ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING A PLASTIC SUBSTRATE

摘要

A method of manufacturing a thin-film electronic device comprises applying a plastic coating to a rigid carrier substrate (12) using a wet casting process, the plastic coating forming a plastic substrate (22). The plastic material has a coefficient of thermal expansion greater in a first direction perpendicular to the substrate plane than in a second direction parallel to the substrate plane. Thin film electronic elements are formed over the plastic substrate and the rigid carrier substrate is released from the plastic substrate by a heating process which expands the plastic substrate preferentially in a direction perpendicular to the substrate plane. The anisotropy of the thermal expansion in the plastic substrate of the invention enables the expansion of the substrate during the thermal lift-off process to be in the perpendicular direction. This has been found to aid the lift-off process and also protect the components mounted on the upper surface of the plastic substrate.