Technical / Research - Page 73

Caledon Controls announced a new transparent conductive PET film which can be an alternative to ITO in OLED displays (and other applications such as solar cells, RFID, touch panels, etc). The new film uses the PDIM (Pre-Deposited Images in Metal) metal deposition techniques which was developed by Vast Films.

PDIM is a PET based film available in thicknesses ranging from .0005 to .010 with electrically conductive graphic or circuit images deposited onto its surface. PDIM offers fine line resolution - and allows for conductor traces down to 10um in width to be laid into a grid pattern allowing over 90% clarity.

Korea's Research Institute of Standard and Science (KRISS) revealed a new technology that measures the level of moisture in an OLED display during the inspection process. Measuring the moisture is critical for OLED production.

KRISS' new moisture testing technology is based on transmitting the radioactive isotope tritium with a water molecule to a flexible display. KRISS claims that it can measure accurately up to 1/1million g/m2.

Sony published an interesting interview with their display unit team about rollable OLED displays. Back in May (during SID 2010) Sony unveiled a new 4.1" rollable OLED display (with 423x240 resolution at 121ppi, 16.8 million colors - and the whole thing is just 80um thick). In the interview, Dr. Kazumasa Nomoto reveals that Sony's end target is a rollable large-screen OLED TV: "The time will come when the very idea that an enormous black box (TV) was ever placed in rooms will seem strange."

In the interview, the team discusses the new technologies that Sony created for this new display. First was a new Organic TFT based on a new material: a peri-
Xanthenoxanthene (PXX) derivative (this took Sony 5 years to develop!). Sony also developed a flexible gate driver circuit. Finally, an insulating layer for the O-TFT and OLED materials using flexible organic materials. Those three technologies enabled sony to create a rollable video display.

According to LG's official flickr account, the company is set to reveal a new 3D OLED TV panel that will be based on the company's new Film-Type Patterned Retarter (or FPR) technology. FPR adds a polarized filter to the TV which enables 3D using passive glasses - which are cheaper than active-shutter glasses. LG also claims that FPR eliminates flicker and crosstalk.

We're not sure if this new OLED TV will be the same as the 31" one unveiled in August 2010 - which also used polarized 3D glasses. But the FPR technology is said to be new, so we do not know. We'll have to wait and see...

Kaneka is developing OLED Lighting panels, and have announced a competition - to design a lighting object to be set up in bars. Kaneka will present a bar space (designed by the architect Mr. Koichi Suzuno) based on the 'Attractive bars in Japan' theme in the MilanoSalone 2011 exhibition. This bar venue will be using designs from the competition.

The first prize is one million yen (about $12,000) and an invitation to the exhibition. There are also 3 runner up prizes. You can send your designs by January 10th.

Samsung Mobile Display announced that the International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM) approved their Emotional Image Quality Evaluation (EIQE) standard. The new standard improves on the National Television System Committee (NTSC)’s standard which simply measures the RGB colors in a flat space. The new standard calls for measuring all colors reproduced by the display and taking into account external factors such as lighting.

The EIQI is based on the Volume Color Reproduction Capability (VCRC) which considers colors in a three-dimensional space. It is also based on human perception by using the Perceptual Contrast Length (PCL) standard that expresses perceived degree of lightness. If you measure AMOLED displays in the NTSC standard, it turns out that it is less bright than LCDs. But using the new standard, they are brighter, and the resolution is perceived to be better.

Philips has transformed the Business Center OLED Lighting into a Global Business Unit OLED. They tell us that this emphasizes the importance of OLEDs within Philips. Kristin Knappstein, Head of Business Creation in the OLED unit has kindly agreed to answer a few questions we had.

Q: Hi Kristin, and thanks for your time. You have launched the first Lumiblade panels back in 2009. How's the response so far?

The first Lumiblade panels were already available in 2008 through our Technology kit, which was very well sought after.

Since then we have had constant request for panels in all shapes and sizes. Today, people not only can order from from our webshop a wide array of standard panels which are delivered in our Lumiblade Experience Kit but also our Lumiblade modules and moreover Lumiblades of individual shapes and sizes by contacting us.

Reactions have been very positive and inspiring to us. General statements by our customers are that it is good to have a brand new technology accessible the way we as Philips give access to it. As for a customer driven company it is our strategy to have this feedback in order to align our products with the customer needs.

Researchers from UCLA developed a new transparent electrode based on silver nanowires (AgNW) that is a replacement for ITO. The new electrode is made from low-cost and non-toxic materials and is easy to fabricate. It also offers high transparency, low sheet resistance and low surface roughness.

The new electrode is produced on a cross-linked, transparent polyacylate substrate, which is cheaper than glass and can be stiff and rigid or flexible and stretchable. The researchers say that the new electrode could be used to create a shape-memory polymer substrate that can be deformed to various stable shapes - and the deformation is reversible, causes minimal damage to the devices so it can be repeated many times.

Philips announced a new three-year project called EMO (Emerging Market OLED) - to research, develop and eventually produce OLED lighting panels targeting emerging markets in Brazil. Philips will collaborate with the CERTI Foundation (Reference Center in Innovative Technologies) in this project.

We don't have any technical details about this project yet (such as research goals and panel specification goals), or when do they hope to start production.

Professor Ei-ichi Negishi, winner of the Nobel prize in chemistry has been appointed an executive research advisor to Sony in the field of organic electronics. Sony hopes to stimulate its organic electronics researchers and accelerate R&D processes.

Organic electronics technologies being researched by Sony today include OLEDs and flexible OLEDs, dye solar cells, vegetable-based plastics and more.