OLED said Fred

Even if you’re the most casual science-fiction fan, you’ve probably seen those vibrantly lit screens on spaceship consoles that seem almost animated. In the movies they are a special effect, but in the real world they are about to become possible – though perhaps as a piece of furniture you buy from, say, Ikea sometime in 2008.

It may sound far-fetched, but if research and development on OLEDs continues unimpeded, self-lighting furniture, or – for that matter – walls of light that you can hang like wallpaper, will become reality in the near future. OLED means “organic light emitting diode”. It’s a relatively new technology that is already showing up in consumer electronics. It’s essentially a kind of plastic that glows when it’s powered by electricity.

It could even replace the light bulb in coming years. More about that in a minute, but first, its immediate application is for use in high-resolution displays. In fact, companies are already shipping a few products that use OLED displays. LG Mobile Phones, for example started to ship the VX6000, a camera-enabled cellular phone available through Verizon Wireless in the U.S. that features an OLED screen.

Kodak, a big player in OLED technology, has developed its own version of the technology in-house. The company recently announced a digital camera called the EasyShare LS633 that features a 2.2″ OLED display on its back.

OLED is an ideal material for a gadget’s screen because, unlike LCD, it doesn’t have to be back or front lit. The light comes from within the material it is made of. It’s also very thin and has low power requirements, which makes it optimal for products that run on batteries. Even better, it has a wide viewable angle. You can look at it sideways and the image doesn’t distort or gray out.

Within a few years, OLED displays could be as commonplace on your cellular phone or PDA as an LCD screen is today. Moving forward deep into the decade, larger OLED screens will soon be possible, say industry experts, so we may see TVs, computer displays and even video walls made from OLED technology.

“It will certainly surpass plasma (display technology) in a very real time frame,” said Janice Mahon, vice-president of commercialization at Universal Display Corp. Her company is a key player in OLED development.

Mahon believes that OLEDs can also be used as a light source, perhaps one day replacing light bulbs.

“We’re looking at it as perhaps the next breakthrough in solid state lighting,” she said. “We’re going to go from breakable bulbs to this thin sheet of paper or plastic that will be a light source – maybe as wallpaper or ceiling tiles – that will be used in general lighting someday.”

OLEDs will be eventually manufactured on reel to reel machines as large sheets, so they will be foldable, wrap-able and therefore it will be possible to attach them to uneven surfaces. So the idea of creating furniture that has a glow of it own thanks to OLED might be very possible. No need for a lamp on your bedside table because the table itself will emit light.

“We will see OLED as a light source in a five- to 10-year time frame,” said Mahon. “So if a company wanted to incorporate it into furniture or for use in appliances, replacing an incandescent bulb with something akin to a piece plastic creates all kind of wonderful opportunities.”

Perhaps dashboards might be an ideal place to use OLEDs. Mahon said that her company has been working with Toyota Industries on developing OLED technology. She wouldn’t say for what purpose, though it’s not much of a stretch to imagine how cars could use OLED technology. One should note, though, that beyond the automotive business, Toyota is also into telecommunications, housing and the marine business.

Who else is into OLEDs? If they are in consumer electronics, chances are they’ve looked at OLEDs – names like Samsung, Motorola, and Pioneer came up in my research. DuPont is also a key player in the technology, and General Electric and Xerox are doing work in OLEDs. And as for Ikea? No word as yet, but can the Olëdig light-emissive wall unit be far away?