Inspiration for innovation can come from familiar scenes Crepe wrappers inspire a major breakthrough in flexible displays 創意就在不遠處 潤餅皮立大功 軟性螢幕大突破
The “FlexUPD” ultrathin flexible display technology developed by Lee Cheng-Chung (Section Chief, Display Technology Center, Industrial Technology Research Institute) and Lee Tzong-Ming (Section Chief, Material and Chemical Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute) has beaten nearly 600 rival technologies and products to win a Gold Medal in the 2010 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards. This is the first time that Taiwan has won a Gold Medal in these Awards.
工研院的顯示中心組長李正中和材料與化學所組長李宗銘完成的超薄軟性螢幕「多用途軟性電子基板（FlexUPD）」顯示器技術，一舉擊敗全球近600個競爭者，獲華爾街日報2010年「科技創新獎」金牌獎。這是台灣首度獲得此獎項的首獎。
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) began to undertake R&D on flexible panel substrate back in 2006. Flexible panel needs to be able to be compressed, stretched, and rolled up; it also needs to conform to the ways in which people are used to reading. The actual process of manufacturing e-paper is not particularly difficult; the challenging part is the materials and processes needed for production of the substrate. In the past, e-paper substrate has been made using glass. This was expensive, and the resulting substrate was very hard, and did not bend easily. Lee Tzong-Ming was inspired by a memory of traditional crepes that he saw being sold at a stall next to the Ch’eng-Huang Temple in Hsinchu when he was a boy. When heated in a hot wok, the consistency of the crepes changes; sticky balls of flour are transformed into thin crepes that can be slid easily off the side of the wok. Lee Tzong-Ming acted on this inspiration immediately, setting to work to modify the materials and processes used to make e-paper substrate. Lee’s team decided to use polyimide (PI); this is coated onto the glass substrate before firing in an oven to create a plastic film, which is then attached to another layer of glass substrate. To make it easier to separate the plastic film from the glass substrate, macromolecular material is used to create a de-bonding layer, similar to the layer of cooking oil that separates crepe wrappers from the hot wok. Just as the team had anticipated, the completed flexible display can be easily removed in one piece just by starting to peel it off from one corner; “It’s just as easy as removing a crepe wrapper from the wok.”
工研院自2006年起投入研發軟性基板，要能收納、可伸縮、捲起來，同時符合閱讀習慣。電子紙的製作不難，難的是「多用途軟性電子基板」的材料與製程，以往電子基板用玻璃製作，成本高，而且硬度高、不能彎曲。李正中想到小時候新竹城隍廟旁賣的潤餅皮，經過熱鍋炙烤過，產生質變，原本黏稠的麵粉團變成餅皮，就能輕易取下，他靈機一動，馬上研究改變材料與製程。他們以PI塑膠原料代替玻璃，塗在玻璃基板上，再進烘箱烘乾，變成塑膠皮，再黏在玻璃基板上；為讓膠皮與玻璃容易分離，又以高分子材料作出無黏著力的「離形層」當作中介層，就像潤餅皮與烤爐間的那層油的作用。果然，加工完成的軟性顯示器，只要從角落切一下，就能完整取下來，「跟取潤餅皮一樣容易」。
After repeated testing, the team finally achieved success; when the flexible display had been completed and electric current was applied to it, “Bingo! It’s lit!” There was a chorus of applause!
經過無數次測試，當「軟性電子基板」烤好後，接上電，「賓果，亮了」，現場發出一陣驚呼。
工研院的顯示中心組長李正中和材料與化學所組長李宗銘完成的超薄軟性螢幕「多用途軟性電子基板（FlexUPD）」顯示器技術，一舉擊敗全球近600個競爭者，獲華爾街日報2010年「科技創新獎」金牌獎。這是台灣首度獲得此獎項的首獎。
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) began to undertake R&D on flexible panel substrate back in 2006. Flexible panel needs to be able to be compressed, stretched, and rolled up; it also needs to conform to the ways in which people are used to reading. The actual process of manufacturing e-paper is not particularly difficult; the challenging part is the materials and processes needed for production of the substrate. In the past, e-paper substrate has been made using glass. This was expensive, and the resulting substrate was very hard, and did not bend easily. Lee Tzong-Ming was inspired by a memory of traditional crepes that he saw being sold at a stall next to the Ch’eng-Huang Temple in Hsinchu when he was a boy. When heated in a hot wok, the consistency of the crepes changes; sticky balls of flour are transformed into thin crepes that can be slid easily off the side of the wok. Lee Tzong-Ming acted on this inspiration immediately, setting to work to modify the materials and processes used to make e-paper substrate. Lee’s team decided to use polyimide (PI); this is coated onto the glass substrate before firing in an oven to create a plastic film, which is then attached to another layer of glass substrate. To make it easier to separate the plastic film from the glass substrate, macromolecular material is used to create a de-bonding layer, similar to the layer of cooking oil that separates crepe wrappers from the hot wok. Just as the team had anticipated, the completed flexible display can be easily removed in one piece just by starting to peel it off from one corner; “It’s just as easy as removing a crepe wrapper from the wok.”
工研院自2006年起投入研發軟性基板，要能收納、可伸縮、捲起來，同時符合閱讀習慣。電子紙的製作不難，難的是「多用途軟性電子基板」的材料與製程，以往電子基板用玻璃製作，成本高，而且硬度高、不能彎曲。李正中想到小時候新竹城隍廟旁賣的潤餅皮，經過熱鍋炙烤過，產生質變，原本黏稠的麵粉團變成餅皮，就能輕易取下，他靈機一動，馬上研究改變材料與製程。他們以PI塑膠原料代替玻璃，塗在玻璃基板上，再進烘箱烘乾，變成塑膠皮，再黏在玻璃基板上；為讓膠皮與玻璃容易分離，又以高分子材料作出無黏著力的「離形層」當作中介層，就像潤餅皮與烤爐間的那層油的作用。果然，加工完成的軟性顯示器，只要從角落切一下，就能完整取下來，「跟取潤餅皮一樣容易」。
After repeated testing, the team finally achieved success; when the flexible display had been completed and electric current was applied to it, “Bingo! It’s lit!” There was a chorus of applause!
經過無數次測試，當「軟性電子基板」烤好後，接上電，「賓果，亮了」，現場發出一陣驚呼。
