OLED is becoming SED...

No it isn't. There isn't a single consumer SED product in the market - compare that with the many OLED phones, PMPs, and coming TVs.

OLED is here to stay, at least for portable devices.

SED is a horribly inefficient technology. A bunch of CRT tubes? Really?

No it isn't. There isn't a single consumer SED product in the market - compare that with the many OLED phones, PMPs, and coming TVs.

OLED is here to stay, at least for portable devices.

SED is a horribly inefficient technology. A bunch of CRT tubes? Really?

It's too expensive, and we haven't really seen it. Sure it's available in 15", but who really wants a set that size?

And for clarification, I'm not interested in how it works for phones and portable media players.

It's too expensive, and we haven't really seen it. Sure it's available in 15", but who really wants a set that size?

And for clarification, I'm not interested in how it works for phones and portable media players.

But unlike SED, at least OLED has an actual product available. Still a very small step, but at least they've something.

Meanwhile, in the SED camp.......well you already know it by now:D;)

It's too expensive, and we haven't really seen it. Sure it's available in 15", but who really wants a set that size?

And for clarification, I'm not interested in how it works for phones and portable media players.

That's funny, since LCD basically started monochormatic in digital watchers and portable game devices. While OLED already started showing incredible colour quality and contrast ratio.

SED is a horribly inefficient technology. A bunch of CRT tubes? Really?

SED is more effficient than OLED in certain ways.

A potential large screen SED display wouldn't be "active matrix". It is more akin to impulse CRT technology. Motion on a SED display will look liquid smooth. AM-OLED on the other hand has a hold time just like LCD.

SED is very power efficient.

That's funny, since LCD basically started monochormatic in digital watchers and portable game devices. While OLED already started showing incredible colour quality and contrast ratio.

+1. We're in the very early years of OLED displays. It has taken several decades for LCDs to reach the large sizes that are currently available for purchase (70"+). Perhaps OLED won't take as long as LCD, but we're still years out. A 15" OLED TV from LG means OLED TVs are getting larger (i.e. progress is being made).

To the SED bit. While Canon's SED and Sony's FED looked to be amazing display tech, we really haven't seen anything going on with either - other than Canon stating recently that SED was still in R&D. Who knows where the R&D went from Sony's FED... perhaps a complete loss. I sure would like to have that FED demo... FED monitor displaying a 240 FPS source at 240Hz refresh (no motion interpolation)!

Anyways, I saw the Zune HD this weekend, and the OLED display in that unit is incredible! Great appetizer for larger OLED displays! :)

.....SED is very power efficient.

VaporWare always is.

They will unquestionably figure out the problems associated with OLED and it will become a huge mainstream product. There is just too much money in it and the problems are not insurmountable. Technology is ALWAYS like that.

Kodak OLED updates (http://www.oled-info.com/kodak-oled-updates)
23 September 2009

In June 2008, I interviewed Corey Hewitt and Dr. James Buntaine from Kodak OLED Systems (http://www.oled-info.com/kodak/kodak_oled_systems_information_and_interview).

Mr. Corey Hewitt is the co-general manager, operations manager and VP of Kodak OLED Systems. Dr. James Buntaine is the second co-general manager, and also the CTO and VP.

They were kind enough to send us an update on Kodak's OLED program and market outlook:

Kodak OLED Technology Update & Advancements

Kodak expertise and experience lies in material discovery, organic layer design, mechanistic understanding, image science, panel/module design, and manufacturing technology. These key value drivers associated with the Kodak technology, know-how and patents, maintain Kodak as an industry leader in enabling both the OLED flat-panel display and OLED solid-state lighting industries. Provided below are selected key areas technology and Kodak accomplishments:

• Increase in efficiency:


Low voltage materials (6.2V with 2-stack tandem)
Novel dopants (50% year on year efficiency with long lifetime)
Molecular modeling abilities with numerous OLED molecules per year being produced

• Property optimization:


Intra-layer material formulation with chemical optimization of material combinations


Fundamental optics modeling provides rapid design of organic stacks to meet new panel specs


Inter-layer architecture design allows for simultaneous property optimization of spectral, power, lifetime, yielding 50% year on year improvements

• Scientific knowledge:


Degradation mechanism understanding drives new molecule design from fundamental science, saves years of empirical research


Triplet exciton harvesting efficiency is closing the theoretical performance gaps

• Image quality enhancement:


Color-power mgt 25+% power reduction
Automatic brightness limiting manages peak current requirements
Tone scale optimization provides for ideal scene reproduction
Pseudo resolution boost: e.g. QHD to HD using quad subpixels

• Advanced design characteristics:


Achieving world’s best light extraction with minimal thickness
Pixel circuit design compensates for non-uniform, unstable TFT
Printed chiplet panel design creates novel advanced designs for non-TFT AMOLED
SSL design manages IR/luminance drop across a panel

• Yield improvement:


Vapor Injection Source Technology (VIST): demonstrates material utilization of >70% and uniformity of <1.3 % (You can read more about VIST in our previous interview)


Ability to reduce TAC time from 8 minutes to 20 seconds


TFT yield improvement accomplished by Global Mura Compensation (GMC) with 30 sec calibration time. Kodak “Advanced GMC” will apply to medium / large TV applications. (You can read more about GMC in our previous interview)


OLED yield improvement by use of Short reduction layer, decreasing dark pixel count by as much as 95%

Key hurdles for large-scale growth in OLED (display & lighting)

Kodak technologies address nearly all-critical performance parameters throughout the OLED value chain, which include:


Scalability: The ability to realize fully scalable large-size panels to Gen5+ scale will need Kodak’s proprietary White OLED technology (here's our previous interview with Kodak, focused on White OLEDs).


Lifetimes: Proprietary architecture allowing significant improvement in lifetime (Tandem OLED)


Manufacturing costs: Increased material utilization and reduced TAC (VIST); minimization of capital requirements (repurpose TFT facilities); expansion to flexible substrates (deposition techniques)


Yields: Ability to overcome TFT variations (GMC for display) and reduce defects (short-reduction layer)
It has become apparent that many companies have experienced, or are in the process of identifying these very difficult technical challenges in order to be profitable. Kodak discovered many of these challenges several years ago, and has continued to work diligently on these issues. Kodak is in a good position to provide know-how solutions to the OLED manufacturers of the future for both lighting and display.

Recent improvements in fluorescent devices:


Green: 8.5% E.Q.E., 31 cd/A, > 65,000 hours lifetime at 1,000 cd/m2


White tandem for display applications:



15.5% E.Q.E., 36.5 cd/A, CIEx,y = 0.28, 0.33, 50,000 hours lifetime at 1,000 cd/m2

15.0% E.Q.E., 33.2 cd/A, CIEx,y = 0.28, 0.31, 87,000 hours lifetime at 1,000 cd/m2



White single stack for display applications: 7% E.Q.E., 15.8 cd/A, CIEx,y = 0.31, 0.33, 25,000 hours lifetime at 1,000 cd/m2

Recent improvements in hybrid white fluorescent/phosphorescent systems:

Hybrid white fluorescent/phosphorescent systems for display applications have achieved 25.7% E.Q.E., 49 cd/A at CIE x,y = 0.34, 0.30 and 40,000 hours lifetime at 1,000 cd/m2.


http://www.oled-info.com/files/images/hybrid-white-oled-fl-ph-kodak-improvements.jpg


OLED for white-light

Kodak has succeeded in demonstrating an OLED device architecture having an efficacy over 66 lm/W. This remarkable, world-leading efficacy exceeds the target of the DOE Energy Star Program for SSL while maintaining a color and CRI that meet specifications. The architecture is based on small molecule OLED and comprises four key technology components that enable this achievement: internal light extraction-enhancement structure, low voltage design, stacked architecture, and fluorescent-phosphorescent hybrid emitters. We are simultaneously improving the device lifetime and can see possibilities of T50 lifetime exceeding 50,000 hours operating at 1,000 cd/m2 luminance.

In addition to device performance, we are also working on many key technologies which we believe are critical to success of OLED lighting. We have begun building OLED prototypes incorporating these technology components; the 6” panels displayed at SID2009 are a good demonstration of our initial efforts. A few examples of Kodak technologies targeting critical manufacturing issues for OLED lighting are:


Kodak’s proprietary internal light extraction-enhancement structures more than double the out-coupling efficiency of white OLEDs;


Unique monolithic-integrated serial connection panel architecture enables the fabrication of large area lighting panels with low cost and minimal IR loss. This structure is also fault tolerant, reducing the impact of shorting defects;


Short-reduction layer reduces the density of shorting defects by orders of magnitude, which can greatly improve the manufacturing yield of OLED lighting panels;


Vapor Injection Source Technology (VIST) will drastically reduce the manufacturing cost of OLED lighting panels by increasing material utilization and reducing TAC time. We believe TAC times <30 seconds are required to meet cost targets for lighting;


Tandem OLED architecture that allows significant improvement in lifetime and enables a convenient method to balance the OLED emission to meet the Energy Star color requirements;

In order for OLED lighting to successfully compete in the marketplace, manufacturing cost must be addressed. Kodak believes OLED lighting panels can be manufactured with acceptable margins if TAC times are <30 seconds. Kodak’s VIST is a critical technology to achieve such low TAC times. Standard crucible technology used for manufacturing OLEDs today would require exceedingly high deposition temperatures to achieve such short deposition times, resulting in degradation of OLED materials. High temperature deposition is also incompatible with the desire to move toward flexible, plastic substrates. As an added benefit, early results from Kodak’s VIST process show improved device lifetime, likely due to purer deposition of organic materials at high rates.

