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From my layman's understanding, yes, but how much of a real world effect it is vs. a polymer based device, I don't know. In general though, the three factors related to drive current+lifetime that come to mind are 1) good emitter outcoupling, 2) the fact that OLED is dimmable and 3) OLED is color tunable.

The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) for PHOLED is always going to be 100% as opposed to (much less) for fluorescent OLED. The external quantum efficiency (EQE) factors in outcoupling. So the more light reflected out of the device, the less energy required in the future vs. current benchmarks.

For dimmability and lifetime, the drive current can be reduced (which with OLED retains/increases it's efficiency).

Since OLED is color tunable, white oled fixtures can be biased for more higher-lifetime red and green when CRI is not so important. For display, it just means biasing the UI towards red and green usage since all white is a problem (i.e. minimizing blue).

If you're curious, see these three easy-reading links for info on the power issues, materials specs, and an outline presentation of how things are looking for lighting. Lighting will be different in terms of efficacy, structure, CRI, etc. But from a materials standpoint, there's still good info that can be extrapolated to displays wrt PHOLED efficiency and degradation:

http://www.universaldisplay.com/default.asp?contentID=605
http://www.universaldisplay.com/default.asp?contentID=604
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/pattison_oled_sslmiw2011.pdf

From my layman's understanding, yes, but how much of a real world effect it is vs. a polymer based device, I don't know. In general though, the three factors related to drive current+lifetime that come to mind are 1) good emitter outcoupling, 2) the fact that OLED is dimmable and 3) OLED is color tunable.

The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) for PHOLED is always going to be 100% as opposed to (much less) for fluorescent OLED. The external quantum efficiency (EQE) factors in outcoupling. So the more light reflected out of the device, the less energy required in the future vs. current benchmarks.

For dimmability and lifetime, the drive current can be reduced (which with OLED retains/increases it's efficiency).

Since OLED is color tunable, white oled fixtures can be biased for more higher-lifetime red and green when CRI is not so important. For display, it just means biasing the UI towards red and green usage since all white is a problem (i.e. minimizing blue).

If you're curious, see these three easy-reading links for info on the power issues, materials specs, and an outline presentation of how things are looking for lighting. Lighting will be different in terms of efficacy, structure, CRI, etc. But from a materials standpoint, there's still good info that can be extrapolated to displays wrt PHOLED efficiency and degradation:

http://www.universaldisplay.com/default.asp?contentID=605
http://www.universaldisplay.com/default.asp?contentID=604
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/pattison_oled_sslmiw2011.pdf

The 50% lifetime degradation for red and green is in the hundreds of thousands of hours for PHOLED. It's in the tens of thousands of hours for 95%, far longer than the usable life of actual products on the market:

http://www.universaldisplay.com/default.asp?contentID=604

"Sky blue" PHOLED has a sufficient lifetime but dark blue is a long way off. So fluorescent blue is used which is lower efficiency but compensates by having a much higher lifetime. This is the set of chemicals currently being used in all Samsung OLED displays currently on the market (almost all of their phones; TVs and tablets next year).

The larger issue has been encapsulation which is solved for rigid displays. For flexible displays, it's essentially solved.

I realize you probably know all this but your post made it sound like there are still problems with PHOLED lifetimes. So this is a synopsis for those readers unfamiliar with the technology.

I'm still waiting for the brave new world where you can roll-up your display into a case the size of a pen

The whole "display on a contact lens" is even more vaporware than that.

...with existing technologies like used by for example Universal Display, where they use transparent OLEDS?

Have you seen the Universal Display website?
One of the Product Concepts is : Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaperSounds like an expensive newspaper!

they surely can't be far behind with a 1-meter wide high resolution flat screen monitor
...
No more lugging around bulky "compact" LCD projectors to do presentations, just unroll a several-meter-wide screen and hang it on a wall.

I've always understood these e-Ink technologies to be just black and white, and I don't know how fast they're supposed to be able to switch each "pixel". I think what you're looking for is the flexible OLED (http://www.universaldisplay.com/tech.htm), which I agree, will be pretty awesome... those actually have been produced as prototypes in large, high-resolution screens.

