Mechanically and optically reliable folding structure with a hyperelastic material for seamless foldable displays

We report a mechanically and optically robust folding structure to realize a foldable active matrix organic-light-emitting-diode (AMOLED) display without a visible crease at the junction. A nonlinear stress analysis, based on a finite element method, provided an optimized design. The folding-unfolding test on the structure exhibited negligible deterioration of the relative brightness at the junction of the individual panels up to 10(5) cycles at a folding radius of 1 mm, indicating highly reliable mechanical and optical tolerances. These results demonstrate the feasibility of seamless foldable AMOLED displays, with potentially important technical implications on fabricating large size flexible displays. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3576906]