Roll-to-roll lithography technology that will enable the mass production of flexible electronic devices has been developed by domestic researchers. As a system capable of continuously performing high-resolution patterning while correcting substrate deformation and transfer errors in real time, it is expected to contribute to the efficiency of the manufacturing process for flexible substrate-based electronic devices.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced on the 29th that a research team led by Director Jang Won-seok of the Nano-Convergence Research Division has developed a roll-to-roll digital maskless lithography system capable of continuously patterning flexible substrates.

The researchers explained that by applying lithography, a core technology of semiconductor processes, to the roll-to-roll process, they have established a manufacturing foundation capable of high-resolution patterning of 10㎛ or less and continuous production of flexible electronic devices.

In the roll-to-roll process, there was a limitation in that precise patterning was difficult because deformation or positional errors were prone to occur as the substrate was transported through rollers.

This system is equipped with the ability to detect and correct in real time micro-deformations, including substrate twisting, and errors occurring during transport.

The researchers stated that they also secured process flexibility by adopting a maskless method that forms patterns digitally without a separate physical mask.

The researchers stated that this technology can be applied to continuous production processes required in the field of flexible electronic devices, such as wearable devices and flexible displays.

The research team explained that it offers advantages in terms of process speed and productivity compared to existing batch methods, and can be utilized to establish a manufacturing environment that simultaneously satisfies high-resolution patterning and large-area continuous processing.

Director Jang Won-seok stated that this research is significant in laying the foundation for the mass production of flexible electronic devices.