LG Display successfully develops world's first stretchable display that can be expanded by 50%

LG Display has unveiled the world’s first stretchable display that can stretch up to 50 percent, the highest stretch ratio in the industry. The company demonstrated the panel at a meeting of more than 100 Korean industry, academic and research stakeholders involved in the national project on stretchable displays at the LG Science Park in Seoul on November 8.

The new prototype's 12-inch screen stretches to 18 inches while offering a high resolution of 100 ppi (pixels per inch) and full red, green, and blue (RGB) color. Compared to the first stretchable display prototype released in 2022, the new panel's maximum stretchability has more than doubled from 20% to 50%.

By applying a number of new technologies, such as improving the performance of special silicon material substrates used in contact lenses and developing a new wiring design structure, LG Display has increased the scalability and flexibility of the panels, exceeding the 20% elongation target set in the initial national project.

In addition, the durability of the new prototype has been enhanced by using micro-LED light sources up to 40μm (micrometers), which means it can be stretched repeatedly more than 10,000 times and maintain clear image quality even when exposed to extreme environments such as low or high temperatures and external impacts.

Stretchable displays are thin and light and can be attached to irregular surfaces such as clothing and skin. The company demonstrated a number of application concepts for stretchable displays, including a car panel that can be stretched into a convex shape and operated by hand, and a wearable display attached to a firefighter's uniform to provide real-time information.

LG Display was selected as the lead company for the "Stretchable Display" national project in 2020 and has since been conducting joint research and development with 19 domestic industry-university-research institutions. By successfully completing the project, LG Display not only acquired core technologies to lead the next-generation display market, but also contributed to the localization of materials, components and equipment, and the construction of R&D infrastructure.

"We will continue to build a sustainable future display ecosystem through close collaboration among industry, academia and research in Korea," said Soo-young Yoon, CTO and executive vice president of LG Display.