SBIR Phase I: Light Emitting Diode Pixel Circuit Incorporating Thin Film Electronics Based on Amorphous Metals

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new circuit for controlling micro light emitting diode (LED) and organic light emitting diode (OLED) flat panel displays with variable refresh rate. Variable refresh rate OLED displays are a rapidly growing area for the flat panel display industry and they currently sell for a 79% premium over standard OLED displays.

The 2021 market for variable refresh rate OLED displays is currently estimated to be 191 million units with an average selling price of $125, for a total served market of roughly $22 billion. This innovation has the potential for broad societal impact because flat panel displays are now ubiquitous, and variable refresh rate technology enables them to reduce significantly power consumption while improving performance.

The intellectual merit of this project stems from the novel pixel control circuit being developed to enable variable refresh rate operation of flat panel displays. This circuit uses amorphous metal non-linear resistor and amorphous metal thin-film transistor devices to reduce leakage current and simultaneously increase speed. The research objectives outlined in the project are focused on the development of a proof-of-concept prototype to demonstrate circuit performance.

They include development of a prototype layout, process flow, simulations, as well as fabrication and testing of display prototypes. The anticipated technical result is a simple small-area low-resolution display that demonstrates the feasibility of the technology.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.