Curved display and lighting device based on a Miura-Ori structure
View Patent ↗A flexible display device that can conform to complex curved surfaces, and methods for manufacturing said display device, are disclosed herein. The display device utilizes a Miura-ori origami structure that, in a folded or at least partially folded configuration, is able to conform to complex curved surfaces. The Miura-ori structure involves folding a two-dimensional substrate in accordance with crease lines comprising a tessellation of parallelograms. Each cell of the tessellation pattern can include one or more luminous elements (LEDs, OLEDs, etc.) bonded to circuit elements embedded within the flexible substrate (e.g., Parylene-C).
1. A display device, comprising:
a flexible substrate including circuit elements embedded therein; and
a plurality of luminous elements bonded to the circuit elements,
wherein the flexible substrate is folded into a three-dimensional structure in accordance with a folding pattern,
wherein the three-dimensional structure is manipulated to conform to a curved surface.
2. The flexible display device of claim 1 , wherein the folding pattern comprises a tessellation of parallelograms, and wherein each cell of the tessellation includes at least one luminous element.
3. The flexible display device of claim 1 , wherein the flexible substrate comprises Parylene-C.
4. The flexible display device of claim 1 , wherein the circuit elements include row electrodes and column electrodes, and wherein the luminous elements comprise light emitting diodes.
5. The flexible display device of claim 1 , wherein the luminous elements comprise organic light emitting diodes.
6. The flexible display device of claim 1 , wherein each chip included in a cell of a tessellation pattern is separately packaged by encapsulating the chip in a protective layer.
7. The flexible display device of claim 6 , wherein the protective layer comprises Parylene-C.
8. The flexible display device of claim 1 , wherein the flexible substrate is encapsulated within a protective layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).
9. The flexible display device of claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional structure is affixed to the curved surface using at least one of an adhesive, epoxy resin, curable elastomer, or mechanical fasteners.
10. The flexible display device of claim 9 , wherein the curved surface is a spherical surface.
11. The flexible display device of claim 9 , wherein the curved surface has a varying rate of curvature along at least one path that lies on the surface.
12. A method for manufacturing a flexible display device, the method comprising:
fabricating a two-dimensional substrate that includes circuit elements;
folding the two-dimensional substrate into a three-dimensional structure; and
conforming the three-dimensional structure to a curved surface in a folded configuration.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein fabricating the two-dimensional substrate comprises:
depositing a substrate layer on a wafer;
forming the circuit elements on the substrate layer, wherein the circuit elements include metal interconnects;
depositing a top layer over the circuit elements.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein fabricating the two-dimensional substrate further comprises:
bonding a plurality of luminous elements with the circuit elements to form a plurality of chips on the substrate layer; and
packaging each chip of the substrate layer with a protective material.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the luminous elements comprise light emitting diodes (LEDs), the substrate layer comprises Parylene-C, and the protective material is Parylene-C.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the three-dimensional structure comprises an origami or a kirigami structure.
17. The method of claim 12 , wherein folding the two-dimensional substrate into the three-dimensional structure comprises folding the two-dimensional substrate based on a plurality of crease lines that form a tessellation of parallelograms.
18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the curved surface has a varying rate of curvature along at least one path that lies on the surface.
19. A method for manufacturing a flexible display device, the method comprising:
receiving a substrate having a three-dimensional origami structure;
patterning circuits on the substrate with the three-dimensional origami structure in a folded configuration;
bonding luminous elements to the circuits; and
packaging the display device.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the three-dimensional origami structure comprises a Miura-ori structure.