Technologies

Colorless Polyimides

The ideal transparent flexible substrate

Kolon Industries, Inc. has developed a new colorless polyimide (CP) material that will revolutionize flexible electronics, e-paper, and more. Now is your chance to benefit from this innovative transparent material’s high-temperature stability, superior mechanical properties, and other unique features.

Based on CP technology initially developed at NASA, Kolon’s patented radiation-hard material is stable and easy to process in organic solvents, with roll-to-roll processing capabilities. Satisfying stringent criteria for flexible substrates, this material offers several unique properties, including optical transparency approaching 90%, a super smooth surface finish, and tunable dielectric properties. This multipurpose material is available in film form (thickness ranging from 10 µm to 100 µm) and as a varnish, which can be sprayable. More information about the features of this innovative CP material appears below.

You can put this innovative technology to work for you by purchasing the material from Kolon, manufacturing it as a joint venture with Kolon, or collaborating with Kolon on further R&D. More information about this technology commercialization opportunity appears below.

Features

This flexible CP material offers several features that make it useful for a wide range of applications:

High clarity, colorless: Kolon's optically transparent material offers light-transmission properties that are greater than 88% at 550 nm.
High-temperature stability: The material’s glass transition temperature is >300°C, and its coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is <15 ppm/°C. The material is thermo-mechanically stable at 50–250°C for up to 3 hours.
Effective moisture barrier: Less than 1% of water is absorbed by the material.
Smooth surface: The polyimide’s surface roughness is less than 10 nm, making it ideal for use as a polyimide film substrate for display backplanes, organic LEDs, and other applications.
Radiation-tolerant: Unlike other polyimides, Kolon's CP material is rad-hard, making it ideal for use in certain applications.
Acid-, solvent-tolerant: Tests have shown that this CP material is resistant to acids as well as certain solvents and alkalis, with further research underway.

Detailed specifications appear below.

Applications

This CP material can be incorporated into a variety of products that use flexible and transparent substrates:

Flexible displays, such as plastic liquid-crystal displays (LCDs)
Color e-paper
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)
Organic photovoltaics (OPVs)
Aerospace:
— Solar sails
— Electrostatic dissipative coatings for fighter jets
— Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding
— Space antennas
— Fresnel lenses
— Reflectors

Unique Advantages

Relative to other materials used as flexible substrates, this CP material has several unique properties that make it an ideal alternative:

Colorless: This is the only polyimide that can be used for transparent flexible substrates while offering superior mechanical and other properties.
Capable of high-temperature processing: This material has a glass-transition temperature greater than 300°C, whereas most other polymers are limited to 180°C, making this CP material well suited to conventional high-temperature processing techniques.
No need for UV curing: This CP material has the potential to withstand 5 suns, making it ideal for use in OPVs and other applications.
Ideal properties for use as a polyimide film substrate: This CP material meets or exceeds the surface roughness and moisture absorption requirements for polyimide film substrates.
Ideal properties for use as a flexible substrate: This CP material inherently has several ideal/superior properties—potential for roll-to-roll processing, flexural endurance, and low dissipation factor—that make it ideal for use in flexible substrates.

Specifications

The following specifications apply to the CP material as of January 2012; however, additional R&D is currently underway.

Property	Colorless Polyimide Technology
Tolerance: Temps, solvents
Glass transition temperature	>300°C
Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)	<15 ppm/°C
Thermal shrinkage	<0.1%
Thermo-mechanical stability	3 hours at 50 – 250°C
Chemical resistance	resistant to acids and some solvents and alkalis; coatings can enhance resistance
Surface roughness, material thickness
Average surface roughness	<10 nm
Thickness	10 – 100 μm
Barrier properties
Moisture barrier	<1% water absorption
Clarity
Optical transparency	>88% (at 550 nm)
Haze	<1%
Rigidity
Dimensional stability	0.1% at 200°C
Young’s modulus at 20°C	3 – 6 GPa
Young’s modulus at 150°C	~2 GPa
Tensile strength	130 – 250 MPa
Mechanically flexible?	yes
Electrical properties
Surface resistance	1.5x10¹⁶ Ωcm
Dielectric properties	2.8 – 3.1
Other features
Radiation hard?	yes
Colorless?	yes
Sprayable?	CP varnish is sprayable
Available in powder form?	yes
Can be processed in organic solvents?	yes

Other Research

Research is ongoing to further improve this innovative, multipurpose CP material, including studies designed to:

Enhance barrier properties
Enhance surface smoothness
Eliminate birefringence (i.e., double refraction)

Commercial Opportunity

Kolon is making its innovative colorless polyimide material available for commercial use. You can:

Purchase customized rolls of CP material up to 600 mm (23.6 inches) wide, taking advantage of Kolon’s 1 million–m² production capacity
Manufacture this cutting-edge CP material as a joint venture with Kolon
Collaborate with Kolon's experts to enhance this unique material’s barrier, surface smoothness, and birefringence properties

For More Information

Fuentek, LLC is assisting Kolon with this technology commercialization effort. If you are interested in this CP material or would like more information, please contact:

(919) 249-0327

This technology is owned by Kolon Industries, Inc.
(KL-0001)