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OLED TVs: Technology Advancements Thread

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#1 ·





This thread is for news about technological advancements in and commercial production of OLED TVs and OLED technology in general. It will be regularly updated with relevant news about leading-edge advancements.


Currently, it is the largest single repository in the world for OLED display news, device information and imagery.


Other threads in this group on the AVS Forum:
LCD TVs: Fab News Thread
LCD TVs: Market Price Stats Thread
LCD TVs: Technology Advancements Thread
Plasma TVs: Market Price Stats Thread
Background:
Wikipedia: OLEDs
History of OLED Technology
Video:
▪ Sony Moves a Step Closer to OEL TV (11" & 27") [ Stream / AVI / MKV : 6.6 MB ]
▪ Epson 40" OLED Display [ MKV : 0.8 MB ]
▪ Wil Wheaton praises Sony's 1,000,000:1 Contrast OLED TVs [ Stream / AVI / MKV : 5.2 MB ]

lemaroc.org: OLED Videos
takatv.com: OLED Videos
To start off, some recent and (surprisingly), not-so-recent news:

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Universal Display Corporation and Sony Corporation Announce Joint Development Agreement Aimed at Organic LED Television Monitors
18 April 2001


Universal Display Corporation (UDC) (Nasdaq: PANL PHLX: PNL) and Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) have announced a joint development agreement for high efficiency active matrix Organic LED (OLED) display devices for use in large area monitor applications. Under the Agreement, the parties will develop active matrix OLED displays with extremely high power efficiency combining UDC's proprietary high efficiency electrophosphorescent materials and Sony's proprietary low temperature poly silicon active matrix OLED technology (TAC: Top emission Adaptive Current drive).


Sony has developed a 13-inch active matrix OLED display using its novel TAC technology. That display is a little thicker than a credit card and has the potential to replace the bulky TV tube. UDC's portfolio of innovative OLED technologies include its world record high efficiency electrophosphorescent material system, which can be up to four times more power efficient than conventional OLED systems; transparent cathodes, and flexible plastic display technologies. It has the sole and exclusive licensing rights to over 380 issued and pending OLED patents worldwide.


"The opportunity to work with the Sony team is a very exciting event. We believe that their vision of a thin, lightweight OLED television monitor is a dramatic confirmation of the essential attributes of OLED technology and their position as a premier developer of high quality large area consumer electronic display products," stated Steven V. Abramson, President and Chief Operating Officer of UDC.


Tetsuo Urabe, General Manager of Sony's OLED development department stated "UDC and their research partners have been developing extraordinary and innovative OLED technologies for more than 7 years and the combination of Sony's advanced AM-OLED technology and UDC's high expertise in OLED research and development will accelerate the realization of this revolutionary flat panel display technology for large area applications."


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Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology introduces world's largest polymer organic light-emitting diode display
16 April 2002




Display: Polymer Organic Light-Emitting Diode Display
Size: 17” diagonal
Pixel count: 1280 x 768 (XGA wide)
Grayscale/Color: 64 grayscale (6-bit RGB) / 262,144 colors
Brightness: 100-300 cd/m2
Contrast: 200:1 (dark room)


Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd. (TMD) today announced the world's first full-color 17-inch XGA wide polymer organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a breakthrough display achieved forming a light-emitting polymer film on low temperature polysilicon thin film transistor (TFT).


OLED display data via an organic light-emitting diode in pixels formed on a TFT array. The display itself emits light and has no need of the backlight required by LCDs, opening the way to thinner, lighter display panels that consume less power. OLED displays also offer the faster response time required for motion pictures and support a wider viewing angle.


The newly developed 17-inch XGA wide OLED display was made possible by breakthroughs in ink-jet printing and solvent-material technologies for depositing a polymer film. Both advances can be applied to the achievement of large size, high resolution displays and efficient mass production without any need for a vacuum environment. The resulting display is the largest OLED display yet achieved and offers the highest resolution, 1280 x 768 pixels.


TMD expects OLED displays to find their initial market in cellular phones and small- and medium-sized PDAs, but development of a 17-inch wide OLED confirms application as larger displays for audio-visual equipment, including TVs.


The new display is on exhibit at Electronic Display Forum 2002 held at Tokyo Big Site, Tokyo, Japan from April 16-18, 2002.


