Stretchable Display Substrate Island Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing stretchable display technologies face challenges in fine patterning high-stretchable and low-stretchable regions, minimizing substrate damage, achieving high elasticity, ensuring economic feasibility, and maintaining image quality.

Innovation Solution

A stretchable display with a substrate partitioned into high-stretchable and low-stretchable regions, where the low-stretchable region is formed in various island shapes and the high-stretchable region surrounds it, incorporating a stretchable mask pattern for fine patterning and protection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the conventional stretchable display polymer substrate is made thinner to allow elasticity, then elasticity is improved, but manufacturing precision and structural stability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveelasticityVSAvoidsubstrate thickness control

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The substrate is divided into multiple layers with different functions: a thin elastic polymer substrate layer for flexibility, and a reinforcement layer with through-holes for structural stability. This segmentation allows the thin substrate to maintain both elasticity and manufacturing precision through the coordinated design of multiple layers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses a composite structure combining a thin elastic polymer material with a reinforcement layer containing through-holes. This composite approach enables the substrate to achieve both thinness for elasticity and structural integrity for manufacturing precision, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Adaptability or versatility

If the substrate is patterned into high-stretchable and low-stretchable regions for functional requirements, then device functionality is improved, but substrate damage and manufacturing complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefunctional flexibilityVSAvoidpatterning complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The substrate is segmented into distinct high-stretchable regions (with larger through-holes) and low-stretchable regions (with smaller through-holes). This segmentation enables different functional characteristics in different areas while using a standardized through-hole patterning process, reducing overall manufacturing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the substrate are given different local qualities through varying through-hole sizes in the reinforcement layer. The high-stretchable region has larger through-holes for greater elasticity, while the low-stretchable region has smaller through-holes for structural stability, achieving functional differentiation without complex manufacturing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Adaptability or versatility

If pixel units are arranged in various shapes within low-stretchable regions for design flexibility, then display versatility is improved, but manufacturing precision and process difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepixel arrangement flexibilityVSAvoidpixel patterning accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The low-stretchable region is segmented into multiple island-shaped areas with through-holes, providing flexible spatial arrangement for pixel units. This segmentation allows various pixel configurations (linear, grid, irregular patterns) while maintaining manufacturing precision through the standardized through-hole formation process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention adds a vertical dimension by creating through-holes in the reinforcement layer, enabling three-dimensional structural variation while maintaining two-dimensional planar patterning accuracy. This allows flexible pixel arrangements in the plane while preserving manufacturing precision through controlled vertical through-hole formation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This solution enables fine patterning of high-stretchable and low-stretchable regions, minimizes substrate damage, provides high elasticity, improves economic feasibility, and maintains image quality by optimizing the arrangement and material properties of the substrate regions.

Implementation Method 1

the stretchable substrate includes a low stretchable region having a plurality of island shapes spaced apart from each other, and a high stretchable region relatively more stretchable than the low stretchable region

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentUS12317736B2Stretchable display

Publication Date: 2025.05.27 KOREA UNIV RES & BUSINESS FOUND

AI summary

Provided is a stretchable display partitioned into a high-stretchable region and a low-stretchable region having a modulus higher than a modulus of the high-stretchable region, in which the low-stretchable region has a shape of a plurality of islands spaced apart from each other, and the high-stretchable region includes: a stretchable substrate surrounding the island-shaped low-stretchable region; and a plurality of pixel portions provided in each island-shaped low-stretchable region, and including a light emitting layer for emitting a specific color and a driving device for controlling a driving of the light emitting layer.