Roll-to-Roll processing of flexible devices and components Utilization in wearable and mobile electronics and the coming IOT era

Next generation consumer electronic devices, including wearables are placing an ever increasing emphasis on form factor. This has resulted in an increase in the number of polymeric films used in their construction. As most of these polymeric materials are initially manufactured in the form of a roll, there has been a drive towards the utilization of so called roll-to-roll processing (R2R) in order to reduce both manufacturing line setup, cleanroom and materials costs. This paper will therefore describe some of the most important advances made in this field, including improvements in stack processing for the production of ITO based touch panel devices, the development of new processing platforms for high performance, low defectivity stacks for barrier film & patterning for R2R manufacture of thin film transistors.