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At the Society for Information Display (SID) show in Baltimore, two manufacturers claim to have built the largest organic LED display ever seen
29 May 2003




20-inch OLED


Organic LED displays were much in evidence at last week’s Society for Information Display (SID) show in Baltimore, US, with two companies claiming to have built the largest yet.

International Display Technology (IDTech), a joint venture between Chi Mei Optoelectronics of Taiwan and IBM Japan , demonstrated a 20 inch display driven by what it calls ‘super amorphous silicon’ technology. Meanwhile, Sony showed off its 24 inch screen, which consists of a 2 x 2 tiled array of OLED displays.


Unlike most OLED displays, the device developed by IDTech is based on amorphous silicon transistors. According to the company, this enables much lower fabrication costs than the polycrystalline transistors generally used in OLED technology.


Amorphous silicon is already used in liquid-crystal display (LCD) manufacture, and IDTech says that its development makes commercial production of OLED displays with existing TFT-LCD manufacturing facilities possible.


“TFT-LCD companies can easily transform their products into OLED without massive investment in new facilities. This will result in a very competitive production cost for OLED displays,” said the company.


IDTech also claims that its display consumes half the power of a typical high-end LCD, has better color saturation and a wider viewing angle. It features WXGA resolution (1280x768 pixels) and draws 25W power at 300 cd/m2.


Although substantially bigger at 24.2 inches, the active-matrix OLED display developed by Sony is actually four separate displays. However, the company says that its tiling technology makes the join between each display appear seamless. However, the resolution of the Sony display is slightly less at 1024 x 768 pixels.


Both companies say that their developments open the door to OLED displays being used in televisions.


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Epson Creates World's First Large Full-Color OLED Display Using Original Inkjet Technology
PDF
18 May 2004









Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson") today announced that it has used its original inkjet printing technology to successfully develop the world's first large-screen (40-inch) full-color organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display prototype.


Self-luminescent OLED displays, which offer outstanding viewing characteristics, including high contrast, wide viewing angle, and fast response times, are widely seen as the leading candidate for the next generation of thin, lightweight displays. One of the major obstacles to their realization, however, has been the perceived difficulty of forming organic layers on large-sized TFT (thin film transistor) substrates. Thus the question of when fabrication processes for large-sized OLED flat panel displays would become technically feasible had been anyone's guess.


Epson has been actively working to develop and commercialize next-generation OLED displays. The company, long a leader in inkjet printers, has developed an original inkjet process for depositing organic layers on large-size TFT substrates. Using this adapted inkjet technology to form organic layers on large-size substrates in a simple process, Epson has now developed the world's largest (40-inch diagonal) full-color OLED display prototype.


By establishing an OLED display manufacturing system and process that can handle oversized substrates, Epson has beaten a path to large-size OLED displays, as well as to lower cost small- and medium-sized panels cut from larger TFT substrates.


Epson believes that the characteristics of OLED displays make them the ideal device for entertainment applications, whether in equipment for the road or living room. The company is thus gearing up towards commercialization in 2007.


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LG Philips lays claim to biggest OLED
19 October 2004






The company, which manufactures thin-film-transistor, or TFT, LCD screens in South Korea, unveiled a prototype 20.1-inch active matrix OLED display at the FPD International trade show in Japan on Tuesday.


It is based on "low-temperature polysilicon," a technique also used in TFT-LCD production, where active components are integrated across the display glass. This lets the OLED display be made using modifications of existing techniques and production lines. Because OLED displays do not need a separate backlight, the power consumption of the finished unit should be lower than that of an LCD counterpart.


LG Philips, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Royal Philips Electronics, wasn't able to provide full technical details of the device at the time of writing. According to reports, the OLED display contains 3 million pixels, suggesting that it has a resolution of 2,028 pixels by 1,536 pixels.


Until now, Samsung had the honor of having created the largest OLED display. In May it announced a 17-inch active matrix OLED display with a resolution of 1,600 pixels by 1,200 pixels.


Other companies have announced OLED displays that are larger than 20.1 inches, but these have actually contained a number of smaller units stuck together.


Kodak and Sony have also shown interest in OLED production.


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Samsung Develops World's Largest 21" OLED Panel for Digital TV
4 January 2005






Competition is heating up as companies accelerate their moves to develop the next generation of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays.


