Scientists have 3D printed flexible OLED display for the first time, and it withstands 2000 folding cycles

Scientists at the University of Minnesota published an article in Science Advances on how they printed flexible OLED display on a regular 3D printer...

How it was

Usually OLED screens are made by large companies in factories, but the researchers only needed 3D printer the size of a table and cost as Tesla Model S.

“We wanted to see if we could 'squeeze' it all and print OLED display on the desktop 3D printerwhich is custom made and costs about the same as a Tesla Model S, ”explained Michael McAlpine, professor of mechanical engineering and senior author of the study.

Two types of printing were used in the process: spray printing for active components and extrusion method for electrodes, contacts, insulation and sealing. The resulting flexible panel consists of six layers.

The result was OLED matrix with a resolution of 8 × 8 pixels and a physical size of 1.5 × 1.5 inches. She demonstrated relatively stable radiation over 2000 flexion cycles.

Although the display was created in the laboratory, in the future, inexpensive panels can be printed even at home. In the meantime, scientists intend to work on making printed on 3D printer OLED panels more vivid and provide higher resolution.

A source: Science Advances