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Professor Cho Seok-ho Develops Washable, Wearable Display Device

작성자대외협력과 작성일2019.04.23 16:47 조회114

A research team of Professor Cho Seok-ho (Department of Clothing and Textile) and Choi Kyung-cheol (School of Electrical Engineering of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology [KAIST]) developed a fabric-based display module technology that is washable and can be self-powered without external power.

This research is especially meaningful since it utilizes smart-textiles which use fabric material used in actual clothing rather than the existing plastic-based wearable electronic devices so that it can accelerate commercialization. Furthermore, wearing electronic devices that are able to self-generate without external power sources can save energy.

The research accomplishment was published in the online edition of the International Journal of Energy & Environmental Science (Impact Factor: 30.067) on January 18 and was selected for the back cover in recognition of its excellence.

The research team attached polymer solar cells (PSCs) that can supply power stably without an external power source, and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) that can operate with a few milliwatts of electricity and applied washable encapsulation barriers. This has led to the development of a wearable display module technology that saves electricity and is also washable.

The team also applied sealant technology to atomic layer evaporation (ALD) and spin coating to protect the device from altering of the characteristics. This encapsulation barrier which prevented moisture permeability, even during the washing process, has proven that the performance of such wearable electronic devices is maintained after washing or even with radius of curvature lower than 3 mm.
 
After applying the washing and mechanical stress every week, the PSCs maintained 98% of the initial value and the OLED 94% respectively after 30 days.

This research was carried out as the Advanced Research Center Program governed by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Korea Research Foundation and BK21 Project of the Ministry of Education. Jeong Eun-gyo (Ph.D candidate in the Department of Clothing and Textiles) and Jeon Yong-min participated as the 1st authors. In addition, this paper is evaluated as a top 1 % excellent article in terms of the impact factor of the publication.