Plastic Logic Joins European Project to Advance LCD Technology

Plastic Logic announced its participation in the new European-wide research project, Liquid Crystals for Robust Applications (LiCRA).

The LiCRA project aims to build on European leadership in organic thin film transistor (OTFT) backplane and liquid crystal display (LCD) technology, in order to create a scalable manufacturing process for a truly robust LCD. The current global LCD industry is a multi-billion dollar activity.

Plastic Logic is collaborating on the LiCRA project with Merck KGaA, The University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Large Area Microelectronics, Etkes and Sons, micro resist technology GmbH and LOFO High Tech Film GmbH. The project will focus on several key areas of innovation required to enable the manufacturing of LCDs on plastic film. Plastic Logic will further develop its active matrix OTFT backplane technology, which has already been industrialised in its Dresden factory, to make it suitable for use in an LCD display.

“Plastic Logic’s strategy has been to extend the use of our proven flexible, plastic OTFT backplane to other types of display media,” Indro Mukerjee, Plastic Logic’s CEO, commented. “We have developed a number of industrial partnerships and are now pleased to join this important project. We’re contributing our expertise in flexible display technology and our experience of industrialising plastic, flexible displays.”

The LiCRA project began on May 1 and is being funded by the organic and large-area electronics initiative OLAE+, a joint initiative by seven national funding bodies, including the UK’s Technology Strategy Board, the German and Israeli national funding bodies and the European Commission. The results of the project will be published in summer 2015.