CPI Installs Large Area Pilot Production Line to Enable Development of Next Generation Flexible Displays, Lighting and Sensors

CPI recently completed the installation of a new pilot production scale photolithography line to allow clients to fabricate large area, flexible organic thin film transistor (OTFT) backplanes, which have the potential to be used for applications in displays, lighting, logic and photovoltaic applications.

The high resolution wide area line has the ability to handle substrates of size 8 inch, 12 inch and GEN 2 scale (370mm x 470mm) in a cassette and enhances the current 4 to 8 inch manual load and single plate photolithography/etch capability at CPI. The system uses a 4” field size for exposure, which keeps photomask costs low, and can achieve 4 micron minimum feature size.

Clients are able to scale up prototypes and work within pilot scale manufacturing conditions to speed up the development of high resolution plastic substrate devices. The new equipment is available on an open access basis, thereby making this facility unique of its scale in Europe and one of only a few available worldwide. In the future, CPI is targeting roll-to-roll processing of high resolution patterned devices on plastic, incorporating additive manufacturing processes such as printing.

CPI is the UK’s National Centre for Printable Electronics. Focused on the development, scale-up and commercialisation of printable electronics applications, it is equipped with an extensive range of assets specifically chosen and developed to allow clients to understand how their products and processes perform under pilot manufacturing conditions.

The equipment installed provides display and materials manufacturers the ability to fabricate OTFT backplanes for fully flexible displays, and if necessary, integrate OTFTs with other printed electronic components such as sensors or memory.

The new pilot line features automated robot handling on all coating, photo, deposition, dry etch and wet etch equipment and is supported with an extensive range of metrology equipment, including CD/overlay, defect and film thickness mapping.