LG Unveils Stretchable Display With 50 Percent Rate of Elongation

LG Display, a subsidiary of the South Korea-based conglomerate focused on display technology, unveiled a new stretchable display that can expand by 50 percent of its original size. The company introduced the new stretchable display panel last week at LG Science Park in Seoul during a meeting of more than 100 South Korean industry, academia, and research stakeholders. The tech giant showcased a 12-inch panel that can be expanded up to 18 inches while delivering a high-resolution and sharp image quality.

LG Display Unveils New Stretchable Panel Prototype

In a newsroom post, LG Display detailed this new technology. The company claimed that the 50 percent rate of elongation achieved by it was the “highest rate of elongation in the industry”. The stretchable panel showcased during the meeting was a 12-inch screen that stretches up to 18 inches. The company claimed that at its full stretch, the panel still delivered 100 pixels per inch (PPI) resolution and the full red-blue-green (RBG) colour spectrum.

LG claimed that the new display prototype surpasses the first stretchable display showcased in 2022, which could be elongated up to 20 percent of its original size. The company claimed it improved “the properties of a special silicon material substrate used in contact lenses” and developed a new wiring design structure to achieve the new elongation rate.

The company also claimed that the new prototype improves its durability by using a microLED light source of up to 40 micrometres. With this, LG Display stated that the stretchable display can be stretched more than 10,000 times and maintain high-resolution image quality during extreme exposure, across a high range of temperatures, as well as external shocks.

Notably, stretchable displays are free-form screen technology that can be transformed into any shape by stretching, folding, and twisting it. Being thin and lightweight, they can be used on irregular and curved surfaces such as clothing and skin. The company highlighted that the technology is expected to be used in industries such as fashion, wearables, and mobility.

During the meeting, LG Display also showcased several applications of the prototype. The company unveiled an automotive panel which is stretched in a convex shape with touch support and a wearable display attached to the uniforms of firefighters that can provide real-time information.