Another great feature of OLEDs is Chiplets

Kodak presented a joint paper with Semprius at SID 2009, detailing our work combining OLEDs with chiplet backplane technology. This technology is attractive, because it enables OLEDs to be manufactured without a TFT fab. The technology has the potential to revolutionize the industry, enabling new features (flex, sensors, …) and opening new markets for OLED. Chiplets would leverage the foundry model of the semiconductor industry, opening a path for OLEDs to have much lower cost than LCD. Kodak and Semprius have:


Demonstrated feasibility of AMOLED displays using transfer-printed integrated circuit backplanes;


The luminance, contrast, uniformity, and controllability of the resultant OLED displays were comparable to or better than the performance of commercially available LCD displays;


Demonstrated high yields with the transfer printing process.


http://www.oled-info.com/files/images/oled-chipmunk-display-kodak.jpg

0.75-inch Chipmunk OLED Display (64x64)

SID 2009 and FPD 2009 Demonstrations

Kodak demonstrated several innovations for OLED displays at the SID’s Display Week 2009.

1. High-Brightness RGB to RGBW Transform Technology:


Double the luminance of your RGBW display with the push of a button
No additional voltage required (same power supply and TFT design)
No significant degradation of visual image quality

2. Compensation Technology for Low-Cost, Large OLED Displays


Prevents image-stick by compensating for the aging of OLED materials and a-Si TFT
Compensation is performed with no impact to the viewer
Developed in partnership with Ignis Innovation, Inc.

3. Kodak Global Mura Compensation Technology (GMC) was featured in the Kodak AMOLED Wireless Picture Frame (a CNET Editor’s Hot Pick of CES 2009 and winner of a Photokina Star Award).

Kodak also demonstrated its world-class OLED lighting technology at SID 2009.


Recipient of Frost & Sullivan 2009 OLED Lighting Enabling Technology of the Year Award


More than 65 lm/W efficacy, meeting DOE Energy Star specifications for color and color rendering index


Long-life fluorescent and hybrid architectures


Novel light extraction structures, short reduction layer, and fault-tolerant panel architecture that enables the fabrication of large area lighting panels with low cost and minimal heat loss


Recognized by the Department of Energy for outstanding performance in the field of OLED solid state lighting and awarded a $1.7M contract

Please visit Kodak’s booth at FPD International in Yokohama, Japan October 28-30, 2009 for the latest innovations in OLED for display and lighting!

Industry Outlook

The worldwide recession resulted in slower capital investments, which have delayed the OLED industry market ramp. We believe several OLED manufacturers continue to prepare for large growth and scale for the future. It seems almost every day there are updates for new display products (near eye displays, phones, TVs, Laptops) coming to market. In addition, OLED lighting applications are making a lot of progress. Kodak remains very optimistic both markets will eventually reach their full potential and that Kodak’s technology and know-how will assist in the ramping process for creating low-cost, high-quality OLED applications and products of all sizes and applications.

You can find more details on Kodak's technology over at Kodak's web site (http://www.kodak.com/go/display/).

The 89% NTSC color of the LG 15" is probably a result of using the Kodak RGBW system, where only white OLED is used. To get color they use a filter for Red, Green, and Blue.

OLED is becoming SED...
OLED is a proven technology. For example, OLED products actually exist in the marketplace to be purchased. SED was never brought to the market. The future of TVs will be Plasma vs. OLED. LCDs will be phased out like CRTs.

With all these advancements, investments and press, where are the large OLEDs? What are remaining obstacles that keep this technology from mainstream TV market? My fear is that the technology is probably ready but the greedy companies will want to milk the LCD market dry by endlessly introducing small incremental improvements to LCD technology until there's nothing left to improve, artificially delaying arrival of large and cheap OLEDs.

...The future of TVs will be Plasma vs. OLED. LCDs will be phased out like CRTs.

Some of us think plasmas will go away before LCDs. And considering the reduction in the number of companies actually still manufacturing plasmas.....

With all these advancements, investments and press, where are the large OLEDs? What are remaining obstacles that keep this technology from mainstream TV market? My fear is that the technology is probably ready but the greedy companies will want to milk the LCD market dry by endlessly introducing small incremental improvements to LCD technology until there's nothing left to improve, artificially delaying arrival of large and cheap OLEDs.

The problem is not being able to create large flawless panels. This is the same thing with LCDs and plasma's. They start out small and get larger over time as manufacturing kinks get ironed out. It's not that they can't create large OLED screens, it's that the manufacturing failure rate is too high to make them commercially viable.

One thing manufacturers absolutely have to avoid is selling a lot of OLED TVs and then having them returned or recalled because of problems. They have to be very careful.

AMOLED revenue has set a new record in Q2 2009 (http://www.oled-display.net/amoled-revenue-has-set-a-new-record-in-q2-2009)
28 September 2009


http://www.oled-display.net/images/DisplaySearch_AMOLED_Display_Roadmap_090928.jpg


Displaysearch reported that the worldwide OLED revenue has set a new record, 192 Million Dollars in the second quarter 2009. This is more about 32% as in the first quarter 2009, and 22 % more then in 2008.

The global OLED market in 2016 is about 6.2 billion dollars. OLED TV will be the second largest application, with revenues of about $2 billion in 2016.

This year the AMOLED shipments grew due to strong mobile phone main display shipments. 15 mobile phones from Samsung, Nokia, Sony Ericsson were released in 2009.

Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) had a strong Q2’09, and as a result, it maintained the #1 position in shipments with 38% market share, followed by RiTdisplay at #2.

As we reported many companies strengthened their OLED business, and there are about 20 new or upgraded AMOLED production lines installed or upgraded worldwide in the next three years.

The next step for OLED is the Netbook and Notebook market. Notebooks are an attractive area starting in mid 2010, with netbooks expected to be in production by end of 2010. 20-29” OLED TVs will enter market by the end of 2010, with 30” and larger TVs forecast to enter the market in late 2011.

Full Report: Displaysearch (http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/displaysearch/hs.xsl/090928_oled_displays_find_success_mobile_phones_with_q2_09_r evenue_192m.asp)

OLED TV makers look to shift out of neutral (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10364735-1.html)
30 September 2009


http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090930/IMG_5881_610x457.JPG

LG's 15-inch OLED TV, which is set to go on sale in Korea by December.

Though LG's eye-popping OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display wowed audiences in Berlin last month, it's best not to get too excited. There's not going to be more where that came from, at least for a while.

The industry is still at least three years away from churning out standard-size televisions of 32 inches or larger at something approaching acceptable prices. And though Sony grabbed all the attention in early 2008 with its $2,500 11-inch OLED, it's faded into the background when it comes to nudging the technology forward. Initially promising to follow up with 21-inch and 27-inch models, Sony's deferred those plans while battling bigger problems with its TV business.

With Sony on the sidelines, it seemed like we were witnessing yet another false start for a technology that's been intent on challenging existing TV standards like LCD and plasma for almost half a decade now.

Beset by the standard issues that come with bringing a new technology into the mainstream, like the exorbitantly high cost of development, OLED TVs might be on the verge of shifting out of neutral as new standard bearers for the technology emerge. The ones to watch now are Samsung and LG Electronics, which have each signaled that they're ready to make larger investments in OLED technology for TVs.

At the OLEDs World Summit 2009 in San Francisco on Wednesday, still most of the hope surrounding this nascent branch of the display industry was focused on energy efficient lighting and smaller displays for cell phones and MP3 players, since that's where the money is coming from right now.

DisplaySearch analyst Jennifer Colegrove said that the second quarter of 2009 was the best quarter yet for the OLED industry, with revenues reaching $190 million worldwide. It's good--and perhaps unexpected--news for a burgeoning technology that was just beginning to ramp up right when the recession hit.

But while they're finding success putting OLED in smartphones, these companies are still trying to figure out how to prove that the desirable properties of OLED--ultrathin displays, brighter, crisper images, and improved energy efficiency--can be produced efficiently on a large scale. The reason they're extra cautious: the factories needed to stamp out 30- and 40-inch TVs cost at least $1 billion to build and equip. "They need to prove it will scale before making a huge investment," noted Barry Young, managing director of the OLED Association.

For now, these 11- and 15-inch TVs are coming off production lines intended to make 2-inch and 3-inch displays. It works, but only as a temporary solution; they can't produce the amount of displays per year necessary to be profitable or meet demand.

LG says it plans to start selling its 15-inch OLED in South Korea by the end of the year. But for now, it only has the capacity to make 200,000 per month, or 2.4 million per year. Compare that to Samsung and its more advanced infrastructure for OLED displays for cell phones and MP3 players. On Wednesday Ho-Kyoon Chung, advisor to Samsung Mobile Display, said by next year its factories will be pumping out 10 million displays per month smaller than 15 inches.

LG won't be able to expand past 200,000 per month until at least 2010. But the two highly competitive Korean companies watch each other closely ("They're like two brothers that fight. One always has to do what the other is doing," is how one industry analyst put it). The competition's effect could push OLED TVs closer to the mainstream, both in screen size and in price.

The cost of OLED TVs at retail is still laughably unrealistic for most. "Price points on these displays are very steep," noted iSuppli's Jakhanwal. "The 11-inch Sony is still $2,500. The LG (OLED TV) might be in the same range." Though larger size OLED TVs might start appearing in three years, pricing is harder to predict now.

