Bolton is flexible about OLEDs

Bolton University is one the partners in pan-European initiative Flexibilis, which aims to solve issues of materials harvesting for organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and organic photovoltaics (OPV) such as flexible displays.

Flexibilis is being coordinated by UK Centre for Process Innovation and apart from Bolton University also includes Teer Coatings, Austria-based research centre NanoTecCenter Weiz Forschungsgesellschaft and Austria-based High Tech Coatings.

Applications exploiting OLEDs and OPVs are heavily dependent on indium tin oxide to buid the transparent conducting films, but it has proven very difficult in Europe to produce the chemical compound in industrial quantities at economically viable prices.

Flexibilis is working on developing and commercialising a replacement compound to use instead of indium tin oxide, and has celebrated some early successes. It is now working towards a pilot run of these compounds.

Phil Hollis, programme manager at the Centre for Process Innovation, said “The Flexibilis project brings together highly capable European players able to develop the technologies needed for flexible electronics. Already we have demonstrated some promising results in the replacement of indium tin oxide and the development of a high performing barrier aiming at OLED and OPV applications. The next challenges will be to refine and apply these results to demonstration devices, and test their suitability at pilot manufacturing scale.”