Organic Light-Emitting Diode
(OLED)
Groups 7,8
Organic Light-Emitting Diode
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Emissive organic material, that
when supplied with an electrical
current, produces a superior
full-color flat panel display.
OLED’s can provide brighter,
crisper displays on electronic
devices and it uses less power
than conventional light-emitting
diodes or liquid crystal displays.
http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/photos/oled_01.jpg
History
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First developed in the early 1950’s in France by applying a highvoltage alternating current field to crystalline thin films of acridine
orange and quinacrine
The first diode device was invented at Eastman Kodak in the 1980’s by
Dr. Ching Tang and Steven Van Slyke
Today OLED is used in television screens, computer displays, portable
system screens, advertising, information and indication
Also used in light sources for general space illumination, and largearea light-emitting elements
How It Works?
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An OLED is made by placing a
series of organic thin films
between two conductors.
As soon as electrical current is
applied, a bright light is emitted.
OLED displays operate on the
attraction between positively
and negatively charged
particles.
How OLED’s are made
 Three
ways to
manufacture
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Vacuum deposition
Organic vapor
phase deposition
Inkjet printing (Best)
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/oled1.htm
Today’s Uses
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Small electronic
screens
Motorola, Samsung,
Sony Ericsson
Cameras
Keyboads
TVs and Monitors

PDA’s
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/03/Sony_OLED_Review_3.jpg
http://www.electronics-lab.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/optimus_oled_keyboard.jpg
The Future for OLED Technology
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OLED’s can be printed onto flexible
substrates and this allows for new
innovations such as roll-up displays
and displays embedded in fabrics

Green technology- OLED screens turned “off” will consumer no power
at all and show true black while LCD screens can not
Cell phone prototypes by Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson have
used OLED’ s unique characteristics for flexible and bendable screens
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http://img.zdnet.com/techDirectory/_OLED.JPG
The Future for OLED Technology
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Recently, the Japanese government proclaimed that it was fully
supporting Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, Matsushita Electric and some other
companies in joint research of OLED TV Panels
An agency set up for encouraging research, The New Energy and
Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO, says they
are backing some companies
development of a 40-inch
OLED display to be
complete sometime
around 2015
Samsung super-thin
31” OLED screen was
launched in 2008
Advantages
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OLED substrates can be plastic rather than glass
Easier to produce and can be made into larger sizes
Brighter than LEDs because the organic layers are much thinner and
can be multi-layered
Do not require backlighting like LCDs - LCDs work by selectively
blocking areas of the backlight to
make the images that you see,
while OLEDs generate light
themselves
Consume much less power than
LCDs - This is especially important
for battery-operated devices such
as cell phones
Have large fields of view,
about 170 degrees
Disadvantages
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Organic materials have a shorter lifetime than LCD and plasma screens
Intrusion of water can destroy the organic materials
-Compensated by complex sealing processes
-Complex sealing processes make product less flexible
Manufacturing processes are EXPENSIVE!
Questions?
Sources
How stuff works.com
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/oled1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_lightemitting_diode
http://www.samsungsdi.co.kr/contents/en/tech/disCla
ss_03_01.html
www.oled-info.com