Breakthrough Enables Bezelless Notebook and Tablet Display

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FlexEnable, the leader in the development and industrialisation of flexible organic electronics, has revealed an ultra-narrow border organic LCD (OLCD). By exploiting the truly flexible nature of the organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) on which OLCD is based, it is now possible to fold the borders behind the display for the first time. This major breakthrough provides a completely new approach to bezel-less screens that cannot be achieved with glass displays.

OLCD, which offers the same quality and performance as traditional glass LCDs, can bring unique benefits to notebooks, tablets, TVs and monitors by responding to the increasing demand for larger displays with smaller to no borders. The bezel size allowed by OLCD is independent of the display size or resolution, and the OLCD technology itself is cost-effectively scalable to large display sizes. Moreover, OLCD can make a notebook up to 100 grams lighter and 0.5 mm thinner.

Chuck Milligan, CEO of FlexEnable, said, “By exploiting the unique properties of FlexEnable’s organic transistors platform, we have proven that it can also provide a route to borderless displays and thus further expand the applications of thin, light and conformable OLCDs. For example, removing the borders of the display allows a larger screen to fit into the same size notebook. This breakthrough enables us to address a multi-billion display market for notebooks, tablets, monitors and TVs as well as surface-integrated displays for automotive interiors.”

OLCD can be easily curved and shaped to enable new form factors in a wide range of products including consumer electronics, smart home devices, automotive displays and beyond. The technology is being implemented into existing manufacturing lines in Asia and is expected to be in production in 2020.

About FlexEnable

FlexEnable’s award-winning organic electronics platform enables glass-free flexible displays, sensors and optics that can be applied to almost any surface. The company has developed and industrialised a complete low-temperature manufacturing process for small and large-area electronics on ultra-thin plastic substrates. This low cost technology platform is compatible with existing flat panel display production lines utilising most of the established infrastructure and providing an optimal route to manufacture. FlexEnable’s conformable, ultra-thin, ultra-light and shatterproof displays and sensors bring game-changing capabilities to products across consumer electronics, automotive, smart home devices, digital signage and beyond. FlexEnable transfers and licenses its unique technology platform to manufacturing partners, and works directly with OEM and Tier 1 companies on developing next generation product designs. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, UK and its origins lie in the University of Cambridge’s world-famous Cavendish Laboratory. It taps into the world’s leading flexible electronics engineering talent, with collective experience of over 700 engineering years and holding over 650 patents.