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We have successfully reduced threshold voltage shifts of amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) on transparent polyimide films against bias-temperature stress below 100 mV, which is equivalent to those on glass substrates. This high reliability was achieved by dense IGZO thin films and annealing temperature below 300 °C. We have reduced bulk defects of IGZO thin films and interface defects between gate insulator and IGZO thin film by optimizing deposition conditions of IGZO thin films and annealing conditions. Furthermore, a 3.0-in. flexible active-matrix organic light-emitting diode was demonstrated with the highly reliable a-IGZO TFT backplane on polyimide film. The polyimide film coating process is compatible with mass-production lines. We believe that flexible organic light-emitting diode displays can be mass produced using a-IGZO TFT backplane on polyimide films.

— A 9-in. full-color polymer-stabilized OCB TFT-LCD with stable bend alignment in the absence of an electric field was developed. The condition of the polymer stabilization, the characteristics of UV-curable monomers, and their influence on the configurations of the polymer network in the cell were studied. Possible models of the configuration were proposed and their relationship to the electro-optical properties was analyzed using a novel simulation method considering the distribution of anchoring effects from both alignment surfaces and the polymer network. It was suggested that a good performance such as high contrast ratio and fast response could be expected in the polymer network originating from newly developed monomers composed of multifunctional LC acrylates due to a relatively weak-anchoring effect and presumably its localization near the alignment surfaces. By using the newly developed monomers under the optimized polymer-stabilizing process, a high contrast ratio of 250:1 and fast response nearly equal to that of a conventional OCB cell were achieved.

— An ink-jet-printing method applied to the microdeposition of high-viscosity resin, including optimization of phosphor dispersion for light-emitting-diode (LED) packaging was examined for the first time. An ultrasonic ink-jet-printing method was used, in which ink droplets are ejected by a focused ultrasonic beam from a nozzle-less printhead. To fabricate white LEDs, high-viscosity phosphor-dispersed resin was deposited to form an encapsulant dome. Two types of methods to control phosphor sedimentation for color uniformity were examined; one is heating the lead frame during the resin deposition, and the other is hydrophobic surface treatment of the lead frame base enabling the fabrication of a small encapsulant dome. For light direction control, a silicone micro lens was deposited on an encapsulant dome using the ink-jet method. The results show that ultrasonic ink-jet printing is an applicable technique to optimize and modify on-demand optical characteristics of LED devices.