Layered LCDs (aka SOLED) really have 2 advantages. One is that they (that is, TOLEDs) can be made (around 70% opacity) transparent by using a transparent conductor (called ITO .. read Universal Display's patents one day if you can manage to get through it) for the electrodes, and two is that they can produce the full RGB spectrum (by stacking transparent layers) in 1/3rd of the physical space.

So while this is cool and all, it's not really going to help with a 3D gui, as these OLEDs are still made in 2D sheets.. they just use a transparent conductor. What they WILL allow for is stuff like super high resolution Heads-Up-Displays on car windshields.. which is still damn cool by me.

Layered LCDs (aka SOLED) really have 2 advantages. One is that they (that is, TOLEDs) can be made (around 70% opacity) transparent by using a transparent conductor (called ITO .. read Universal Display's patents one day if you can manage to get through it) for the electrodes, and two is that they can produce the full RGB spectrum (by stacking transparent layers) in 1/3rd of the physical space.

So while this is cool and all, it's not really going to help with a 3D gui, as these OLEDs are still made in 2D sheets.. they just use a transparent conductor. What they WILL allow for is stuff like super high resolution Heads-Up-Displays on car windshields.. which is still damn cool by me.

You'll like this link on FOLED.
Fleible Organic Light Emitting Device
Nevermind the stuff about "an intellectual property portfolio that contains over 100 issued U.S. patents, over 50 U.S. patents pending and numerous international patents issued and pending."

They've still got development to do. 260,000 colours aren't enough!

They will do 24 bits in no time and you will see them in laptops PDA's cameras and cell phones sooner than you think.
for more info on LEP/OLED displays try these...
Universal display
cambridge display tech
high efficency
transparent
flexible
stacked hi res

and some apps...
# Low-power, bright, colorful cell phones
# Full color, high-resolution, personal communicators
# Wrist-mounted, featherweight, rugged PDAs
# Wearable, form-fitting, electronic displays
# Full-color, high resolution, portable Internet devices and palm size computers
# High-contrast automotive instrument and windshield displays
# Heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles
# Automobile light systems without bulbs
# Flexible, lightweight, thin, durable, and highly efficient laptop screens
# Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaper
# Ultra-lightweight, wall-size television monitor
# Office windows, walls and partitions that double as computer screens
# Color-changing lighting panels and light walls for home and office
# Low-cost organic lasers
# Computer-controlled, electronic shelf pricing for supermarkets and retail stores
# Smart goggles/helmets for scuba divers, motorcycle riders
# Medical test equipment
# Wide area, full-motion video camcorders
# Global positioning systems (GPS)
# Integrated computer displaying eyewear
# Rugged military portable communication devices

My favorite is the high efficency ceiling mount. Need white light [click] there you are. Want a change of pace go for blue sky with puffy white coulds [click] done.

These products are supposed to be cheap enough to do these things once mass production has begun.

They've still got development to do. 260,000 colours aren't enough!

They will do 24 bits in no time and you will see them in laptops PDA's cameras and cell phones sooner than you think.
for more info on LEP/OLED displays try these...
Universal display
cambridge display tech
high efficency
transparent
flexible
stacked hi res

and some apps...
# Low-power, bright, colorful cell phones
# Full color, high-resolution, personal communicators
# Wrist-mounted, featherweight, rugged PDAs
# Wearable, form-fitting, electronic displays
# Full-color, high resolution, portable Internet devices and palm size computers
# High-contrast automotive instrument and windshield displays
# Heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles
# Automobile light systems without bulbs
# Flexible, lightweight, thin, durable, and highly efficient laptop screens
# Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaper
# Ultra-lightweight, wall-size television monitor
# Office windows, walls and partitions that double as computer screens
# Color-changing lighting panels and light walls for home and office
# Low-cost organic lasers
# Computer-controlled, electronic shelf pricing for supermarkets and retail stores
# Smart goggles/helmets for scuba divers, motorcycle riders
# Medical test equipment
# Wide area, full-motion video camcorders
# Global positioning systems (GPS)
# Integrated computer displaying eyewear
# Rugged military portable communication devices

My favorite is the high efficency ceiling mount. Need white light [click] there you are. Want a change of pace go for blue sky with puffy white coulds [click] done.