There's also a wild card in this deck: Apple. A whirlwind of speculation has surrounded the company's plans (or lack thereof) for building a tablet computer. Some in the industry have wondered if the screen will be an OLED, though Jakhanwal said that's less likely. "I feel they're more likely to start using OLEDs for iPods rather than launching straight away to a tablet. Apple's strategy has always been to use current, existing technology for its products, and work on (getting the) pricing down," she said.

Though that could be tough for suppliers because Apple has a way of getting prices to "unbelievable levels," as she noted, it could be a boon to retail shoppers. If Apple were to drive down the prices of smaller OLEDs, even for iPods or iPhones someday, it could shift pricing of larger displays for notebooks and TVs as well. And cheaper components mean more vendors will buy them and more choice for consumers.

In the meantime, "Price continues to be an issue," said Jakhanwal. "High premiums (are) not acceptable in the market."

OLED demonstration Video from MIT associate professor Vladimir Bulovic:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/10/02/video-oled-technology-explained-using-a-pickle-and-an-igor/#continued

OLED demonstration Video from MIT associate professor Vladimir Bulovic:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/10/02/video-oled-technology-explained-using-a-pickle-and-an-igor/#continued

LOL! Saw that yesterday. Looks like Sony's XEL-3.. :(
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9558/xel3.gif

Sizzlin'!

OLED demonstration Video from MIT associate professor Vladimir Bulovic:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/10/02/video-oled-technology-explained-using-a-pickle-and-an-igor/#continued

I use pickle lights throughout my house. It's just the smell I can't stand;)

I use pickle lights throughout my house. It's just the smell I can't stand;)

Yep, I do the same; but I just turn them into relish once they start to stink. :p

LOL, nice one RGB! Sony's new plywood backed Kosher-XBR200

OLED TV makers look to shift out of neutral (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10364735-1.html)
30 September 2009

There's also a wild card in this deck: Apple. A whirlwind of speculation has surrounded the company's plans (or lack thereof) for building a tablet computer. Some in the industry have wondered if the screen will be an OLED, though Jakhanwal said that's less likely. "I feel they're more likely to start using OLEDs for iPods rather than launching straight away to a tablet. Apple's strategy has always been to use current, existing technology for its products, and work on (getting the) pricing down," she said.


I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Apple. They could have put an OLED in the iphone or Touch but they didn't because they wanted to make sure the devices were visible in direct sunlight. Now they use a transreflective LCD that is visible in direct sun.

Right now the Zune HD is an alternative to the ipod if you want OLED.

LOL! Saw that yesterday. Looks like Sony's XEL-3.. :(
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9558/xel3.gif

Sizzlin'!

Hmm interesting, look out OLED, SED, and LCD behold the prototype LEP (Light Emitting Pickle) display.

Hmm interesting, look out OLED, SED, and LCD behold the prototype LEP (Light Emitting Pickle) display.

That's it. I'm buying a couple jars of Vlasic pickles and building me a 100" display.

A technique for multi-line addressing in OLED displays (http://www.embedded.com/columns/technicalinsights/220301323?_requestid=342973)
5 October 2009

Organic light emitting diodes have unique drive challenges; this circuit uses the TFT at each active matrix display or the OLED diode in a passive OLED display as a demodulator to detect OFDM carriers.

Multi-line addressing is a method of driving one or more lines simultaneously in a display to increase frame rate without increasing line rate and in the case of OLED displays, multi-line addressing can reduce power consumption, improve lifetime and generally give active-matrix capabilities to passive OLED displays (Reference 1).

Because passive OLED displays have a truly active device (an Organic Light-Emitting Diode) at each pixel, this diode can act as a demodulator for amplitude-modulated orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers on the rows and columns of the display. Although this may seem at first like an unnecessarily complicated approach to addressing pixels in a display (after all, we just turn rows and columns high or low for most displays), Figure 1 shows that any use of binary (digital) signals cannot simultaneously address pixels on more than one line without inadvertently addressing pixels on other lines. As shown in the figure, an attempt to digitally control two pixels in different lines (pixel 1 and pixel 8 in this case) results in turning on two more unintended pixels, pixels 1 and 7 which are the mirror of pixels 2 and 8.


http://i36.tinypic.com/15grqro.jpg (http://i.cmpnet.com/planetanalog/2009/10/C0426-Figure1.gif)
Figure 1: Problems with digital multi-line addressing
(Click on image to enlarge)

Because of the digital control problems, methods of multi-line addressing are inherently analog at the pixel level. Image data is still manipulated digitally in processors where methods of image decomposition are used to break an image into row and column data, which are then converted to analog signals by digital/analog converters (DACs). The analog row and column signals are basically OFDM carriers, where each frequency component in the row and column signals represents the control of a single pixel in the display.

The current POLED displays that implement multi-line addressing (and work in any active-matrix display without using Walsh functions such as in active addressing used for only passive LCDs) was initially described in Patent 5644340 filed in 1995 (Reference 2). In this method, each column signal in the display is a separate reference frequency (the same as a local oscillator) and each row is a linear combination of all the column reference frequencies with a given amplitude.

The intersection of each row and column signal then maps the frequency control of each pixel (the same frequency exists on each column, but is different on each row). Each pixel contains a simple demodulator circuit, which demodulates the incoming row and column signals to produce a signal-amplitude that controls the brightness of the pixel (Figure 2). In this way, all pixels can be controlled simultaneously with varying brightness.


http://i37.tinypic.com/fxezjk.jpg (http://i.cmpnet.com/planetanalog/2009/10/C0426-Figure2.gif)
Figure 2: Pixel cell architecture
(Click on image to enlarge)

Each pixel has exactly the same circuit: a demodulator for frequency discrimination of the row and column frequencies and a low-pass filter for producing a DC-amplitude control of the pixel. The frequency discrimination and low-pass filter characteristics in Figure 2 determine how close row and column frequencies can be spaced and what the highest frequency is required for a given display resolution.

As seen in Figure 3, a 1920×1080 HDTV display can be realized with a maximum line frequency of 385 kHz, assuming 200 Hz frequency discrimination. The frequency discrimination and frame rate of the display is controlled by the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter at each pixel in Figure 2. The same maximum frequency of 385 kHz drives each line at the same time, reducing the need for a much faster line-by-line clock. With the low-frequency requirements of the display in Figure 3, power consumption is reduced for the same pixel brightness when compared to a display using a single, high frequency dot-clock.


http://i37.tinypic.com/2drb8r5.jpg (http://i.cmpnet.com/planetanalog/2009/10/C0426-Figure3.gif)
Figure 3: Maximum frequency for HDTV
(Click on image to enlarge)

In a flashback to the days of crystal radio, it has been found that the OLED diode in the passive OLED display can act as both a demodulator and low-pass filter of row and column signals (Reference 3) [Editor's note: if you are unfamiliar with the diode and the basic, passive crystal radio, which was the first mass-market "electronic" circuit, you need to do some basic research--and even build one!] With the anode connected to the row and cathode to the column (or reversed if the polarity of the signals is taken into account), the OLED demodulator produces the characteristic sum and difference frequencies which when appropriately filtered with the LPF generated the intended DC control of the pixel. A thin-film transistor in an AMOLED display works just as well if not better as a demodulator when properly biased (with the source connected to a column signal and the gate to a row signal, for instance).

With the price of active matrix OLED displays (AMOLED) dropping rapidly, the advantage of multi-line addressing in OLED displays may seemed short-lived, but even AMOLEDs may be able to benefit from the reduced frequency and power requirements of multi-line addressing. The bigger advantages of multi-line addressing may come in the bandwidth savings in driving data to a display, as the lower pixel frequencies allow more bandwidth for increased frame rate based on the fastest OLED response time. Also, larger display resolutions such as UXGA can be developed that will run at high frame rates without taxing the OLED pixel response. With high-resolution and high-bandwidth display applications on the horizon, architectures that utilize multi-line addressing are likely to be considered.

References


Cambridge Display Technology Press Release (http://www.cdtltd.co.uk/news/546.asp)
"Frequency Mixing for Controlling Individual Pixels in a Display," (http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5644340.html)
"Transient response of passive matrix polymer LED displays," (http://www.ee.calpoly.edu/~dbraun/papers/ICSM2000BraunEricksonK177.html)

About the author

Michael Harney is an Electrical Engineer working in industrial and vehicle electronics. He is the holder of four patents and has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Utah State University

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OLED Display Technology and Capabilities (http://www.ecnmag.com/article-OLED-capabilities-100609.aspx)
6 October 2009

The organic light emitting diode (OLED) display is becoming more and more popular, especially for mobile phones, media player and small entry level TVs. Contrary to a standard liquid crystal display, the OLED pixel is driven by a current source. To understand how and why the OLED power supply impacts the display picture quality, it is key to understand the OLED display technology and power supply requirements. This article explains the latest OLED display technology and discusses the main power supply requirements and solutions. A novel power supply architecture tailored to the OLED power supply requirements is also presented here.

Market environment

All major mobile phone companies by now offer one or more models featuring an OLED display. Sony has the first OLED TV in mass production and many other companies show first prototypes. The OLED display offers wide color gamut, contrast ratio, viewing angle and fast response time. This makes the display ideal for multimedia applications. The self-emitting OLED technology doesn’t require a backlight and the power consumption depends on the display content. Power consumption can be much lower compared to a LCD using backlight. With a larger panel size the superior image quality of an OLED becomes more noticeable. Therefore, more and more OLED panels being used have a display size >3” and the ultimate application in the future still might be the TV panel. Another market for the OLED display is certainly the flexible display. Currently, the OLED and electrophoretic display technology look most promising. The electrophoretic or bi-stable display being used for electronic reader applications needs to be improved in color quality. On the other hand, currently OLED display is not ready for mass production when using fully-flexible materials. This depends mainly on the backplane technology.

