Integration of OLEDs in Textiles

Abstract

In place of silicon, which is normally used in microelectronics, organic materials offer the opportunity to produce devices on large area, low-cost and plastic planar substrates. These materials are attracting increased attention also in the field of electronic-textiles (e-textiles) because they show an interesting combination of electronic and mechanical properties that can be favourably exploited in smart textiles. A key step for the integration of mass production of e-textiles is to combine electronic production with textile manufactures. In the last years, progress has been achieved in the development of fibers and their processing for application in e-textiles. The application ranged from fabric integrated light sources to low cost solid state lighting for protection and security. Here research results are presented regarding the integration of encapsulated glass OLEDs and additionally OLEDs fabricated on flexible high barrier substrates which were integrated into textiles. On the other hand, the first results concerning the realization of an OLED on cylindrical surfaces based on solution processed technologies which is a first step in the direction of low cost processing will be discussed. A simple, inverted planar construction prepared from solution was realized. This preliminary work was the precondition for the development of a fiber based OLED. In addition, OLEDs that were prepared using glass fibers as substrates and solution processed active and hole-transport layers will be shown.

Weaving as a Tool for Electrotextile Design

“…Elektrotekstiliju struktūra veido pamatni sensoru, elastīgu elektrodu, saules bateriju, sildošo tekstila sistēmu u.c. elektrisko shēmu izstrādei [2]. Aizstājot tradicionālos elektroniskos materiālus ar elektrovadošajiem tekstilmateriāliem, ir iespējams izveidot elastīgas elektrotekstiliju pamatnes, izmantojot dažādas tekstiltehnoloģijas, piemēram, aušanu.…”

Effect of Fabric Integration on the Physical and Optical Performance of Electroluminescent Fibers for Lighted Textile Applications

“…Within this smart fabric field, light emitting fibers are garnering great attention for applications in fashion, entertainment, optical physiological monitoring, safety lighting in garments, and automotive and aircraft interior lighting [1]. The integration of electronics and textiles has typically been accomplished by mounting prefabricated devices into garments [2,3] and incorporating discrete components (e.g., sensors, batteries, controller chips) with laminated or knit conducting interconnects [4,5] that compromise the most desirable characteristics of the textile including conformability, softness, strength, and washability. Therefore, the smart fabric arena is rapidly pushing towards fabric-integrated electronic systems and fibers and fabric structures exhibiting electro-optic properties [6,7].…”

Accelerated lifetime tests on e-textiles: Design and fabrication of multifunctional test bench

“…In electronics and telecommunication field, it is possible to find applications as electromagnetic shields [10], distributed body-worn communication system [11], and wearable antennas [12,13]. Smart textile are also used as human interface elements [14,15], to input information [16,17] or to communicate or give information, by visible information with electroluminescent elements [18], or organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) [19]. Dedicated fabrics have been used for power generation or storage applications [20], through piezoelectric elements [21–23] or photovoltaic elements [24].…”