On Sep. 27, 2024, Professor Kang Sumin of Seoul National University of Science and Technology’s Department of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering published a paper in Nature Communications, a prestigious international journal, in collaboration with Dr. Kim Seungman of the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials. The study, Graphene-Enabled Laser Lift-Off for Ultrathin Displays, focuses on groundbreaking developments in this field. (Impact Factor=14.7, Top 5% in Multidisciplinary Sciences according to JCR Rankings)
 

 
▲ Professor Kang Sumin from Department of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering

  
Journal : ‘Graphene-enabled laser lift-off for ultrathin displays’
(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52661-3)

▲Journal front page

The laser lift-off (LLO) process is a crucial technology in separating flexible devices from carrier substrates in the final stages of manufacturing flexible displays and electronics. Traditional methods struggled to peel ultra-thin devices under 5 μm in thickness due to mechanical deformation during the process. This study demonstrates a revolutionary improvement in process performance by incorporating synthetic graphene into the LLO process, successfully separating ultra-thin display devices as thin as 3 μm without compromising mechanical or electrical integrity. Furthermore, the researchers explored graphene’s role in the LLO process from three physical perspectives: light absorption, heat diffusion, and interfacial adhesion. These findings were substantiated through experiments and numerical interpretations. The developed technology is anticipated to find applications in advanced industries such as next-generation displays and semiconductor packaging, where laser-d peeling methods are essential.

▲ Comparison of the peeling performance of the 
graphene-d LLO process and conventional methods