Backplane technology enables flexible displays

High-resolution color active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays require an active matrix backplane using an active switch to turn each pixel on and off. The liquid crystal (LC) display amorphous silicon process is mature and provides a low-cost active matrix backplane, and used for OLEDs as well. For flexible displays companies are working with an organic thin film transistor (OTFT) backplane process. This process also can be used for an OLED display to realize flexible, full color displays. Whether a standard or flexible OLED is being used the same power supply and driving mythology needs to be applied. To understand the OLED technology, capabilities and its interaction with the power supply, a closer look into this technology is given. The OLED display itself is a self-emitting display technology and doesn’t require any backlight. The material for the OLED belongs to the category of organic materials due to its chemical structure.

OLED technology requires a current control driving method

A simplified circuit, representing one pixel, is shown in Figure 1. The OLED has electrical characteristics very similar to a standard light emitting diode (LED) where brightness depends on the LED current. To turn the OLED on and off and to control the OLED current a control circuit, thin film transistors (TFTs) are being used.


http://www.ecnmag.com/uploadedImages/Ecn/Articles/OLED-TI-Figure%201-100609.jpg


In Figure 1, transistor T2 is the pixel control transistor turning each pixel on and off. This is similar to any other active matrix liquid crystal display topology. A T1 is used as a current source, and the current is given by its gate source voltage. The storage capacitor is Cs, which holds the gate voltage of T1 stable and clamps the current until the pixel is addressed again. The simple single transistor current source in Figure 1 has a major cost advantage since only two transistors are required. The disadvantage of the simple circuit is a variation in current depending on process variations and voltage variation of Vdd. The OLED power supply circuit usually provides two voltage rails: Vdd and Vss. The voltage rail, Vdd, needs to have very tight regulation to achieve best picture quality and to avoid image flicker. The voltage regulation accuracy of Vss, which usually is a negative voltage, can be less accurate since it has a minor effect on the LED current. The effect of voltage fluctuations on Vdd to the OLED display is shown in Figure 2.


http://www.ecnmag.com/uploadedImages/Ecn/Articles/OLED-TI-Figure%202-100609.jpg


As the voltage supply Vdd changes, OLED brightness changes as well. Any superimposed voltage ripple on Vdd, can cause horizontal bars on the image due to different brightness levels. Depending on the display, a voltage ripple larger than 20mV already can cause such a phenomena. The visibility of the horizontal bars depends on amplitude and frequency of the superimposed voltage ripple. As soon as the frequency interferes with the frame frequency the bars appear. Under a normal laboratory environment the superimposed voltage ripple on Vdd is usually smaller than 20mV. The problem appears as the display and power supply are integrated into a system. As soon as any sub-circuit in the system draws pulsating current from the system power supply a voltage ripple appears, common to all circuits connected to the system power supply. Typical sub-circuits drawing pulsating current are the GSM power amplifier in a mobile phone, motor driver, audio power amplifier or similar. In such systems, the system supply rail has a superimposed voltage ripple. If the AMOLED power supply doesn’t reject this ripple, it will appear on its output as well causing the discussed visible image distortion. To avoid this, the AMOLED power supply needs to have a very high-power supply rejection ration and line transient response.

For the AMOLED power supply a boost converter is required for the positive voltage rail, Vdd, and a buck-boost or inverter for the negative voltage rail, Vss. This puts the challenge to the IC manufacturer providing a suitable power supply IC providing a very accurate positive voltage rail, Vdd, and negative voltage rail, Vss, achieving minimum component height and smallest solution size.

To meet all these requirements a novel power supply topology is chosen to provide both positive and negative output voltage rails from a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery using just a single inductor.

SIMO regulator technology enables best-in-class picture quality


http://www.ecnmag.com/uploadedImages/Ecn/Articles/OLED-TI-Figure%203-100609.jpg


Figure 3 shows the typical application circuit using the TPS65136, a device with single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) regulator technology. The device operates with a four-switch buck-boost converter topology. SIMO technology features best-in-class line transient regulation, buck-boost mode for both outputs and highest efficiency over the entire load current range.

Advanced power save mode enables highest efficiency

As with any battery-powered equipment, long battery standby time is only achieved when the converter operates at highest efficiency over the entire load current range. This is especially important for an OLED display. The OLED display consumes its maximum power when the display is fully white, and much lower current for any other display color. This is because only the white color requires all the sub-pixels red, green and blue to be fully turned on. For example, a 2.7 inch display requires 80mA current for a fully white picture and only 5mA current when icons or graphics are displayed. Therefore, the OLED power supply needs to provide high converter efficiency at all load currents. This is achieved by using an advanced power save mode technology reducing the converter switching frequency as the load current decreases. Since this is done using a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), possible EMI problems are minimized and the minimum switching frequency is controlled to be outside the audio range of typically at 40kHz. This avoids possible audible noise caused by ceramic input or output capacitors. This is especially important when using the device in a mobile phone application and simplifies the design process.

Conclusion

Since OLED display technology is just emerging, there is still a lot of room to conserve power, increase OLED efficiency and minimize the total solution size. As OLED becomes more mature, it is also possible to use OLED for architectural lighting or as backlight for LC Displays. Both opportunities allow lower power consumption and higher design flexibility compared to traditional lighting solutions. For OLED technology, the future seems to be very bright.

References

To download a datasheet on the TPS65136, visit: www.ti.com/tps65136-ca.
To learn more about this and other power solutions from TI, visit: www.ti.com/power-ca.

Author

Oliver Nachbaur is a member of the Technical Staff at Texas Instrument in Germany where he is a System Engineering Manager for the Display Power Converter group. Oliver has over a decade of experience in the semiconductor industry working as an Applications Engineer and System Engineer on Power Management Products. Oliver received a degree in Electrical Engineering in Ravensburg, Germany. He can be reached at: ti_onachbaur@list.ti.com.

http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/147666,dupont-develops-oled-that-could-last-114-years.aspx

Now that they have the short lifespan problem solved, OLED should finally start to show up in BIG TVs.

http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/147666,dupont-develops-oled-that-could-last-114-years.aspx

Now that they have the short lifespan problem solved, OLED should finally start to show up in BIG TVs.They are getting closer and here are the latest OLED lifetime numbers from DuPont (from this press release (http://www2.dupont.com/Displays/en_US/news_events/article20090527.html) and this press release (http://www2.dupont.com/Media_Center/en_US/daily_news/june/article20090624.html)):

Green: over 1,000,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m2 with a current efficiency of 25 cd/A and color coordinates of (0.26, 0.65).

Red: 62,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m2 with a current efficiency of 13 cd/A and color coordinates of (0.68, 0.32).

Blue: 38,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m2 with a current efficiency of 6.0 cd/A and color coordinates of (0.14, 0.12).

They are getting closer and here are the latest OLED lifetime numbers from DuPont (from this press release (http://www2.dupont.com/Displays/en_US/news_events/article20090527.html) and this press release (http://www2.dupont.com/Media_Center/en_US/daily_news/june/article20090624.html)):

Green: over 1,000,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m2 with a current efficiency of 25 cd/A and color coordinates of (0.26, 0.65).

Red: 62,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m2 with a current efficiency of 13 cd/A and color coordinates of (0.68, 0.32).

Blue: 38,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m2 with a current efficiency of 6.0 cd/A and color coordinates of (0.14, 0.12).

Waaah, fantastic updates there.

I mean, if this already amazing enough, then what more with future upgrades and improvements.

With that said, this is really positive developments in OLED (and thus we could even see more updates on this after year 2010).

Exciting times indeed :D

:)

So 38,000 hours is about 4 years 4 months if you keep it on 24 hours a day.

Of course people aren't going to do that but will it maintain the same brightness as when brand new for 4 years, through all the on/off cycles?

Or will it degrade as it approaches the end of life for blue?

Disruptive Factors in the OLED Business Ecosystem (http://www.informationdisplay.org/article.cfm?year=2009&issue=09&file=art5)
- includes discussion regarding OLED burn-in

OLEDs – Promises, Myths, and TVs (http://www.informationdisplay.org/article.cfm?year=2009&issue=09&file=art6)
- not entirely accurate but OLED lovers should like this article

Emerging Technologies for the Commercialization of AMOLED TVs (http://www.informationdisplay.org/article.cfm?year=2009&issue=09&file=art7)

DuPont's OLED secrets stolen already!

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139014/Former_DuPont_researcher_hit_with_federal_data_theft_charges ?taxonomyId=82

Former DuPont researcher hit with federal data theft charges
Meng accused of wrongfully accessing a company computer

So 38,000 hours is about 4 years 4 months if you keep it on 24 hours a day.

Of course people aren't going to do that but will it maintain the same brightness as when brand new for 4 years, through all the on/off cycles?

Or will it degrade as it approaches the end of life for blue?The OLED lifetime is how long it takes for the luminance to decrease to half of the initial brightness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQnGdhZfP0E

It's made of small passive matrix oled tiles, nothing special.

Report on the Global and Chinese OLED Industry (http://www.azooptics.com/details.asp?newsID=4806)
14 October 2009

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global and China OLED Industry Report, 2009" report to their offering.

Compared with TFT-LCD, cost on raw materials of OLED is at least 70% lower; because OLED needs not polarizing plate, backlight module or color filter. However, OLED is still in a dilemma. In 2009, Active Matrix OLED emerged, and OLED TV also made its debut. The growth of OLED speeds up, but bottleneck still exists.

