrator. The main goals included the quantum dots to be electro-luminescent (light emission induced by a current instead of a backlight) and the optically active materials to be printed by electro-static jet printing, a method, which differs from well-known inkjet by the physical nozzle being replaced by a suitable electrostatic field. The active matrix backplane of the display, which contains the electronics switching on and off each pixel was manufactured by photo-lithography as a back-up for printing methods originally not only planned for the frontplane but also for the backplane.
The demonstrator displays and all components thereof were manufactured on a 25 µm thin polymer substrate to enable bending that is sufficient to wrap the display around a wrist or mount it in the interior of a car, as specified by end-users. The active-matrix electro-luminescent quantum-dot LED requires a barrier against humidity and oxygen in air, which has been applied on the substrate at the bottom and on the top of the layered material stack by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), after failing attempts to apply novel non-vacuum techniques.
Additional frontplane demonstrators were manufactured without active matrix addressing to show the potential resolution of ESJET printing quantum dot and electron transport layers.
Apart from the demonstrators, there were components of the backplane manufactured by additive methods. Reverse Offset Printing (ROP) is a scalable roll-to-sheet process that was employed to manufacture the organic semi-conductor and gate-electrodes of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs)
Nanoimprint Lithography pre-structured trenches that were filled by ESJET printed nano-Ag-inks to form the source-drain electrodes of OTFTs in pixel driver circuits.
Finally a number of fundamental printing tests of layered materials were carried out to evaluate processes and materials.
More information on the project can be found on the project homepage www.hi-accuracy.eu which is regularly updated with the latest news. Final project results will be presented by consortium partners to the public at major scientific conferences e.g. LOPEC 2024.
The resulting materials and equipment demonstrated in Hi-Accuracy will contribute to a step change in printed electronics. This evolution of printed electronics technology not only promises advantages across various end-use sectors but also empowers the manufacturing of products that are not only cost-effective and lighter in weight but also boast enhanced functionality and lower energy consumption during both production and utilization. The direct printing of conductive, resistive, capacitive, and semiconducting structures introduces a straightforward, cost-efficient, and highly flexible alternative to conventional printed circuit board and semiconductor manufacturing techniques. This research, specifically in printed electronics, is anticipated to propel developments in organic and large area electronics (OLAE).
The tangible outcomes of Hi-Accuracy are expected to have a direct and positive influence throughout the entire organic, printed electronics value chain and will have a positive effect on ink manufacturers, printing and equipment suppliers, as well as high-value manufacturing sectors such as OLEDs, displays, and automotive displays. Beyond these immediate impacts, Hi-Accuracy is positioned to drive economic growth and job creation in Europe by curbing manufacturing costs for major employers. The resulting increase in business competitiveness is foreseen to elevate employment rates. While the initial benefits will be concentrated among the industrial partners in the consortium in the short term, the long-term vision involves extending these advantages to other manufacturers, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the printing systems supply chain in EU states.
In addition, Hi-Accμracy partners will continue to work with the EU NanoSafety Cluster (NSC) to address workplace safety and safe-by-design approaches along the development chain to enable safe market introduction of potential products and contribute to the EU NSC framework and regulatory strategies. Hi-Accuracy supports the aspirations of the NMBP call in that it focuses on sustainable growth and will enable the consortium partners develop a greener technology for the production of electronic components through direct printing beyond the scope of this project.
The tangible outcomes of Hi-Accuracy are expected to have a direct and positive influence throughout the entire organic, printed electronics value chain and will have a positive effect on ink manufacturers, printing and equipment suppliers, as well as high-value manufacturing sectors such as OLEDs, displays, and automotive displays. Beyond these immediate impacts, Hi-Accuracy is positioned to drive economic growth and job creation in Europe by curbing manufacturing costs for major employers. The resulting increase in business competitiveness is foreseen to elevate employment rates. While the initial benefits will be concentrated among the industrial partners in the consortium in the short term, the long-term vision involves extending these advantages to other manufacturers, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the printing systems supply chain in EU states.
In addition, Hi-Accμracy partners will continue to work with the EU NanoSafety Cluster (NSC) to address workplace safety and safe-by-design approaches along the development chain to enable safe market introduction of potential products and contribute to the EU NSC framework and regulatory strategies. Hi-Accuracy supports the aspirations of the NMBP call in that it focuses on sustainable growth and will enable the consortium partners develop a greener technology for the production of electronic components through direct printing beyond the scope of this project.