A novel display technology that claims to be simpler in construction than an LCD and better performing than organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) or plasma appears to be inching closer to commercialization.

UniPixel Displays Inc. developed its Time Multiplexed Optical Shutter (TMOS) technology to address display requirements in avionics applications, particularly heads-down cockpit deployments. The Woodlands, Texas, company has engineering prototypes and expects "to have the display in a television application by the fourth quarter," said CFO James Tassone.

A UniPixel display consists of just six layers, compared with 15 for plasma and 30 for LCDs, and takes only 12 steps to manufacture, versus 128 steps for an LCD. Using a "frustrated total internal reflection" technique, red, green or blue light enters a light guide from the edge of the display. The display structure enables daylight readability.

The colors cycle for an equal amount of time in very rapid succession, reflecting off a mirror at the opposite edge that scatters the light and produces a uniform distribution across the display. Materials used in the construction of the light guide keep light from escaping, so that total internal reflection is achieved, according to the company.

A simple lens/shutter mechanism is constructed above the light guide by sandwiching the microlens and standoff layers between transparent conductors. When the two conductive layers are oppositely charged at any given pixel, they attract. The lens is squeezed down through the standoff layer.  

For the year ended December 31, 2006, Universal Display had revenue of $11,921,292, compared to $10,147,995 for the year 2005, a 17% increase year-over-year. Revenue growth was driven by increases in commercial chemical sales and license fee revenues. The Company's revenue mix continues to shift as its PHOLED technology transitions to commercial applications.

For 2006, the Company reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $15,186,804 or $(0.49) per diluted share, versus a net loss of $15,801,612 or $(0.56) per diluted share for 2005.

Sidney D. Rosenblatt, Chief Financial Officer of Universal Display, said: "For 2007, we expect this trend to continue as our technology gains further commercial adoption. We've already begun to see products in the marketplace that utilize commercial active-matrix OLED displays from one of our major licensees. Our financial position remains strong and we continue to focus on prudent use of our capital as we pursue new licensees for our technology for both display and lighting applications in 2007."

The ever hyped Optimus OLED keyboard gets a new name (Optimus Maximus), and a new price - 1490$ (!).

Pre-orders will start in April, and the keyboard will be delivered in November/December this year.

Read more here (Engadget) 

Digitimes reports that CMEL got orders for 300,000 monthly units of AMOLED displays for mobile phones, from Sharp. CMEL currently has a capacity of 200K-300K units, and has placed orders for new equipment.

RiTdisplay has also landed a contract with an unspecified japanese handset maker.

Solomon Systech unveiled the SSD1355 color OLED display driver with integrated controller. This device supports up to QQVGA resolution and 262k true color and has intelligent display features for applications such as mobile phones, MP3 players, portable multimedia players and digital cameras.

The SSD1355's compact die size and superfine pitch feature allow for the manufacturing of competitive COF packages to fit all popular resolutions in the color OLED market, such as 128RGB x 160, 128RGB x 128, 128RGB x 96, 128RGB x 64 and 96RGB x 96.

GE Global Research and TOKKI Corporation announced a joint agreement to develop PECVD Film Encapsulation technology and equipment for manufacturing organic electronics such as OLED displays.

The goal is to develop and demonstrate equipment that could serve as the foundation for the future manufacturing and sale of glass-based displays that are thinner in design and much lower in cost.

As part of the agreement, GE Global Research will license its patented PECVD film encapsulation process to TOKKI for use in the company's state-of-art OLED manufacturing equipment. OLED devices require a high degree of hermetic sealing or "encapsulation," since moisture and oxygen can impede the devices' functionality.

Cambridge Display Technology today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2006 and year ended December 31, 2006. The fourth quarter was the Company's highest revenue-generating quarter of 2006, with revenues of $3.3 million, as compared with $7.3 million for same period in 2005, and $0.9 million for the third quarter of 2006. Total cash and current marketable securities increased by $3.7 million during the quarter.

Total revenues for 2006 were $7.9 million, compared with $18.1 million for 2005 when the Company recorded revenues from the sale of nine ink jet printers and from two large technology services and development contracts. Net loss increased to $27.5 million in 2006, from $13.8 million in 2005.