Considering the growing importance of energy savings and environment friendliness, solid-state lighting is emerging a highly competent and viable alternative to existing lighting technologies. While light emitting diodes (LEDs) promise numerous advantages such as higher energy efficiency, longer life and reliability, as well as low temperature performance, customer requirements for innovative solutions that provide better control over the color, shape, and intensity of light is driving the demand for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) as light sources.
In respect to OLEDs, industry participants need to overcome key challenges such as outcoupling and sensitivity issues in order to increase the light output. Since increasing light output is dependent on the device technology and the chemistry of materials involved, the challenge lies in making the lifetime of the generated photon’s last nano or microseconds.

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UDC today announced it has been awarded a two-year, $730,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract by the U.S. Army Communication Electronics Research and Development Engineering Center (CERDEC).

Under the terms of the contract, Universal Display will develop and demonstrate an active-matrix, flexible PHOLED display containing infrared (IR)-emitting PHOLED pixels in addition to visible spectrum PHOLED pixels. The Company's infrared (IR)-emission OLED technology is being designed to be seen only through night vision goggles so to avoid visual detection in darkness. By combining IR-emitting and visible PHOLED pixels into one display, the Company is creating a novel display architecture to meet the Army's requirement for a single, high-information-content display that works in high, low and no light conditions.

The active-matrix PHOLED display, also enabled by Universal Display's proprietary flexible OLED and top-emission OLED technologies, will be built on flexible metal foil using poly-silicon backplane technology from Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to provide flexibility, light weight and ruggedness. As a continuation from the Phase I program, University of Southern California will develop novel PHOLED materials for evaluation in the prototype.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors today announced the newest addition to its Pictiva(TM) line of OLED graphic display products. The company's new 2.7-inch, 128x64 dot display is the company's solution to offering a lifetime of 55,000 hours.

In addition to an ultra-wide, 180-degree viewing angle, 2000:1 contrast ratio, rapid video response capabilities and a thin profile, the new 128x64 pixel graphics Pictiva display is an industry-standard 2.7 inches, enabling excellent readability and presentation of graphic and text images. Pricing for the Pictiva OLED display is comparable with LCD screens, yet Pictiva OLED displays offer increased performance, enhanced features and a long life.

OSRAM's new 128x64, 2.7-inch Pictiva OLED display is currently available for $19.50 in 1,000-unit quantities.

The JM53 Portable Digital Player (Shown right), a super sleek (3.9 by 1.9 by 0.5 inches) 8GB multimedia player featuring a 1.77-inch 260,000 colour OLED and compatibility with MP3, WMA (DRM10), OGG, ASF, as well as MPEG-4 video. The black device has a unique controller system that blends a rocker switch and buttons. The unit has staying power too with a rated battery life of 30 hours.

Finally, the smallest of the bunch, the FM30 Portable Digital Player is a 1GB flash-based player with a 1.77-inch OLED screen (260,000 colours), and compatibility with MP3, WMA (DRM10), OGG, ASF, and MPEG-4 video. At only 2.4 by 1.6 by 0.55 inches, this wearable player is essentially a matchbook-sized version of the JM53 and it has a staggeing rated battery life of 60 hours. Despite bright OLED screens, the JM53 and FM30's small screen size may be a deterrent to prospective shoppers, though battery life is impressive on both. The FM30 will cost US$199 when it's available in the US in Q2.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP) in Potsdam have succeeded in constructing transparent OLED displays using light-emitting polymers. Their brightness, operating life time and efficiency are so high that the first commercial applications can be envisaged. We achieved this result by using a new type of metal electrode to supply the polymer film with electric current, reports Armin Wedel of the IAP.

The clue of the transparency lies in its physical properties. Earlier metal oxide coatings were too thick to allow enough light to pass through. But making them thinner reduces their conductivity and hence the luminescence and operating life time of the display.

The Eyebud 800 personal display delivers high-resolution video from any video-capable iPod or other personal video player. The SVGA (800 x 600) display delivers full-color video at a full 60 Hz from handhelds delivering SVGA, NTSC, or PAL signals. Its nearly 40-degree field of view provides a virtual image equivalent to a 105-inch display viewed from 12 ft. To complete the personal theatre experience, the display system also includes high quality stereo earbuds and a noise-canceling microphone.

Making its debut at the CES 2006, the Sanyo Xacti HD1 is the world’s first high-definition compact digital media camera (among commercially available high-definition media cameras, as of January 2006). Offering advanced, next-generation video performance, the Sanyo HD1 is the world’s smallest and lightest high-definition digital media camera, ideal for recording today with the future in mind. Sanyo, the world’s leading manufacturer of digital cameras and components, designed the Sanyo Xacti VPC HD1 to easily record both 720p high-definition video and 5.1 Megapixel digital still images to a standard SD flash memory card. The Sanyo Xacti HD1 will be available in the U.S. in late March at an MSRP of $799.99.

The Sanyo Xacti HD1 features an ultra-clear 2.2-inch Sanyo-developed OLED display with 210,000 total pixels for exceptional viewability. The display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees on axis for taking great video or still images in otherwise difficult locations. Trademark features of OLED display technology are expanded viewing angles and up to 5,000 times faster response speed when compared with conventional display technologies, enabling smooth playback of rapid movements.