OLED has very weak anti-oxidation ability, which restricts its development. Moreover, OLED equipment has to be driven by high electric current; therefore LTPS-TFT substrate is a must for it.

LTPS keeps cost of OLED at a high level. At present, OLED suffers losses in business. Most TFT-LCD manufactures have finished amortization of old production lines. LTPS TFT is controlled by a few large-sized TFT-LCD manufactures; therefore their attitude towards OLED is a key for development of OLED. Unless they have a full command of OLED production techniques, they will not involve in OLED production. In consequence, OLED is currently controlled by few giants such as Samsung; which is unfavorable for OELD industry.

OLED must break away from LTPS TFT substrate, and also improve resolution for competing with traditional TFT-LCD. With the same size, resolution of OLED is much weaker than that of TFT-LCD. Therefore, OLED fits for large-sized screen (above 3 inches), yet, the bigger size is, the more cost will be.

SMD monopolizes the small-sized OLED market; therefore other producers try to develop large-sized OLED market, but LTPS technology is not suitably employed to large-sized OLED. Even LTPS technology gets improved even high up to sixth generation or seventh generation, it is still rather poor in cost efficiency.

SMD controls most resources, so OLED display market is also dominated by Samsung. Small-sized AM OLED will not see greater development in the future. As a mobile phone producer Samsung doesn't possess upstream resources of AM OLED. Due to higher cost of OLED, it is forecasted that mobile phone with OLED display will just account for 5% market share.

Sony 11-inch and LG 15-inch OLED TV have been commercialized, but their prices are extremely high due to their low rate of finished products (below 30%); while rate of TFT-LCD finished products can reach above 99%. Just a few TFT-LCD giants can produce OLED TV sets. However, they will not be completely involved in OLED TV production until they take back all investment.

At present, only TOKKI and ULVAC produce OLED equipments. TOKKI is an important one, its largest glass substrate size is 370mm*470mm. DuPont, BASF and IDEMITSU KOSAN are the key producers of luminescent materials, but these chemical giants are not interested in this market, just 1% of TFT-LCD market.

75% cost of TFT-LCD originates from raw materials, while cost of OLED on raw materials just accounts for less than 25%. TFT-LCD has had no means to reduce cost efficiently today; once the rate of finished OLED products improves to 70%, there will be no room for TFT-LCD in the future. Therefore, OLED industry has a bright future.

Video clip of Samsung demonstrating how tough it's flexible OLED is, by beating on it with a hammer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8S8tbQMp2k&feature=player_embedded

Haha..that was great!:D In the future you cant destroy your television when you get mad at it.

Is this product commercial already?

All together now: iPhone 4G!

This article states that Samsung Mobile Displays is planning on spending $1.7 billion in capex for AMOLED's in 2010.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/10/123_53899.html

The size of the investment leads me to believe that they are moving up the ladder in terms of substrate size. Their current production is in a Gen 4 equivalent fab (which cost far less than $1.7 billion), but I think it is possible that they could be planning on building either a Gen 5 or Gen 6 fab.

If so, this is the kind of announcement that means that we really are getting closer to TV sized OLED's at a semi-reasonable price. I believe that Gen 6 LCD fabs brought 32" LCD's into the mainstream.

Just speculation though...it is possible that all of this money is destined for capacity destined for the portable segment.

Slacker

So 38,000 hours is about 4 years 4 months if you keep it on 24 hours a day.

Of course people aren't going to do that but will it maintain the same brightness as when brand new for 4 years, through all the on/off cycles?

Or will it degrade as it approaches the end of life for blue?

LOL! 38,000 hours would last me 21 years! :eek:

LOL! 38,000 hours would last me 21 years! :eek:

28 years here!:D

I figure by the time I'm ready to replace my Pio plasma (not anytime soon!) OLED should have matured a bit and be very affordable.

Oled's are going to completely massacre LCD's & Plasmas!

It won't happen now but in the next few years approaching year 2020, this could happen (especially when manufacturing improves, costs start to drop, size availability increases and when lifespan improves).

Either way, it should be interesting :)

http://www.oled-display.net/images/amoled/oledtv-auo.jpg

Auo show Innovative Display Technologies at FPD Intl 2009
Presenting new 3-Dimensional Display and a 14 inch OLED TV panel with Full HD resolution.
The 14" OLED TV panel with FHD resolution, a 100,000:1 contrast ratio, and 16 million colors.

[Via OLED-Display.net (http://www.oled-display.net/auo-to-show-14-oled-tv-panel-at-fpd-2009)]

IGNIS demonstrates breakthroughs in AMOLED backplane technology (http://www.oled-display.net/ignis-demonstrates-breakthroughs-in-amoled-backplane-technology)
27 October 2009

IGNIS Innovation Inc., a world leader in the design and development of thin film transistor circuits and driver algorithms for AMOLED, will demonstrate important breakthroughs in the field of AMOLED image compensation technology at its booth at the FPD International Exhibition in Pacifico Yokohama from 28th ~ 30th October 2009.

In partnership with Kodak and Prime View International, Inc, (PVI), IGNIS has developed a 5” segment of a 32” 1080p HDTV AMOLED display using industry standard amorphous silicon thin film transistors. This prototype uses IGNIS’ MaxLife solution, which compensates separately for both the TFT and OLED degradation using only an electrical feedback – an industry first. No unreliable optical sensors are used which have been tried unsuccessfully in the past by others. The MaxLife(TM) prototype has an operating device lifetime of 20 years when watching for 12hrs/day, even under the most demanding TV content conditions, including subtitles and station logos. Additionally, there is no image burn-in over this time since the MaxLife technology keeps differential aging to 3% or less, which is imperceptible to the human eye. The MaxLife(TM) prototype was built using an amorphous silicon backplane from PVI using their standard a-Si LCD mass production process while the frontplane uses Kodak’s long life and low power RGBW technology that delivers a vivid and outstanding viewing experience. The combination of both the amorphous silicon backplane together with the RGBW technology provide for the first time a reliable, low cost and truly scalable architecture that can finally push AMOLED into the mainstream class of TV sizes that consumers demand and expect.

For portable displays, IGNIS will exhibit a high resolution 2.2” QVGA (181ppi) demo of its AdMo(TM) (Advanced Mobile) compensation platform. In extensive in-house lifetime testing, IGNIS has demonstrated device lifetimes of over 50,000hrs , making them suitable for any mobile or handheld application, such as smartphones and A/V players. In addition, AdMo(TM) displays have been proven to operate over a large temperature range, from -30C to 80C, which is suitable for automotive applications. The sophisticated compensation technology is built entirely in-pixel, meaning low-cost driver ICs are used, lending itself to a simple ‘drop-in’ display that is easily swappable into devices using legacy LCDs. The AdMoTM prototype use an amorphous silicon backplane, the standard TFT of the LCD industry that has traditionally been regarded as unusable for AMOLED displays. However, through its patented technology IGNIS is able compensate for the low mobility and instabilities of amorphous silicon, and as a result, for no additional capital investment costs, enables the manufacture of AMOLED backplanes at existing TFT plants.

“The growth of the AMOLED industry has been constrained due to the technological hurdles associated with achieving a truly reliable, uniform and scalable TFT backplane. With our MaxLife(TM) & AdMo(TM) platforms, this is now possible, and we expect will enable our customers, the display manufacturers, to accelerate the introduction of visually stunning and affordable AMOLED displays to the market in the very near future.” said Paul Arsenault, President and CEO of IGNIS.

“Traditional approaches to OLED compensation has been to use photodiodes, however these are both unreliable and expensive. IGNIS’ electrical feedback solution used in our MaxLife(TM) platform eliminates these problems and represents a major breakthrough. On the other hand, the sophistication of the AdMo(TM) circuit solution means that a simple driver IC can be used and this is essential for maintaining the cost saving promise of AMOLED in handhelds” added Corbin Church, Vice President. “Both demo platforms that we will be showing use an amorphous silicon backplane, which can easily scale up to Generation 10 size while enjoying high reliability and low manufacturing unit costs.”

Plasma in trouble!

That OLED technology is using an all white oled light source that has to go thru a color filter. It is using the Kodak RGBW technology, so the color gamut won't be high.


They haven't solved the differential aging problem if a display uses Red, Green, and Blue organic materials.

They haven't solved the differential aging problem if a display uses Red, Green, and Blue organic materials, yet.

Now it's correct. :D

bye
Benny

Samsung's 30-inch 3D AMOLED TV won't make you dizzy (http://www.samsung.co.kr/article.do?cmd=view&numb=1&curPage=1&searchCategory=1&contentId=124740&searchCompany=-1)
2009-10-28

3D TV without dizziness

http://www.samsung.co.kr/UserFiles/Image/091028_h_smd_01.jpg
"Getting rid of dizziness that had 3D TV"

Samsung mobile display (ganghomun president), the world's first Full HD grade dizziness removed 30 inches AMOLED 3D (stereoscopic) TV said it had developed 27 days.

This product 'luminous' AMOLED do not need a backlight to the characteristics of a 30-inch large screen size, but the panel thickness is 2.5mm thin (超博形) 2 Ahead of the 100-won coin thin.

http://www.samsung.co.kr/UserFiles/Image/091028_h_smd_02.jpg

Samsung mobile display developed a unique patented SEAV (Simultaneous Emission with Active Voltage: simultaneous light-driven), techniques applied in 3D TV Crosstalk (Crosstalk: left and right images overlap) to eliminate symptoms completely eliminates eye fatigue and dizziness has succeeded in reducing significantly.

