Transparent OLEDs: introduction and market status
OLED technology enables thin, efficient and bright displays and lighting panels. OLEDs are currently used in many mobile devices, some TVs and lighting fixtures. OLED displays offer a better image quality compared to LCD or Plasma displays - and can also be made flexible and transparent.
Transparent OLED displays
Several companies develop transparent OLED (also referred to as T-OLED) technologies. While there's no inherent technology barrier towards transparent OLED displays, finding actual applications for such displays is not easy.
Today, LG Display is producing large-area transparent OLEDs - in sizes ranging from 30-inch to 77-inch. These are mostly used in signage and commercial settings. Some PMOLED producers are offering small (around 1-2 inch in size) transparent OLEDs.
Transparent OLED Lighting
OLED technology can also be used to make lighting panels - these are thin, area-lit and efficient lighting panels, that can be made transparent. Unlike displays, transparent OLED lighting panels have more immediate applications (embedded in windows, for example). Unfortunately OLED lighting has been a challenging market and currently there's not much R&D for transparent OLED lighting. In April 2012 we posted our hands-on review with a transparent Tabola OLED lighting panel sample.
Further reading
LG starts offering its transparent Signature OLED T TV with a $60,000 price tag
LG announced that it is starting to ship its transparent wireless Signature OLED T TV with a $59,999 price tag. The TV can be ordered from LG directly or from Best Buy
LG's Signature OLED T is a 77" 4K wireless transparent OLED TV that can change from a transparent mode to a black-background mode (via a raised black contrast film) in which it operates just like a normal OLED TV. The OLED T is powered by LG's Alpha 11 AI processor, and uses LG's Zero Connect box which makes it almost completely wireless (except the power).
LG Display shows new automotive OLED technologies at its Digital Cockpit Gamma
LG Electronics introduced a new showcase for its automotive display technologies, the Digital Cockpit gamma. This concept demonstrator is equipped with LG’s most sophisticated vehicle technologies and features three modular solutions: the Vision Display, Intelligent Human-Machine Interface (HMI) and Connectivity & Content.
The Vision Display concept utilizes LGD's latest OLED displays to "adapt seamlessly to dynamic environments". As part of this concept, LGD includes a 12.3" transparent OLED display, and a 14.2" rollable flexible OLED that can be retracted when not in use.
CEOLED launches a 30" transparent OLED monitor based on LGD's T-OLEDs
Earlier this year LG Display started producing its 30-inch 1366*768 transparent OLED panels. China-based CEOLED are now offering a monitor based on this panel.
The monitor offers a brightness of 600 nits (peak), a 0.1 ms response time, and HDMI, DP, Dc and USB interfaces. The lifetime of LG's 30-inch transparent WOLED is quoted at 30,000 hours. Contact us if you're interested in this monitor, or in other solutions based on LG's range of transparent OLED displays (30-inch, 55-inch and soon 77-inch) or BOE's transparent OLEDs.
The Fraunhofer IPMS manages to increase the transparency of its OLED microdisplays to 45%
A few months ago researchers from the Fraunhofer IPMS announced that they have developed semi-transparent yellow high resolution OLED microdisplays, that are significantly lighter than conventional combiner-based optical see-through near-to-eye systems.
The Fraunhofer IPMS now announced that it has managed to increase the transparency of these microdisplays to 45%.
LG Display teams up with Boeing and LIG Nex1 to show a next-gen aircraft smart cabin
As OLED technologies are making inroads into the aerospace industry, LG Display has teamed up with Boeing and LIG Nex1 to introduce a new aircraft smart cabin concept, utilizing the company's latest OLED displays.
The three companies started collaborating back in 2020, to realize how OLEDs can benefit aircraft interior design. For this project, LG Display developed aircraft-specific OLED panels, ensuring higher reliability and safety compared to regular OLED panels. The new smart cabin concept includes a 55" OLED panel that is installed at the aircraft entrance, curved OLED at the aircraft's ceiling, 30-inch transparent OLED panels placed in the cabin partitions, and a 27-inch OLED panel in the crew galley.
Visionox shows its latest OLED and MicroLEDs at Displayweek 2024
During Displayweek 2024, Visionox demonstrated many OLED display technologies and panels, and also an interesting microLED prototypes (produced by its subsidiarity Vistar).
Visionox is in the final stages of development of its ViP maskless display production process, and the company showcased some nice ViP smartphone panel prototypes (the technology can be used for any panel size). ViP offers a high improvement in aperture ratio (69% up from 29%) which results in low power consumption and brightness (up to 4X according to Visionox), improved lifetime (up to 6X), improved PPI and more.
Korea's Great Train eXpress subway installs LGD's 55" transparent OLED displays
LG Display announced that Korea's newly launched Great Train eXpress (GTX) subway service has installed the company's 55" transparent OLED displays in the cabin windows.
This is the first subway service in Korea to install transparent OLEDs (similar projects have already been deployed in China, Russia, and Japan). The idea is that the OLEDs create a "comfortable and smart on-board experience by displaying varied content". LGD initially installed 16 OLED displays on a single train with eight cars running on the inaugural GTX line between Suseo and Dongtan. Going forward, the GTX plans to install OLED panels in all of its trains.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer IPMS develop semi-transparent OLED microdisplays
Researchers from the Fraunhofer IPMS have developed a semi-transparent high resolution OLED microdisplay, that is significantly lighter than conventional combiner-based optical see-through near-to-eye systems. The specification of the display was not disclosed, but one can see it's a monochrome yellow panel.
The Fraunhofer researchers developed a new semi-transparent OLED-on-silicon microdisplay technology, which enabled the new display. The technology is based on modern and advanced silicon CMOS processes, applied to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. The new wafer technology can be used to implement very thin circuitry layers. With the help of a specific IC design and an appropriate transfer-to-glass process flow, the transparent OLEDs were enabled.
CEOLED launches a smart robot with an integrated 55" transparent OLED display
China-based CEOLED launched a new interactive navigator robot, the RK-O55-LTPA, that sports a 55" transparent OLED display.
The robot is designed to create a new to engage with digital content, in public spaces. It offers a 8-hour battery life, intelligent navigation capabilities, and more.
Seoul Metro installs more transparent OLED based AI translation services throughout the city
Towards the end of 2023, Seoul's Metropolitan Government has initiated a new pilot test at Myeong-dong Station that offers an AI-powered translation service for tourists that enables them to communicate with the subway staff through a transparent 55" LG OLED display.
The pilot was successful, and Seoul's Metro expanded the service to 11 stations, throughout Seoul. This is one of the first useful applications of transparent OLED displays, and it is great to see it expanded in Korea. We do not know whether there are any plans to roll out more such displays in Korea.