| EPSRC Reference: |
DT/E010830/1 |
| Title: |
Low Cost Flexible Active Matrix Backplane for Flexible Substrates (LoCoFAMS) |
| Principal Investigator: |
Placido, Professor F |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
School of Science |
| Organisation: |
University of the West of Scotland |
| Scheme: |
Technology Programme |
| Starts: |
01 March 2007 |
Ends: |
28 February 2010 |
Value (£): |
348,939
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
Materials Processing |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The University of Paisley's Thin Film Centre (PTFC) will play a key role in four aspects of this project as shown below: 1. Low cost metalisation route: A series of Cu-based metalisation routes will be investigated where Cu is the major component of a multilayer structure aimed at satisfying requirements for good adhesion, high conductivity and high work function. Cu will be used to reduce cost (sputtered copper is around 0.005 of the cost of sputtered gold) though other low cost, high conductivity metals may be investigated if Cu is inappropriate. The metalisation routes will be focussed around sputter deposited films but a variety of structures, with increasing levels of post-sputter processing to make them compatible with organic semiconductors will also be investigated in collaboration with Plastic Logic (PL). PTFC will concentrate on the properties of the deposited films crucial for good compatibility with organic semiconductors. After a low cost metalisation route has been determined, more advanced film product structures will be investigated to allow extremely flexible substrates to be used and also structures which allow high form-factor (ratio of display switching area to total product area) displays to be realised. The approaches to this will include double-sided metalisation to allow interconnect routing to be placed on the back of the display substrate and multilayer approaches to separate out the functionality of the metalised films into separate layers. At all times the work will be in close collaboration with PL to keep a tight, prompt feedback loop in place. The successful product structures will be translated to Dupont-Teijin Films' (DTF) R2R sputter coating facility, moving from batch based samples to reel based samples and overcoming the problems associated with this transition. 2. Interfacial properties: It is essential to gain an understanding of the factors affecting adhesion and electrical properties of the various coating layers (thin films and adhesion/planarising films) and the causes of failures. In particular, PTFC will investigate the inter-mixing of layers, the pre-treatment chemical modification of planarising layers and the shelf-life/ageing of materials using the state-of-the-art surface analysis facilities at ICI, Wilton. Since the work function of the final metal surface is a critical factor for charge injection, PTFC will also investigate the effects of surface contamination and elemental make-up of metal film layers on the work function using a combination of XPS and Kelvin probe. Peel-test protocols will be developed using existing facilities at PTFC. 3. Reliable Measurement Techniques: The development of reliable techniques to assess the adhesion of layers and the electrical properties will be essential for quality control of coated substrate stock. Past attempts to compare results obtained at PTFC, DTF and PL have shown the importance of having appropriate and reproducible techniques to assess adhesion, sheet resistance and work function. Results from 2 above and device performance data from PL will be used to develop suitable pass/fail criteria. 4. Barrier Materials: PTFC and DTF have considerable experience of ultra-high barrier coatings from a funded DTI-Link programme (NBMOD). PTFC and DTF will develop a barrier coating on UV-stable planarised PET using transparent inorganic barrier layers. The levels of water vapour transport (WVTR) required for polymer backplanes is not expected to be as low as for OLEDs but has not yet been quantified. This will be determined by feedback from PL. The successful barrier structures will also be translated to DTF's R2R sputter coating facility, moving from batch based samples to reel based samples and overcoming the problems associated with this transition.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.uws.ac.uk |