6.1: Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing Considerations for Flexible, Cholesteric Liquid Crystal (ChLC) Display Media

Abstract

Roll-to-roll methods and equipment to manufacture a bistable flexible electronic display have been developed. Displays produced with these processes are low-cost, thin, flexible, passively driven, and retain an image without an applied electric field. Using continuous coating techniques and equipment, an aqueous cholesteric liquid-crystal dispersion and a dark layer are deposited onto laser-etched patterned transparent conductors on a polymeric web. Second conductors are printed with a UV-curable polymer thick film ink over the active display layers, followed by slitting and chopping to complete the manufacture of display media in a full roll-to-roll process. Simple seven-segment and matrix displays can be generated using these techniques. This paper will focus on the manufacturing considerations for producing matrix display media.