These products are supposed to be cheap enough to do these things once mass production has begun.

They've still got development to do. 260,000 colours aren't enough!

They will do 24 bits in no time and you will see them in laptops PDA's cameras and cell phones sooner than you think.
for more info on LEP/OLED displays try these...
Universal display
cambridge display tech
high efficency
transparent
flexible
stacked hi res

and some apps...
# Low-power, bright, colorful cell phones
# Full color, high-resolution, personal communicators
# Wrist-mounted, featherweight, rugged PDAs
# Wearable, form-fitting, electronic displays
# Full-color, high resolution, portable Internet devices and palm size computers
# High-contrast automotive instrument and windshield displays
# Heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles
# Automobile light systems without bulbs
# Flexible, lightweight, thin, durable, and highly efficient laptop screens
# Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaper
# Ultra-lightweight, wall-size television monitor
# Office windows, walls and partitions that double as computer screens
# Color-changing lighting panels and light walls for home and office
# Low-cost organic lasers
# Computer-controlled, electronic shelf pricing for supermarkets and retail stores
# Smart goggles/helmets for scuba divers, motorcycle riders
# Medical test equipment
# Wide area, full-motion video camcorders
# Global positioning systems (GPS)
# Integrated computer displaying eyewear
# Rugged military portable communication devices

My favorite is the high efficency ceiling mount. Need white light [click] there you are. Want a change of pace go for blue sky with puffy white coulds [click] done.

These products are supposed to be cheap enough to do these things once mass production has begun.

They've still got development to do. 260,000 colours aren't enough!

They will do 24 bits in no time and you will see them in laptops PDA's cameras and cell phones sooner than you think.
for more info on LEP/OLED displays try these...
Universal display
cambridge display tech
high efficency
transparent
flexible
stacked hi res

and some apps...
# Low-power, bright, colorful cell phones
# Full color, high-resolution, personal communicators
# Wrist-mounted, featherweight, rugged PDAs
# Wearable, form-fitting, electronic displays
# Full-color, high resolution, portable Internet devices and palm size computers
# High-contrast automotive instrument and windshield displays
# Heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles
# Automobile light systems without bulbs
# Flexible, lightweight, thin, durable, and highly efficient laptop screens
# Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaper
# Ultra-lightweight, wall-size television monitor
# Office windows, walls and partitions that double as computer screens
# Color-changing lighting panels and light walls for home and office
# Low-cost organic lasers
# Computer-controlled, electronic shelf pricing for supermarkets and retail stores
# Smart goggles/helmets for scuba divers, motorcycle riders
# Medical test equipment
# Wide area, full-motion video camcorders
# Global positioning systems (GPS)
# Integrated computer displaying eyewear
# Rugged military portable communication devices

My favorite is the high efficency ceiling mount. Need white light [click] there you are. Want a change of pace go for blue sky with puffy white coulds [click] done.

These products are supposed to be cheap enough to do these things once mass production has begun.

They've still got development to do. 260,000 colours aren't enough!

They will do 24 bits in no time and you will see them in laptops PDA's cameras and cell phones sooner than you think.
for more info on LEP/OLED displays try these...
Universal display
cambridge display tech
high efficency
transparent
flexible
stacked hi res

and some apps...
# Low-power, bright, colorful cell phones
# Full color, high-resolution, personal communicators
# Wrist-mounted, featherweight, rugged PDAs
# Wearable, form-fitting, electronic displays
# Full-color, high resolution, portable Internet devices and palm size computers
# High-contrast automotive instrument and windshield displays
# Heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles
# Automobile light systems without bulbs
# Flexible, lightweight, thin, durable, and highly efficient laptop screens
# Roll-up, electronic, daily-refreshable newspaper
# Ultra-lightweight, wall-size television monitor
# Office windows, walls and partitions that double as computer screens
# Color-changing lighting panels and light walls for home and office
# Low-cost organic lasers
# Computer-controlled, electronic shelf pricing for supermarkets and retail stores
# Smart goggles/helmets for scuba divers, motorcycle riders
# Medical test equipment
# Wide area, full-motion video camcorders
# Global positioning systems (GPS)
# Integrated computer displaying eyewear
# Rugged military portable communication devices

My favorite is the high efficency ceiling mount. Need white light [click] there you are. Want a change of pace go for blue sky with puffy white coulds [click] done.