OLED display responses are 1,000 times faster than liquid crystal displays (LCDs), thus enabling greater resolution. The display's ability to function perfectly without a backlight means that monitors can be produced with one-third the depth of their LCD rivals.


Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday that it has developed the world's largest active matrix-based (AM) OLED display panel for digital televisions. Souk Jun-hyung, senior vice president of the LCD research and development center, said that the 21-inch OLED display features the highest resolution at 6.22 million pixels.


Last October, LG Philips LDC developed a 20.1-inch OLED television in conjunction with LG Electronics, and last May, Samsung SDI released its own 17-inch OLED product. The two companies adopted low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) for their products to ensure they have longer life spans and higher resolution.


At present, OLED displays are largely restricted to mobile phone use, but it is likely that large OLED-paneled televisions will replace PDP and LCD TVs in a few years.


According to a survey by Display Search, the global OLED market is expected to grow in scale from US$330 million (W343.8 billion) last year to $830 million in 2005 and $2.2 billion by 2008.
 
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#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by assJack1 /forum/post/0


I fully agree with you. However life has taught me that these are all mutually exclusive.

Not true, IMO. Perfect example - quartz watches, that are better, cheaper, and more reliable than most (if not all) mechanical watches. Ditto with computers, that today are far better, far cheaper, and far more reliable than any previous generation. In fact virtually all electronic devices made today are B,C+R than previous generations.
 
#24 ·
 http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Ma...ges=VL&seq=201


"Both AU Optronics (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) are giving up on OLED (organic light-emitting diode) development, with AUO already suspending R&D activities for the segment while CMO's wholly own subsidiary Chi Mei Electroluminescence (CMEL) is downsizing its workforce by two thirds, due to an uncertain outlook and low yields, according to the Chinese-language Apple Daily."
 
#25 ·
Just my luck. I want one of these Samsung OLED televisions so bad I can taste it! The first time I saw the OLED screen I knew it would kill every technology eventually. But when is eventually?


I don't really care if the television only lasts three years or four years before the blue fades. This is the most beautiful picture anyone can imagine. It is like looking at real life. Plus the power usage is almost nothing (90%) of a normal set. Compared to the DLP I just bought tonight because I am tired of waiting for a train that never comes it is probably 95% less electric consumption. Add to that real time response, molecular resolution that could be virtually infinite, infinte color range, 10 mm thick screens and on and on.


What is there not to like? A perfect television you throw out every three years! No more explaining to the wife why you have to have the latest new set. Think of it. I have 15 year old televisons that refuse to die; I wish they would!


You know the story. The wife says, why do you need a new television set justt to set there and watch Da Bears, Da Eagles, Da Lions, Da Dolphins etc. "Darling there is all this great new stuff" just doesn't cut it in my house. But a blank screen after three years and she can't watch reruns of Dallas...now that is a dream machine. I don't want my new television to last. I want it to die when a niffty new technology comes out.


We need hitmen for televisions. Maybe someone should start a service. I'd pay.
 
#30 ·
This is an interesting article from June of this year. Here is a snippet.


"OLEDs fall into two categories: passive matrix and active matrix. Active matrix means that every pixel is individually switched, as opposed to a passive matrix arrangement, where row and column electrodes are used to control the pixel at a given intersection.


Unfortunately for manufacturers, OLED driving schemes tend to be more complicated than LCD devices. The reason behind this is that OLEDs are current-driven and are sensitive to slight fluctuations in current. LCDs on the other hand are voltage-driven. Instead of needing one thin film transistor (TFT) per pixel in an active matrix scheme, OLEDs need between two to five, arranged in a compensation circuit.


However, the biggest hurdle facing OLED developers is short lifetime. Although OLED materials and device structures have improved greatly over the past few years, manufacturers can still only guarantee between 5000 and 15,000 h of operation before the brightness of the panel is reduced to half of its initial value. This performance is sufficient for mobile phones and other consumer electronics, but inadequate for television and more sophisticated products. The organic materials simply do not hold up well under the driving current or the exposure to other materials within the device. What's more, the cathode material is highly sensitive to air and even when sealed, the OLED performance degrades slowly over time.


Device lifetime is shortened not only by declining brightness, but also by colour drift. For example, if the red, green and blue emitters degrade at different rates, the display shifts in hue over time. Typically, colour OLEDs are made by patterning red, green and blue emitters into subpixels, although it is also possible to mix multiple emitters together to form a single "white" material and use a colour filter.


