UDC Awarded Phase I SBIR Grant from U.S. Air Force to Design Flexible OLED Display Prototype

Universal Display Corporation announced today that the Company has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant for $99,978 from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop its flexible OLED display technology for “rollable” applications. The ultimate goal of this U.S. Air Force program is to develop lightweight, rugged, low power displays that can replace printed paper maps on pilots’ knees and be rolled up for stowage when not in use. Rollability is also important for a variety of novel commercial applications, including the Company’s concept Universal Communication Device.

Under the terms of this nine-month Phase I grant, Universal Display and its partner, L-3 Display Systems, will provide the U.S. Air Force with an initial design and mock-up of a low-power consumption, full-color, video-rate OLED display that can be rolled around a cylinder for stowage. If successful, Universal Display would then propose a follow-on Phase II program to deliver six-inch diagonal, 480 x 480 full-color, active matrix PHOLED display prototypes that would be built on metallic foil to be flexible enough to wrap around a 2.5 inch diameter cylinder containing the power supplies and wireless communication electronics.

“We are excited to continue the research and development of flexible and rollable OLED technology – an idea that is moving quickly from being a vision to becoming a reality,”“The U.S. Air Force as well as other branches of the U.S. Department of Defense have been strong supporters of our flexible OLED technology. Also offering thinness, light weight and ruggedness, rollable displays may revolutionize the way soldiers view information on the battlefield and in the cockpit. This program should also support our efforts to commercialize FOLED technology for a variety of novel consumer applications.” said Steven V. Abramson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Display.