These products are supposed to be cheap enough to do these things once mass production has begun.

You're thinking of FOLEDs and SOLEDs.
Flexible Organic LEDs, and Stacked Organic LEDs.

FOLEDs use the nature of Organic LEDs to make a more versatile viewing surface. One that can be rolled and contorted as much as, say, a thin sheet of plastic. I do not, however, reccomend trying to bend it.

SOLEDs use the transparency of Organic LEDs to stack red green and blue on top of each other. This gives every single pixel the entire range of color, thereby tripling the resolution for any given display surface. When this hits the market a 15" SOLED display will be more desirable than a 21" LCD display.

You're thinking of FOLEDs and SOLEDs.
Flexible Organic LEDs, and Stacked Organic LEDs.

FOLEDs use the nature of Organic LEDs to make a more versatile viewing surface. One that can be rolled and contorted as much as, say, a thin sheet of plastic. I do not, however, reccomend trying to bend it.

SOLEDs use the transparency of Organic LEDs to stack red green and blue on top of each other. This gives every single pixel the entire range of color, thereby tripling the resolution for any given display surface. When this hits the market a 15" SOLED display will be more desirable than a 21" LCD display.

FOLED is nice, and has a wide variety of applications..

but I await anxiously the day SOLED displays hit the market..it will allow for trully LARGE high resolution displays that still look good even close up.

(I did a report on OLED technology for my materials class last semester.. the biggest problem we found facing OLED adoption is that blue only seems to last about 2,000 hours, whereas red and green have both surpassed 20,000 hours.. however, Nokia and Kodak both have OLED-based products on the market today)

I'm not shelling out any cash for a new display until I can get a true flatscreen display. This means I'll be waiting ~5+ more years for OLED, and flexible FOLED to hit the mainstream market.

Of course, this better and cheaper tech will canibalize the huge investments in current LCD/Plasma/etc, but that's not my problem. I'm just glad that the era of expensive, heavy, highly-toxic, energy-wasteful displays is almost over.

--

A number of companies including Kodac and Universal Display are already manufacturing OLED, or Organic LED's. These have the advantage over solid state LED's that they are cheaper to produce over large areas because they do not need to be etched like silicon but can be painted on.

Sure it's possible. The linked site has a page on transparent OLEDs too.

I'd like to point out that anyone interested in OLEDS may like to have a look at what they are really capable of. A year or so ago I saw a ~9 inch (diagonal) demo of a Kodak OLED and it was nothing short of AMAZING!!! The contrast ratio was extremely high (very black darks and bright areas right next to eachother), color saturation was great(far better than any LCD I've ever seen), switching time was super short (MICROseconds) so there is no blurring and the whole thing was no more than 2mm thick.

Want to see a REAL-LIFE example of that? Universal Display is doing some amazing things with OLEDs... the page I'm linking to has a flexible video screen. Sure, it's green only (right now), but it's amazing. And they also have displays that are top-only, bottom-only, transparent, ones that show different things on the back and front... their stuff shows great promise. Flexible OLED

Ok, for one, this isnt LCD. It is E-Ink that everyone has probably heard about. LCD doesnt work by brirng black or white particles to the fore.

For two, instead of some 4Hz, two color rollable (not foldable) thing, why wouldnt you want to look at full color, super thin, high refresh rate OLEDs ?

Here is a picture of a OLED monitor..kind of makes lcd look chunkey hey?

Oleds are of course also flexible.

Are you sure this is an LCD?
Although I don't know many of the specifics, it sounds a lot like an OLED display. UDC has been working on this for quite some time.

Jeeze I remember when I was reading about this almost over three years ago! I'm glad to see that they are finally coming into the retail market. I'll be really excited when the flexible OLED screens become a retail product.

Organic Light Emitting Device/Display

More comparible to TFT diplays than to LEDs.

