LED and OLED technologies are driving the future of display innovation, enabling display devices to become slimmer and more powerful. OLEDs in particular are being touted as the next generation of displays due to their flexibility and ability to produce a wide range of colors, and will have a major impact on the lighting market in the future.
LEDs and OLEDs light the way at the forefront of display technology
In recent years, outward appearances have become increasingly important, with dieting and fitness crazes on the rise. This “dieting” craze is not only affecting people, but also peripheral devices. Display devices that are a big part of our daily lives, such as TVs, monitors, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets, are getting slimmer and slimmer to meet consumers’ design needs and expectations for portability and performance. What are the technological enablers that are making these devices slimmer? LED and OLED technologies are at the center of it all. Both technologies are at the core of modern display technology, earning them the nicknames “light revolution” and “solar TV.
The history of displays: from fluorescents to LEDs to OLEDs
The earliest light sources used in display devices evolved from electron beams and incandescents to compact fluorescent lamps (CCFLs). Remember the old brown tube TVs? They worked by firing an electron beam from an electron gun that hit a fluorescent material, causing the screen to glow, but they were quite large and heavy. As display technology rapidly evolved, fluorescent lamps began to be used in a variety of devices, including TVs, monitors, phones, laptops, and more. LCD displays work on the principle that light from a fluorescent lamp passes through several polarizing films and liquid crystals to form the screen. This light opens and closes the liquid crystals to produce specific colors, creating the screen we see.
The LED revolution: the beginning of slim displays
LED stands for “Light Emitting Diode,” meaning a diode that emits its own light. This technology replaced traditional LCD technology and helped dramatically reduce the thickness of display devices. LEDs work on the principle that light emits when an electric current flows through gallium nitride (GaN), a semiconductor material. Whereas traditional LCDs had to pass through multiple polarizing films to emit light, LEDs can emit and control their own light, allowing for thinner and more efficient displays.
Another big advantage of LEDs is their energy efficiency. They lose less energy than traditional incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, and can reduce electricity consumption by up to 80%, resulting in significant savings on electricity bills. They can also adjust their light quickly, which is why they’re used in 3D TVs, which are becoming increasingly popular, and provide crisp picture quality even during daylight hours.
OLEDs light up the future of displays
OLEDs work in the same basic way as LEDs, but they differ in that they use organic materials to produce light. Not only can organic materials produce a wider range of colors than LEDs, but they also allow for very thin and flexible displays. In the future, we may even see display devices that can be rolled up like paper and carried around, which has been dubbed the “next generation of displays” because of OLED’s flexibility and color expression.
The displays of the future will be even more amazing than we envision – for example, wallpaper displays that cover entire walls, or screens that can be folded up and carried in our daily lives – and advances in OLED technology are making this possible.
Challenges and prospects
Of course, LEDs and OLEDs are the next big thing in display technology, but there are still challenges to overcome, most notably the complexity of the manufacturing process and the high cost of raw materials. However, technological improvements and research and development are ongoing, and these issues are likely to be resolved over time, especially with Korea’s two largest conglomerates, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, investing heavily in LED and OLED, making it very likely that Korea will become a leader in the display industry.
In the future, LED and OLED technology will have a major impact on the general lighting market beyond the display market. It is expected to open up the market for emotional and active lighting beyond simple lighting, which will allow us to have a richer visual experience.
