OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)

OLED’s are the “flying cars” of the display industry.  Since the fifties people have been predicting the coming of flying cars and they’re in virtually every movie about the future that’s been catalogued.  However they have yet to materialize and we’re still rolling on rubber.  So just how long has OLED technology been taunting us you ask?  Well the first patent was issued in 1987 for what was referred to as SM-OLED or small molecule organic light-emitting diode.

Sadly OLED has been plagued with problems from the beginning.  Although capable of extremely wide color spectrums the organic material was inherently inconsistent making it prohibitive for use in displays.  Other hurdles such as extremely short lifespan and inadequate brightness were proving difficult to overcome as well.  As of recent years there has been development of red phosporescents lasting upwards of 50,000 hours and even blue OLED materials are achieving 20,000 plus hours before being diminished to half brightness.

As years wore on a handfull of companies have been able to produce working prototypes showing us that OLED is still a viable contender for display technology.  However producing a working prototype for a convention and producting one that can be mass produced has proven to be as difficult as…well…the flying car!  Despite the best efforts of some of the industries largest manufacturers little progress has been made and some such as Pioneer have completely pulled the plug on funding any further R&D into OLED technology.

Sony is the only compnay that has managed to produce a commercially available OLED display at a menacing 11 inches with a resolution of 1024x600 and measuring only 3mm thick.  Only one problem, you’ll have to choose between the 11 inch OLED display or the 50 – 55 inch LCD/Plasma set sitting next to it.  Yep this little guy carries a hefty little price tag of $2500.

So the big question is why all the fuss if OLED is proving to be so difficult.  Well it is already known that OLEDs are capable of being printed on to a display substrate and that would include flexible materials as well.  Image attending your next meeting and rather than everyone hudling around your laptop you simply unroll your 40 inch OLED display and stick it on the wall for all to see.  Is everyone sitting around a conference table to review a set off architectual drawings?  Rather than flipping back and forth through what can somethimes be hundreds of pages simply roll out your OLED display and tab through the various pages from your laptop, zoom in, highlight sections or make changes on the fly to be included in the next revision of the drawings.

OLED manufacturers are currently concentrating their efforts on the small display market such as cell phones, PDAs and portable entertainment devices.  Though it may be a ways off before we see 30”, 40” or 50” displays on the shelves at your local retailer I imagine your first flying car purchase will come with an OLED display cluster as standard equipment.  But between you and me I have a feeling there will be a lot of American homes with OLED displays stuck on the wall above their fireplaces long before we “hover” off to work in the morning.

by Jason Levert