Cheaper
x10 (or more) faster response times (compared to traditional TFTs)
No need for backlight
Even thinner than TFTs
Can be completely transparent
Can be flexible

see universal display
extract: greater brightness
faster response time for full motion video
fuller viewing angles
lighter weight
greater environmental durability
more power efficiency
broader operating temperature ranges
greater cost-effectiveness


Think how much the industry is making on Plasma screens. Do they have any real incentive to start selling a cheaper alternative?

Not with Quantum Dot OLEDs from MIT:
http://science.slashdot.org/science/03/01/20/06492 35.shtml?tid=126

This will improve manufacturability and lifespan.

I personally will wait for OLED technology to mature before I take the jump into flat displays.

Check out the video:
http://www.universaldisplay.com/foled.php to see how thin they will be.

Overview and demonstrations of these are available here ->
Universal Display Corporation and Koda Research

UD's video directory has file listing enabled. So point your browser over to http://www.universaldisplay.com/video/ and look through the other videos displaying this tech inaction.

There's only two videos, with copies available in varying size.

The video not linked from the site is http://www.universaldisplay.com/video/foled99.rm and shows a larger animation being displayed. However the demo-er doesn't twist or bend the display much to really show off its flexibility.

UD's video directory has file listing enabled. So point your browser over to http://www.universaldisplay.com/video/ and look through the other videos displaying this tech inaction.

There's only two videos, with copies available in varying size.

The video not linked from the site is http://www.universaldisplay.com/video/foled99.rm and shows a larger animation being displayed. However the demo-er doesn't twist or bend the display much to really show off its flexibility.

Check out the image at the lower left.

They used to have a movie of this screen being flexed while an animation played on it. Really awesome. Clicking on the link now leads to a much less impressive movie...

Imagine a world where the news and information you want to see is available in non-traditional ways -- you can find the weather and the latest stock quotes from the ultimate handheld communication device -- the size of a pen.
These and other exciting technologies are being developed and commercialized by Universal Display Corporation, a world leader in the development of innovative Organic Light Emitting Device (OLED) technology for future generations of flat panel displays, lasers and other light generating devices.

How can no one mention the OLED TOLED and FOLED! Essentially what we are talking about here are those technoligies but possibly for proprietry reasons they have resorted to other names

Kodak
FOLED

check it check it yo

motorola is already using them
(and i swear that Sanyo or someone will be releasing full-color phones shortly in Japan with 'em.)

eMagin has beautiful dk's available. i want one!

some talk from a year ago.

do you like to dream?

umm... soOOoo cool

I have read online about organic light emitting diodes and how it can be used flexibly.. I like the thought of having a flexible computer that I can read like a newspaper. If they can do this.. then surely you could roll it up in a protective cylinder that would also house the processor, power source, HDD etc.. I also think that 60GB is a bit overkill.. Perhaps more along the lines of 10-20 GB for me.. I don't know what I would use all of the other space for... I would hold all the MP3's on different cartridges and such.. Of course, this is all extremely far in the future (as i see it) and I don't expect to do any of those things very soon. =)

> While this article manages to hype a currently non-exsistant product

I believe OLED's are being used in the new Motorola Timeport which is already in stores. Though its monochrome, its still an OLED. For a more technical look at OLED,TOLED, etc.:
Univeral Display Corp.

Check out the Transparent OLEDs!
cheers,
metric

You can find out more about OLED from the company working on it, Universal Display Corporation

Universal Display Corporation does OLED R their site has information about the variations on this technology (FOLED, SOLED, TOLED, etc.)

• EInk
• Ritek
• RollTronics
• Universal Display
• Cambridge Display
• Kodak
• and check out this page at Stanford Research

You can find out more about OLED from the company working on it, Universal Display Corporation

Yes. And while there are a lot of companies working on Light Emitting Polymers (LEPs) and other electroluminescent displays, one company is working on Organic Light Emitting Displays (OLEDS) in both rigid and flexible form. Universal Display Corp. appears to have the lead in numerous developments.

Here's a link to the company that will be commercializing the technology. Looks like they've already been working with OLEDs for a while.

Universal Display is doing the same thing. Here is their home page. You can see a picture of their displays under the technology section.