Interview: Nanowirebased flexible LEDs a first step toward flexible displays

Interview: Christophe Durand, Research Scientist, INAC

« Nanowirebased flexible LEDs a first step toward flexible displays»

INAC and three other institutes* have developed the world’s First two-color, nanowire-based Flexible LEDs.
 

What does this advance mean?
Flexible LEDs are a prerequisite to flexible, bendable displays. They are currently being made from organic compounds at the cost of less-brilliant blues and shorter lifespans.
Our nitride nanowire-based LEDs are much longerlasting and can emit blue and green light. Once we add red, we will be able to emit white light and play videos.

How did INAC contribute to the research?
First, we used MOCVD to grow nitride nanowires typically measuring 1 micron in diameter by 25 microns in length. This is a topic we have been working on since 2010, and some of our research has earned grants from the French National Research Agency. We also transferred some of the technology we developed to startup Aledia.
Second, we developed a core-shell sheath around the nanowire. It is the amount of indium in the sheath’s indium gallium nitride quantum wells that determines the color of the emitted light. In this research we successfully increased the amount of indium by 25% to 30% to get green light.

And you’re able to bend the nanowires without breaking them?
Yes. They are coated with a polymer, and then detached from their substrate to obtain a nanowire carpet, which is a sort of fl exible membrane. It is the polymer that enables the material to bend.

* CNRS, Paris-Sud University, Grenoble-Alpes University Joseph Fourier School of Science

Contact: christophe.durand@cea.fr

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