With a commercial history of just seven years, OLED manufacturing remains at an early stage, both in terms of technique and equipment. Small-molecule OLEDs are made using vapour deposition techniques, such as evaporation through a shadow mask. OLED materials are too delicate for photolithography. Polymer OLEDs are made by solution processing, either spin-on techniques (for monochrome) or inkjet printing (for colour), although the latter has not yet been commercialized. Yields are quite high for simple panels, but established processes have not been put in place for most types of colour panels. This means that OLEDs are still priced higher than equivalent LCDs."

http://optics.org/cws/Articles/ViewA...rticleId=25148
 
#31 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by hoodlum /forum/post/0


This is an interesting article from June of this year. Here is a snippet.


"OLEDs fall into two categories: passive matrix and active matrix. Active matrix means that every pixel is individually switched, as opposed to a passive matrix arrangement, where row and column electrodes are used to control the pixel at a given intersection.


Unfortunately for manufacturers, OLED driving schemes tend to be more complicated than LCD devices. The reason behind this is that OLEDs are current-driven and are sensitive to slight fluctuations in current. LCDs on the other hand are voltage-driven. Instead of needing one thin film transistor (TFT) per pixel in an active matrix scheme, OLEDs need between two to five, arranged in a compensation circuit.


However, the biggest hurdle facing OLED developers is short lifetime. Although OLED materials and device structures have improved greatly over the past few years, manufacturers can still only guarantee between 5000 and 15,000 h of operation before the brightness of the panel is reduced to half of its initial value. This performance is sufficient for mobile phones and other consumer electronics, but inadequate for television and more sophisticated products. The organic materials simply do not hold up well under the driving current or the exposure to other materials within the device. What's more, the cathode material is highly sensitive to air and even when sealed, the OLED performance degrades slowly over time.


Device lifetime is shortened not only by declining brightness, but also by colour drift. For example, if the red, green and blue emitters degrade at different rates, the display shifts in hue over time. Typically, colour OLEDs are made by patterning red, green and blue emitters into subpixels, although it is also possible to mix multiple emitters together to form a single "white" material and use a colour filter.


With a commercial history of just seven years, OLED manufacturing remains at an early stage, both in terms of technique and equipment. Small-molecule OLEDs are made using vapour deposition techniques, such as evaporation through a shadow mask. OLED materials are too delicate for photolithography. Polymer OLEDs are made by solution processing, either spin-on techniques (for monochrome) or inkjet printing (for colour), although the latter has not yet been commercialized. Yields are quite high for simple panels, but established processes have not been put in place for most types of colour panels. This means that OLEDs are still priced higher than equivalent LCDs."

http://optics.org/cws/Articles/ViewA...rticleId=25148

Thanks for the informative post. Even if this article was archived previously, it is not really "old" news, and hence nice to get a refresher that's not buried. OLED seems very far away from any sort of credible development for average size flat panel displays, much less the larger variety gaining popularity in the Home Theater market. SED however DOES have working prototypes w/critical but limited reviews, as well as building production facilities as I type, and even this seems not enough to break into the competitive CE market. OLED appears to be at least a decade behind SED in these respects.


EDIT 1/17/2007 : Due to recent developments between now and when I first posted, SED seems to be headed in the wrong direction. There were no SED's at CES 2007 due to US litigation, Canon has since become the sole owner of SED Inc., and has since put the brakes on the proposed production plant in Japan. What does that spell for SED?...doom.
 
#33 ·
It's good to hear that the Red and Green OLED bulbs have gone past the 60,000 hour mark before 2006 ended.


If you do the math/maths (or mathematics), you would know that:


60000 hours/24 hours (in a day) = 2500 days


Now, 2500 days/365 days in a year = 6.84 years.


That's more than enough even for people who leave their TV on 24/7 non-stop.


But since majority of us (more than 90%) only use our HDTVs for 8-12 hours per day at max, then this numbers double to 12-13 year OR MORE.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


But I ask this question:


What about the Blue OLED bulbs?


It appears that it hasn't even reached the 30,000 year lifespan yet.


How's the status of the Blue OLED bulbs?
 
#34 ·
P.S.


Isochroma


Here's another article from Sony (just came out today) which made a debut of its prototype 27 inch OLED TV running at 1080p resolution and 120hz.