3D TV a real dimension of the principle of polarized glasses to try to alternate between left and right eye images will make a difference to deliver an optical illusion, cross-Sat Kranjcar 3D TV watching to the left eye and right eye images show each other seen as overlapping symptoms, dizziness dropping a given dimension in 3D TV commercial has been pointed out as one of the biggest issues.

Original TV (CRT, LCD, PDP) consisting of the pixels along the horizontal lines from top to bottom of the screen is switched sequentially driven Being polarized glasses with the left and right 3D implementation of structural variation was limited.

The response time of LCD, the LCD left and right images because the conversion rate to keep up with brilliant 3D implementation was impossible.

Full HD, but the level of 30 inches AMOLED 3D TV at the same time running a full screen if the "SEAV (simultaneous light-driven)," Technology that essentially eliminates crosstalk has implemented more vivid 3D images.

In addition, the illusion of 3D TV to take effect for a 2D TV screen brightness to remove the disadvantages which falls over, AMOLED the device (素子) the amount of current flowing through a fine screen brightness can be controlled by the structural advantages that the problem was resolved.

SS Kim, vice president of Samsung mobile display (Research Institute), the "AMOLED viewers with 3D stereoscopic images sharper than they actually enjoy the feeling of the experience will be like," said "that will lead the next generation AMOLED TV technology," he said.

The developed world's first Full HD level 30 inches AMOLED 3D TV is coming October 28 to 30 held in Yokohama, Japan on display at the FPD International 2009 in general will be released first.

also found on EngadgetHD (http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/10/28/samsungs-30-inch-3d-amoled-tv-wont-make-you-dizzy-will-leave/)

Oled's are going to completely massacre LCD's & Plasmas!


OLED is so NOT HAPPENING for the middle class, it is pathetic.

OLED is so NOT HAPPENING for the middle class, it is pathetic.

It's already happening. In cell phones, PDAs and other small screen devices. By the millions.

....They haven't solved the differential aging problem if a display uses Red, Green, and Blue organic materials.

They don't have to get them to age at the same rate. They only need them to age at a predictable rate, and can compensate. Lifetimes seem to be adequate now. Looks like they're almost ready to start scaling up for mass production of larger sizes.

Plasma in trouble!

LCD is likely in more trouble than plasma when OLED comes to market and is what it's reported to be. It will move into the small panel market first and then expand as it matures. LCD owns the small panel and computer panel market and that's likely OLED's first splash.

LCD is likely in more trouble than plasma when OLED comes to market and is what it's reported to be. It will move into the small panel market first and then expand as it matures. LCD owns the small panel and computer panel market and that's likely OLED's first splash.

Absolutely. OLED will move from small sizes to big sizes. Smartphones first, then laptops, later on computer monitors... Like LCD did.

Plasma killer, if any, will be LCD, not OLED.

Samsung is usually a little optomistic with their future projections so you may need to add a couple of years to this.

http://www.i4u.com/article27989.html

4-5 years to reach 40-50 inch sizes or 4-5 years before 40-50 inch OLED TVs are price-competitive with LCD TVs of that size?

If the former, then they might as well not bother because how much longer to bring down prices to under $1500?

[FPDI] AUO Ready to Roll 14-inch Full-HD OLED Panel (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177121/)
Oct 30, 2009 10:26 Shinya Saeki, Nikkei Electronics

AUO's 14-inch full-HD OLED panel

AU Optronics Corp (AUO) of Taiwan developed a 14-inch OLED panel with a pixel count of 1,920 x 1,080 (full HD) and a resolution of 157ppi and exhibited it at FPD International 2009.

"Technically, we can now start volume production of it," the company said. "If there is user demand for it, we will do that."

For the driver elements of the panel, AUO employed a low-temperature polycrystal Si-TFT (LTPS). Two transistors and one capacitor (2T1C) are used for each pixel.

The panel is a bottom emission type. Organic electroluminescent (EL) materials for RGB colors are applied by an evaporation method using a metal stencil mask.

The maximum screen luminance with an all-white signal is 200cd/m2. The contrast ratio of the panel is 100,000:1. It is capable of displaying 16 million colors and 72% of the NTSC color gamut. It supports a drive frequency of 120Hz.

[FPDI] LG Display Plans to Release 40-inch OLED Panel in 2012 (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177155/)
Oct 30, 2009 17:38 Shinya Saeki, Nikkei Electronics

LG Display Co Ltd announced its roadmap for developing and releasing large-size OLED panels at FPD International 2009, which takes place from Oct 28 to 30, 2009, at Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama City, Japan.

Won Kim, LG Display's OLED sales and marketing VP, took the podium.

LG Electronics Inc plans to release a 15-inch OLED TV with a panel developed by LG Display at the end of 2009. The panel has a pixel count of 1,366 x 768 and a resolution of 105ppi. Its maximum screen luminance with an all-white signal and an all-black signal are 200cd/m2 and 0.01cd/m2, respectively. The peak luminance is 450cd/m2.

The panel is a bottom emission type and uses low-temperature polycrystal Si-TFTs that are crystallized by a high-temperature process (solid phase crystallization or SPC) as driver elements. Those specifications were announced at IMID 2009, a trade show that took place in October 2009 in Korea.

After the 15-inch panel, LG Display plans to release 20-inch and larger OLED panels in 2010, 30-inch and larger panels in 2011 and 40-inch and larger panels in 2012.

"Forty-inch and larger OLED panels will be fairly expensive in 2012, but they will be available in the market," Kim said.

'OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016'

In regard to technical challenges to stably supplying large-size OLED panels at low cost, Kim mentioned (1) driver elements (TFTs), (2) organic EL materials and film forming processes and (3) sealing processes.

Driver element

As for driver elements, LG Display will probably employ a TFT based on a low-temperature polycrystal silicon (and SPC method) or an oxide semiconductor such as IGZO (In-Ga-Zn-O), he said. However, he also said that TFTs based on those materials have some problems.

"We will be able to use a low-temperature polycrystal silicon with the sixth-generation size glass substrate," Kim said. "However, for 40-inch and larger panels, we have to use the eighth-generation size glass substrate. Therefore, we have to develop equipment that can deal with an SPC process at a temperature of more than 700°C."

As for oxide semiconductor, he said that it is one of the candidate materials to be used for large panels. But it has low reproducibility because of variation among lots, he said.

Organic EL material / Sealing process

LG Display plans to use fluorescent materials until 2011 and phosphorescent materials thereafter. Also, as film forming processes, the company is considering using printing technologies, starting from an evaporation method with a metal stencil mask.

"In regard to sealing process, we believe that solid sealing is desirable for TV panels," Kim said.

With those measures, LG Display aims to achieve a 50% higher material cost and a 30% lower yield than those of LCD panels in 2012 and a 20-30% lower material cost and an equivalent yield in 2016.

At the exhibition site, the company exhibited the 15-inch OLED display, which was unveiled at IMID 2009, for the first time in Japan.

My family room Feb-2005 Sony 42" 720p better hold up until 2016 (11 years old then....).
I'm tired of being frontline and paying for all the upfront R&D/D&D that is amortized on the early units. Been there, done it too many times.

btw, the pict on that is still sweet 5 years later......no problems.

[FPDI] AUO Ready to Roll 14-inch Full-HD OLED Panel (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177121/)
Oct 30, 2009 10:26 Shinya Saeki, Nikkei Electronics
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177121/1.JPG

[FPDI] LG Display Plans to Release 40-inch OLED Panel in 2012 (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177155/)
Oct 30, 2009 17:38 Shinya Saeki, Nikkei Electronics
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177155/3.JPG

I'm excited to see and possibly purchase either the 15" or 20" LG OLED next year! Progress is being made... just takes a while.

The biggest bit of info I found interesting was that LG seems to think that OLED TVs will reach the same price points of LCDs in 6 years. I would imagine in that time the price of LCD HDTVs would continue to drop (depending upon inflation). Fun stuff! :D

4-5 years to reach 40-50 inch sizes or 4-5 years before 40-50 inch OLED TVs are price-competitive with LCD TVs of that size?

If the former, then they might as well not bother because how much longer to bring down prices to under $1500?

The challenge for OLED is that LCD/Plasma keep getting better and cheaper. In 4-5 years, today's $1500 TV will be well under $1000 with many improvements.

I
The biggest bit of info I found interesting was that LG seems to think that OLED TVs will reach the same price points of LCDs in 6 years. I would imagine in that time the price of LCD HDTVs would continue to drop (depending upon inflation). Fun stuff! :DLG make LCD TVs, so they would be aware of what LC prices they are expecting in 6 years. Once the OLEDs get past the development problems, they should be cheaper to produce than the same size LCD.

Sony & Samsung have been pretty quiet about real TV products. Maybe they are saving big guns for CES? Something between 24-30" would be more than enough for desktop usage.

CMEL OLED Supplier:neowindows.com. good goods for your money.

CMEL OLED Supplier:neowindows.com. good goods for your money.

Oooh... looks like they make a 4.3" OLED display with a resolution of 480x272... perhaps this item could be used to replace the LCD found in the PSP X000 series! Or perhaps Sony will release a PSP with this OLED screen... the PSP-4000 series! Whoa! :)

http://neowindows.com/en/pic/2009_5_9_17_34_885.jpg

Name:P043WALC-T
Category:NWS008 (http://neowindows.com/en/cpzx1.asp?id=1&pro_class=NWS008)

Hmm... doesn't look like a drop in replacment though... :o

I'm hoping they're going to make some nice OLED digital picture frames. I bought an LCD digital picture frame a few years ago and really didn't look all that great.

