Remember Oled TVs? Super-thin and colorful Oled (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology has been the next seismic thing in TV tech for a while. We keep seeing prototypes and limited edition Oleds that blow everyone away, but cost a bundle and generally aren’t available. Then they drop from view and we forget about them.
Well, Oled TVs are poised to make a comeback, or a debut, or a comeback debut. Research firm Displaybank predicts that Amoled (Active Matrix Oled), will be adopted in a variety of applications from 2012, including TVs.
LG is planning a 55-inch Oled TV in 2012. And one the “big three” Asian manufacturers now has a technology agreement with DuPont to use DuPont’s printing-based process that it says will reduce manufacturing costs for large-display Amoled TVs.
“Current manufacturing technology doesn’t scale up to TVs,” says Bill Feehery, global business director for DuPont Electronics & Communications. “Today OLED material is heated up and evaporated, then they use a screen to create the pixels on the display. Our goal was to use an ink-jet printer-like technology to print it,” and thereby cut production costs for television-sized displays.
Early AMOLED TVs will still carry hefty premiums, though Feehery believes we’ll see mass manufacturing of AMOLED TVs in 2014. Feehery also says that lifespan limitations with the blue pixels of OLED displays have been addressed, with usable lifespans achieved of more than 30,000 hours or 10 years of heavy use.
AMOLED technology is already used in mobile phones and can deliver vivid colors, higher contrast, faster response and a wider viewing angle than traditional LCDs, while consuming less power.
DuPont says its technology can also be used, in theory, with flexible OLED displays. But don’t expect those for a few more years.
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