LG Display, a leading innovator of display technologies, has unveiled the world’s first stretchable display capable of expanding up to 50%, the highest rate of elongation in the industry. At LG Science Park in Seoul on 8 November, the company demonstrated the panel at a meeting of more than 100 South Korean industry, academia, and research stakeholders involved in a national project on stretchable displays.
Stretchable displays are seen as the ultimate free-form screen technology because they can be freely transformed into any shape, including by stretching, folding, and twisting. The new prototype features a 12-inch screen that stretches up to 18 inches, while simultaneously delivering a high resolution of 100ppi (pixels per inch) and full red, green, and blue (RGB) colour.
Elongation rate more than doubled
Compared to the first stretchable display prototype unveiled in 2022, the new panel’s maximum elongation rate has more than doubled from 20% to 50%. This enhanced stretchability enables various display design possibilities, raising the technology’s potential competitiveness when commercialised. By applying a number of new technologies, such as improving the properties of a special silicon material substrate used in contact lenses and developing a new wiring design structure, LG Display improved the panel’s stretchability and flexibility, exceeding the original national project’s target of 20% elongation.
In addition, by using a micro-LED light source of up to 40μm, the new prototype’s strengthened durability means it can be repeatedly stretched over 10,000 times, maintaining clear image quality even in extreme environments such as exposure to low or high temperatures and external shocks.
Stretchable displays are not only thin and lightweight but also capable of adhering to irregularly curved surfaces like clothing and skin. They are expected to be widely applied in various industries, from fashion and wearables to mobility.
Application concepts
The company showcased numerous concepts for the application of stretchable displays, including an automotive panel that stretches out into a convex shape and can be operated by hand as well as a wearable display attached to firefighters’ uniforms that provides real-time information.
LG Display was selected as the lead company for the national project to develop Stretchable displays in 2020 and since then has been conducting joint R&D with 19 domestic industry and research institutes. It is one of the major tasks of a wider project to develop core technologies for next-generation displays promoted by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) along with the Korea Planning & Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology.
By successfully completing the project, LG Display has not only secured core technologies that can lead the next-generation display market but also contributed to localizing materials, components, and equipment as well as building an R&D infrastructure. “We will continue to build a sustainable future display ecosystem through close cooperation between South Korean industry, academia, and research stakeholders,” said Soo-young Yoon, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display.