Oooh... looks like they make a 4.3" OLED display with a resolution of 480x272... perhaps this item could be used to replace the LCD found in the PSP X000 series! Or perhaps Sony will release a PSP with this OLED screen... the PSP-4000 series! Whoa! :)

http://neowindows.com/en/pic/2009_5_9_17_34_885.jpg

Name:P043WALC-T
Category:NWS008 (http://neowindows.com/en/cpzx1.asp?id=1&pro_class=NWS008)

Hmm... doesn't look like a drop in replacment though... :o

That would be cool. If Sony did this I would upgrade instantly.

For now I have the GP2X Wiz that has an OLED screen. It is only good for old PC ports (Doom, Quake) and emulators (SNES, Genesis, NeoGeo etc) and not any newer games but is still good to get your OLED gaming fix.

Already have one device with OLED screen. The picture is awesome. I can not wait for these things to become mainstream.

Don't know if this has been posted.

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2009/05/08/panasonic-oled-40-inch-tv-by-2010/

OLED is not going to be main stream for many years 2016 if we are lucky. I can't imagine replacing my 50 or 58 plasma with OLED until then or later. I just don't see the cost coming down to what the average consumer is willing to pay until then or some time after. The first plasma I seen was a Marantz 42in way back in 98 and is was 15K. And I just bought my first plasma in 2008. I really don't see OLED doing much until 2016. We are all spoiled with are 50+ tv's and when OLED gets down to 2K for 50+ then maybe people will start buying and replacing their current lcd's and plasmas.

Don't know if this has been posted.

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2009/05/08/panasonic-oled-40-inch-tv-by-2010/

3D oled tv from Panasonic, 40"? Wow...I wonder what that would look like.

3D oled tv from Panasonic, 40"? Wow...I wonder what that would look like.

Holy crap, they're already planning a huge size OLED set by next year??? Wow that's fast.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if they can deliver (but I hope they do).

Speaking of which, has anyone heard of the news regarding a proposal for a 40 inch OLED TV that only consumes 40 watts (@ 1 watt per inch)???

Does anyone remember the news article on that?

OLED is not going to be main stream for many years 2016 if we are lucky. I can't imagine replacing my 50 or 58 plasma with OLED until then or later. I just don't see the cost coming down to what the average consumer is willing to pay until then or some time after. The first plasma I seen was a Marantz 42in way back in 98 and is was 15K. And I just bought my first plasma in 2008. I really don't see OLED doing much until 2016. We are all spoiled with are 50+ tv's and when OLED gets down to 2K for 50+ then maybe people will start buying and replacing their current lcd's and plasmas.

Technology growth isn't always linear. When flat panel TVs first came out, they had more problems to tackle than they do now. Now, we just need to overcome a few hurdles, and the plants that are required to make OLEDs are already in place.

powertoold, I wish they would give us some idea what the starting price was going to be on the 40in OLED coming out. I'm debating buying a new plasma 63 sammy or 65 panny for my bedroom. If I thought OLED would hit 2-3K in the next 3 years for 50+ I would just buy a entry level sammy/panny Plasma or a LG 55LH90 to get my by until then.

powertoold, I wish they would give us some idea what the starting price was going to be on the 40in OLED coming out.

That would be nice.

LG Display debut the 15 inch OLED-Tv in Korea this week for $2,500 USD (http://www.oled-display.net/lg-display-debut-the-15-inch-oled-tv-in-korea-this-week-for-2500-dollar)
11/09/2009

http://www.oled-display.net/files/u1/15_oled-tv_o_440.jpg

LG Display roll out the 15-inch OLED-Television device this week in Korea. This 15-inch panel is the largest commercial available OLED Display.
LG Display sell the 15-inch Panel in South Korea for 3 million won per unit that are about 2,500- Dollar[s].

LG electronics plans also like Samsung mobile display (http://www.oled-display.net/samsung-mobile-display-want-to-build-a-new-fabrication-line-for-30-inch-oled-tvs)to build a new fabrication line. The 5.5 generation line can be installed in Paju in the first half of 2011.

They can roll out 40,000 sheets per months.
LG Display will invest more in organic displays. But the timing is dependent on how the market finds an uprising momentum," an LG Display spokesman said. LG Display is currently led by CEO Kwon Young-soo.

Source: Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/11/123_55157.html)

wow! that's not a good sign for us 50+ crowed I cant see it reaching decent price until 2016. I think I will go ahead and buy a nice panny 65v10 since I cant see OLED Coming into is own until 4+ years if we are lucky.

wow! that's not a good sign for us 50+ crowed I cant see it reaching decent price until 2016. I think I will go ahead and buy a nice panny 65v10 since I cant see OLED Coming into is own until 4+ years if we are lucky.


Confucius says:
The bigger you buy now the longer you'll have to wait for OLED as you won't step down in size.

wow! that's not a good sign for us 50+ crowed I cant see it reaching decent price until 2016. I think I will go ahead and buy a nice panny 65v10 since I cant see OLED Coming into is own until 4+ years if we are lucky.

The premise of your post is quite naive! Were you actually expecting to hold out for a year or two and purchase a 50+" OLED HDTV for a relatively reasonable price? :eek: I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you're being sarcastic. ;)

We're within a year or so of decent sized computer monitors... getting closer!

The "crowed"... off went a pack of crows...

Confucius says:
The bigger you buy now the longer you'll have to wait for OLED as you won't step down in size.

Lotta truth in that.

Confucius says:
The bigger you buy now the longer you'll have to wait for OLED as you won't step down in size.

LOL... Good one Benny! :cool:

LG Display debut the 15 inch OLED-Tv in Korea this week for $2,500 USD (http://www.oled-display.net/lg-display-debut-the-15-inch-oled-tv-in-korea-this-week-for-2500-dollar)
11/09/2009

LG Display roll out the 15-inch OLED-Television device this week in Korea. This 15-inch panel is the largest commercial available OLED Display.
LG Display sell the 15-inch Panel in South Korea for 3 million won per unit that are about 2,500- Dollar[s].

LG electronics plans also like Samsung mobile display (http://www.oled-display.net/samsung-mobile-display-want-to-build-a-new-fabrication-line-for-30-inch-oled-tvs)to build a new fabrication line. The 5.5 generation line can be installed in Paju in the first half of 2011.

They can roll out 40,000 sheets per months.
LG Display will invest more in organic displays. But the timing is dependent on how the market finds an uprising momentum," an LG Display spokesman said. LG Display is currently led by CEO Kwon Young-soo.

Source: Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/11/123_55157.html)

15" ?

That is small even for laptop screens these days. Still better than the Sony, higher resolution slightly bigger and the same price.

I wonder if it has a VGA input?

13-15" is perfectly fine for a portable laptop, or are you talking about those silly desktop replacement monsters? The LG OLED doesn't have VGA input.

Looks like Sony might be releasing new OLED TVs under the KDL-ZX Series name.... unless this image is a hoax... or the proposal falls through :( :( :(
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3113/weblink2.jpg

If OLED is that much better than our current LED and Plasma will it show us how crappy our video sources truly are from our sat/cable and could it make blue ray look worse than it currently does on todays t.v's. Kinda like back in the day when I bought my first big screen and it showed how crappy everything was by showing every flaw in the video source (crap in crap out).

Well if Blu Ray looked worse, it would still be better than anything else out there or the digital streaming/downloads which are suppose to take over.

So they shouldn't try to improve display tech. because video sources are going to be more constricted (like digital audio has become)?

If OLED is that much better than our current LED and Plasma will it show us how crappy our video sources truly are from our sat/cable and could it make blue ray look worse than it currently does on todays t.v's. Kinda like back in the day when I bought my first big screen and it showed how crappy everything was by showing every flaw in the video source (crap in crap out).

Well... Like I've stated before, watch a Sony XEL-1 for at least 5 minutes. For a 2 year old product, I'm still stunned by its incredible picture quality, regardless of source material. I think the analogy of SD RPTVs is a bit of a stretch, as OLED displays won't out grow modern source content (HDTV broadcasts, Blu-ray, HD gaming, ect) in terms of visible screen size for quite some time.

The XEL-1 has incredible contrast, perfect black level, rich color, and silky smooth motion without the use of frame interpolation (like a non-interlaced CRT). Hence, OLED displays allow the user to see sources in a better light (pun intended), and are not analogous to old RPTVs... :rolleyes:

wco81 and rgb32, I agree with you, i'm sure it will look good with blue-ray and HD. I suppose I was just thinking how directv and Dish network and most cable companies are compressing most video they have now just to get by. I'm worried that most the SD material will not look good on a OLED. If I watch SD material/dvd I prefer to go back to my old 55 rptv, I think it pulls it off better than my Plasma. I bought my first HDTV in 1999 and it was horrible, HD material was very limited to few shows a week. It took 2-3 years to feel like it was worth while owning a hdtv. wco81, I'm not saying they shouldn't improve display tech, I just think most HD out there is crap HD to be honest it looks ok at best. Excluding blue ray most hd is not that good, one of the few channels that looks good most of the time is Food Network. I don't know what they do but most of the material they have looks excellent to very good. When the other channels look good like they do on a daily basis then I feel OLED would be worth it.

one of the few channels that looks good most of the time is Food Network. I don't know what they do but most of the material they have looks excellent to very good.
The food is not moving very fast by the time it gets to the Food Network. Lack of motion artifacts and subchannels broadcasting local weather, etc.

