Surface-free technology by laser annealing (SUFTLA) and its application to poly-Si TFT-LCDs on plastic film with integrated drivers

In order to realize electronic devices on plastic film, new technology has been developed that enables the transfer of thin-film devices from an original substrate to another substrate by using laser irradiation. This technology was termed SUFTLA, which stands for surface-free technology by laser annealing. A polycrystalline-silicon thin film transistor (poly-Si TFT) back-plane for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) with integrated drivers was fabricated using a low-temperature process (below 425 degreesC) and could be successfully transferred from a glass or quartz substrate to plastic film using this technology. This technology enabled us to fabricate an all-plastic substrate TFT-LCD having a display area of 0.7 in measured diagonally and a pixel count of 428 x 238. In addition, the operation of the integrated drivers and the displayed image could be confirmed for the first time in the world.