Jeonju University (President Park Jin-bae) announced on the 7th that Professor Jang Jin-hae's research team has successfully developed the world's first eco-friendly, colorless transparent flexible semiconductor substrate.

This innovative material, developed after more than a decade of research by Professor Jang Jin-hae and Kim Seong-jin, CEO of Ajin Electronics, offers both flexibility and transparency. The colorless transparent polyimide (CPI) substrate retains excellent thermal and mechanical properties while also being highly durable, resistant to bending, and rollable.

The new CPI-based substrate presents an alternative in the semiconductor component mounting field, where traditional substrates were difficult to apply. The unique properties of being both transparent and unbreakable make this substrate particularly suitable for low-temperature mounting, opening up possibilities for future semiconductor packaging technologies.

To manufacture this eco-friendly, colorless transparent flexible substrate, CPI film must first be synthesized. While traditional CPI substrates often contain fluorine (F) and are not considered environmentally friendly, the CPI developed by Professor Jang's team is completely free of fluorine, significantly enhancing its environmental sustainability. Moreover, the new CPI is reusable, giving it a strong competitive edge in the global market.

The eco-friendly, colorless transparent flexible substrate features micrometer-scale micro-patterning on the CPI film. It shows great potential for use in flexible OLED displays, wearable devices, transparent electronics, and electronic skin (e-skin). Flexible displays, in particular, could revolutionize the form factors of smartphones and tablets, offering users enhanced experiences with foldable and bendable screens.

In the wearable devices sector, the new substrate's lightweight and comfortable characteristics make it highly suitable for applications in healthcare and fitness devices, as well as sensors.

Additionally, Professor Jang's research team has already filed a triadic patent for the CPI-based flexible semiconductor substrate in 2022, applying to the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), EPO (European Patent Office), and JPO (Japan Patent Office), with registration expected by 2026.

Professor Jang Jin-hae from Jeonju University's Carbon Research Institute expressed, “The development of this flexible semiconductor substrate will bring about an innovative transformation in electronic materials, considering both environmental and technological advances.”

This achievement is the result of the dedicated efforts of the team, including Song Hyo-jin, team leader of the Secondary Battery Semiconductor Team from the Jeollabuk-do Special Self-Governing Province, and other team members. Jeonju University will continue to collaborate actively in the province's semiconductor specialization projects and the establishment of semiconductor clusters.