MANHASSET, N.Y. — MCNC Research & Development Institute (MCNC-RDI), a North Carolina-based nonprofit research organization, will partner with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) to develop flexible displays for U.S. Army mobile electronics applications under a $1.5 million contract.

The three-year contract establishes the Center of Excellence for Battlefield Capability Enhancements, which will focus on developing technologies for environmentally stable flexible displays.

N.C. A&T and MCNC-RDI propose to develop a hybrid light-emitting device (HLED) to enable a superior display technology for mobile electronics and vehicle-based communications and weapons systems required by Future Force Warrior (FFW), the U.S. Army's flagship Science and Technology initiative to develop and demonstrate advanced support systems for soldiers.

The research team expects to develop more portable, environmentally rugged flexible displays than glass-based display technologies which require extensive protection that adds cost and weight.

Flexible display efforts to date have largely focused on commercial display applications, such as screens for mobile products. Some use organic-light-emitting-diode (OLED) technologies.

Although MCNC-RDI has for the past three years done extensive research on OLED-based displays on flexible substrates, the group believes flexible OLEDs are not practical on the battlefield because of the technology's poor ability to stand up to air and moisture.

Instead, MCNC-RDI will combine its extensive OLED experience with N.C. A&T's expertise with narrow bandgap semiconductors comprised of inorganic materials. Research facilities at both MCNC-RDI and N.C. A&T will be used throughout the project.

"By combining our experience in development of organic devices with N.C. A&T's extensive experience with inorganic materials, we are confident in our ability to develop improved flexible display technologies that will support weapons and communications for the U.S. Army," said Dr. Jay Lewis, co-principal investigator at MCNC-RDI, in a statement.