Food Network stretches - A LOT.

my point about Food Network was strictly with the colors and how well most of their new footage they shoot looks very accurate and detailed. It shows off how well todays technology can look. A lot of other HD channels look washed out and just plain suck. My point with OLED is it will show every flaw in the video source much more than PLASMA AND LED/LCD but it will also show off how well it can be when it has a good video source to bad most video sources are not that good.

The food is not moving very fast by the time it gets to the Food Network.

lol

my point about Food Network was strictly with the colors and how well most of their new footage they shoot looks very accurate and detailed. It shows off how well todays technology can look. A lot of other HD channels look washed out and just plain suck. My point with OLED is it will show every flaw in the video source much more than PLASMA AND LED/LCD but it will also show off how well it can be when it has a good video source to bad most video sources are not that good.

Don't know Food Network since I'm from Spain. Nevertheless, the big difference in PQ is always the type of content that is being broadcasted. A news broadcast looks way better than a soccer match, or an action movie since it's using the same bitrate to encode just the face of a guy speaking.

Some new info on Sony's OLED panels and CES

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/TVs_And_Large_Display/OLED_TV/M8S5Q6T9

Some new info on Sony's OLED panels and CES

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/TVs_And_Large_Display/OLED_TV/M8S5Q6T9

Looks interesting. If Sony will release a 27" 1080p OLED HDTV, it would make an awesome computer monitor!

Perhaps the two models (per the article) to be shown at CES 2010 will be the 21" and the 27". I'm thinking that the 27" will retail for atleast $4,000.... gulp... :D

for those knowing market trends,

will the debut and increased revenue of these first oled TVs exponentiate oled's time to market.
in development for 20-30 years, as they say but how is future growth predicted at this point.

LG Display and Samsung Mobile show transparent OLEDs (http://www.slashgear.com/lg-display-and-samsung-mobile-show-transparent-oleds-2862005/)
28 October 2009


http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/lg_display_15-inch_transparent_oled_1.jpg


The actual benefits of transparent displays are yet to be explained – beyond the sheer cool factor, of course – but that isn’t stopping manufacturers from announcing them. Both LG Display and Samsung Mobile Display have been flaunting their respective transparent OLEDs, the former having a full 15-inch OLED panel ideal for notebooks, while the latter has a 2-inch OLED panel intended for cellphones.


http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/samsung_mobile_display_transparent_oled_1-540x405.jpg


Each replaces what would usually be the black portion of the display with transparency instead. Where OLED displays usually emit light either from the positive or negative electrodes – e.g. viewable from a single side – these new panels emit light from both electrodes simultaneously, and are encapsulated in a transparent sheath.

Transmittance for both is 30-percent; it’s unclear what resolution the LG Display OLED is running at, but the Samsung Mobile Display OLED offers 176 x 220 with 144ppi. No word from either company as to when we might see commercial releases of the transparent OLEDs.

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AUO 14-inch OLED production imminent; LG Display 40-inch AMOLED in 2012 (http://www.slashgear.com/auo-14-inch-oled-production-imminent-lg-display-40-inch-amoled-in-2012-3062294/)
30 October 2009


http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/auo_14-inch_full_hd_oled.jpg


Could we soon be looking at large(ish) scale, reasonably priced OLED and AMOLED displays? Probably not, at least when it comes to the pricing part, but both LG Display and AUO have announced mass production plans for their OLED and AMOLED panels, LG expecting to kick-start production in 2011 (http://english.etnews.co.kr/news/detail.html?id=200910230003) while AUO claims to be ready to start now (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177121/).

The AUO plant will be pumping out 14-inch OLED displays, running at Full HD resolution and 157ppi density. Each display boasts a 100,000:1 contrast ratio and 200cd/m2 brightness, and is capable of 16m colors. They cover 72-percent of the NTSC color gamut and run at 120Hz. No news on whether AUO are positioning the OLEDs for TV or laptop use, but we’d quite like to whip out an OLED ultraportable in our local Starbucks.

As for LG Display, they’re planning to begin AMOLED mass production at their new 5G plant in the second half of 2011. The company will produce 30-inch and above displays in 2011, before shifting to 40-inch AMOLED production in 2012 (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20091030/177155/).

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Sony's 2010/2011 OLED and flagship XBR series LCD roadmap leaked? (http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/13/sonys-2010-2011-oled-tv-and-flagship-xbr-series-leaked/)
13 November 2009


http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/11/sony-new-hdtvs-oled.jpg


Ready to dig deep, really deep, for a tiny but magnificent OLED television? You'd better be 'cause some purportedly leaked Sony documents are showing a new "KDL-ZX Series OLED" on the 2010 / 2011 roadmap. All the sets are listed as prototypes so they may or may not make it to market for retail. But with Sony's two year old, 11-inch XEL-1 OLED TV now dwarfed by LG's new 15-inch OLED TV and a 20-incher promised for 2010, well, we expect Sony will want to regain its leadership in the new year. The docs also show updates to Sony's flagship XBR series with the XBR11 LED W-backlit LCD and XBR12 Advanced LED RGB-backlit LCD sets coming in sizes from 32- to 60-inches featuring 240Hz Motionflow, a new Bravia Engine 3 PRO with HD Video processor, and UV2A panel technology. Unfortunately, some of the XBR information (the most important, presumably) is blacked-out and we're only looking at 2 of what appear to be 24 pages of leaked content. Boy would we love to peak behind that curtain. XBR11 spec sheet on display after the break.


http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/11/sony_xbr11-leaks.jpg


http://www.hdtvlounge.net/wp-content/uploads/Sony_New_HDTVs.jpg


Source: hdtvlounge.net (http://www.hdtvlounge.net/sony/xbr11-xbr12-oled/)

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New Cost-efficient production process for OLEDs with micro-scale conductor paths (http://www.oled-display.net/new-cost-efficient-production-process-for-oleds-with-micro-scale-conductor-paths)
17 November, 2009


http://www.oled-display.net/images/lighting/Bild2-Leiterbahn_aufGlas.jpg


In cooperation with Philips, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT is developing an innovative, cost-efficient process for applying conductor paths to OLEDs.

Organic light-emitting diodes are highly efficient light sources based on organic materials. They achieve high luminous intensity while consuming little energy. OLEDs consist of one or several active organic layers which are energized by two large-area electrodes. The initiated current flow leads to electron-hole recombinations in the organic layer. This produces photons which radiate into the half-space through the conductive, transparent anode – consisting of indium tin oxide (ITO) or similar materials. To distribute the electrical energy evenly over the entire surface of the OLEDs, metallic conductor paths are applied to the ITO layer. The size of the conductor paths plays an important role here: if they are too wide the paths can affect the luminous homogeneity of the light source. In addition to reducing manufacturing costs for OLEDs, the lighting industry is also very keen to produce tiny geometries. A process is required with which narrow metallic conductor paths can be produced efficiently, resulting in savings of energy and resources.

The Fraunhofer ILT is now developing a laser technique to apply micro-scale conductor paths for the industrial partner Philips. A mask foil is placed on the surface of the conductor which represents the negative to the conductor path geometry later required. This is then covered by a donor foil whose material will constitute the conductor path, for example aluminum or copper. The assembly is fixed in place and hit with laser radiation traveling at a speed of up to 2.5 m/s along the mask geometry. A mixture of melt drops and vapor forms, which is transferred from the donor foil to the substrate. The solidified mixture produces the conductor path, whose geometry is determined by the mask. As the process takes place in the ambient atmosphere an expensive process chamber is not required. There is no material loss because the residual material of the donor foil can be re-used.


http://www.oled-display.net/images/lighting/Bild1-Verfahrensprinzip.jpg


“This enables us to produce narrow metallic paths with adjustable widths between 40 and 100 µm. They exhibit variable thicknesses between 3 and 15 µm and a resistance of < 0.05 W/sq, so that the electrons are distributed optimally over the entire surface. Our aim is to produce homogeneous luminosity over the entire surface with the new technique,” explains Christian Vedder, who is in charge of the project at the Fraunhofer ILT. This manufacturing process also adds greater flexibility in how the layer is configured. Holger Schwab, Project Manager OLED Lighting at Philips, regards cost-efficiency as the main advantage to be gained from the additive laser technique: “This process can considerably reduce the cost of producing OLEDs. The key factors are that almost 100% of the material is utilized and no structuring processes are needed.”

Conductor paths are used wherever electrical energy needs to be conducted over non-conductive surfaces made of glass, silicon or other materials. Further applications derive from the innovative process, including heated windows in cars and other vehicles as well the production of semiconductors for use in solar cells. Considerable demand exists in these sectors for micro-scale conductor paths because wide conductor paths restrict vision in motor vehicles and cause shading which reduces the efficiency of photovoltaic systems.

The actual benefits of transparent displays are yet to be explained – beyond the sheer cool factor, of course – but that isn’t stopping manufacturers from announcing them. Both LG Display and Samsung Mobile Display have been flaunting their respective transparent OLEDs, the former having a full 15-inch OLED panel ideal for notebooks, while the latter has a 2-inch OLED panel intended for cellphones.

C'mon. It's pretty obvious that you can put a transparent OLED layer over a eInk display to get the ultimate handheld device.

If it is not THAT obvious let me check out the patent office because I'm gonna be rich :)

C'mon. It's pretty obvious that you can put a transparent OLED layer over a eInk display to get the ultimate handheld device.

If it is not THAT obvious let me check out the patent office because I'm gonna be rich :)

What about a contact lens display? contact-lenses-to-get-builtin-virtual-graphics (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18146-contact-lenses-to-get-builtin-virtual-graphics.html)