They also announce immediate plans for small-size OLED TV production this year with medium and larger sizes due for 2008-2009.

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Sony to Showcase Next Generation Displays (Prototype) at 2007 International CES - OLED TV, Laser Projection TV, and 82inch LCD TV



Tokyo, Japan, Jan 8, 2007 - (JCN Newswire) - Sony is exhibiting the following prototype TVs featuring newly developed technologies from January 7th 2007, at "2007 International CES", Las Vegas. This will broaden the possibilities for future next generation TVs.


OLED TV


Sony will be demonstrating extremely slim, approximately 3mm depth with 11inch and less than 10mm depth with 27inch (when thinnest part of the body is measured), next generation TV displays, with high contrast, wide color gamut, quick response time, incorporating OLED (organic light emitting diode) technology. There are two prototype models, 27inch TV with Full HD panel (resolution: 1920 x 1080) and 11inch TV with wide-SVGA panel (resolution: 1024 x 600). The prospect of mass production of the panels for smaller size OLED TVs is close to be cleared, and development on the panels for middle / larger-sized is currently under development.


82inch LCD TV


82inch large and full HD (resolution 1920 x 1080) screen that adopts 120Hz motion compensation technology and 10-bit panel. This delivers an increase in the television's gradation level, and effectively eliminates image blurring, for example when watching sports footage. In addition to the commonly acknowledged advantages of LCD TV, such as low power consumption and higher picture quality, the model adopts LED backlight which enables wider color gamut.


Laser Projection TV


Laser projection TV using SXRD display device that realizes wider color gamut and high contrast. Furthermore, due to the laser durability, customers are not required to exchange the light source over time. The model size is 55inch with a depth of just 273mm (monitor only), realizing full HD resolution (1920 x 1080). Sony will continue to pursue both design and technology development in seeking to further enhance its projection TVs lineup.


For more details on the Sony Electronics CES 2007 Virtual Press Kit, please visit www.sony.com/news .




About Sony


Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and on-line businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading personal broadband entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $67 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net


Contact:


Sony Corporation

George Boyd
george.boyd@jp.sony.com

+81-3-5448-2111


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http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=13958
 
#36 ·
 Sony's 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio 27-inch OLED HDTV
8 January 2007


















Some people need bigger and better LCDs, but we're just fine with the 27-inch prototype Sony mentioned during its press conference yesterday. With a contrast ratio of greater than 1,000,000:1 (not a misprint) to go with its 1080p resolution, and >100% NTSC color reproduction, we'll take this Organic LED great looks in a small package any day. We promised to hunt it down on the show floor and so we did, finding it hiding amongst a rookery of 11-inch displays. Take a look at the gallery for a few more shots of this HDTV and hope it hits shelves someday.
 
#38 ·
That Sony set has me interested. I'd love a flat planel in the 40-50" range to go over the fireplace without have to resort to LCD or Plasma. I wonder if it's possible to use this technology for front projection?
 
#40 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by OreoJoe /forum/post/0


More Sony OLED photos






Sony eyes OLED TVs January 8, 2007 4:17 PM PDT

Sony shows off its organic light-emitting diodes, or OLED, TV prototypes at CES. The big one in the middle measures 27 inches across, while the others measure about 11 inches across. OLEDs consume less power and are thinner than LCDs, but the challenge is making them cheaply. Sony's OLED TVs are thin, and they have a nice picture. "Brilliantly bright," says CEO Sir Howard Stringer. They may hit the market next year.




Shockingly insane!!!


But I have a question though?


The 27 inch model is so thin but it leads me to think........


Where is the power supply? what about the hardware board and chips, where are the inputs?


Can we actually store a hardware board on something as thin as that?


I know I'm an average noob but I can't even see where the power cord is?


Where are the buttons for the TV (channel, volume, menu)?


Or does it have an external tuner or box?


From simple looks and observation, the stand is like that of an average lampost but where's the power cord, where's the system hardware (or is Sony capable of making hardware the size of a DVD-case)?


Because to the ordinary person (like me), they can't even tell on how a super clear image is being displayed if there are no plugs or areas where the hardware produces the image?


It leads commoners to think that this is "magic".


Anyone care to explain to an uninformed tech person like I am?


EDIT:

Of course I see the circular/round base (below the stand)that supports it but......
 
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