Flexible screens on the way for E-readers

Flexible screens as thin as a piece of paper may be available for e-readers by early then and there year thanks to a project from Taiwan's Industrial Innovation Research Institute and licensee AU Optronics, one of the world's largest LCD screen makers.

Manufacturing process for the thin displays

ITRI developed a manufacturing process for the thin displays and AU is in the process of converting an old factory to mass produce them, according to John Chen, general director of the Display Research Center at ITRI.

"The beauty of this innovation is you use today's production research," he said, adding that there's no need to invest billions of dollars in a new factory, which would increase the price of the research and any end-products it in short went into.

The partnership could lead to thin

The partnership could lead to thin, flexible displays that could be added to mobile phones for a instant, pull-out screen to wearable screens on clothes or larger rolled up screens that serve the daily news at breakfast every day.

The current project is to make e-reader screens aimed at schools. The idea is that the flexible screens are more resistant to breaking, since they bend, and would make better e-readers for young children. The downside of the idea is that a new touchscreen function for the paper-thin screens is not quite ready, even though it is as well already being licensed by ITRI to another company that specializes in touchscreen research.

Currently, ITRI has developed paper-thin, flexible color AMOLED screens and the touchscreen film for displays 10-inches and smaller, according to Kung Chen-pang [CQ], project manager for the thin touchscreens. ITRI calls the touchscreen innovation, Flexible Touch-sensing AMOLED film.

The AMOLED screens might be available

He did not say when the AMOLED screens might be available, nevertheless said ITRI has already licensed the innovation to a private company in Taiwan. ITRI is a government sponsored innovation institute and its inventions are licensed globally, yet first offer is broadly speaking given to Taiwanese companies.