OLED

OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) is a light emitting technology based on organic materials, which is widely used in displays and lighting fields.

1. Working principle

Self-luminescence characteristics: Each OLED pixel consists of a layer of organic material. When the current passes, the organic material emits light without a backlight module.

• Structure: From bottom to top, there are substrate (glass or flexible material), anode, organic light emitting layer (red, green, and blue), and cathode.

• Drive method: Control the current through a TFT (thin film transistor) to adjust the brightness and color of each pixel.

2. Core advantages

• High contrast: The black pixels do not emit light at all, and the contrast is infinitely close to 1,000,000:1.

• Wide viewing angle: close to 180°, color without offset.

• Fast response speed: microsecond response time, no drag (suitable for moving pictures).

• Ultra-thin flexible: The thickness can be less than 1 mm, supports bending, folding and even curling (such as folding screen phones) without backlighting, and can make flexible screens.

• Low Power Consumption: Lower power consumption when displaying dark colors (especially suitable for dark themes on OLED screens).

• Fast response speed (microsecond level), suitable for dynamic pictures.

3. Main disadvantages

• Short life: Blue organic materials have relatively short lifespans and may age for long-term use.

• High cost: The manufacturing process is complex and the yield is low, resulting in higher prices than LCD.

• Brightness limit: High brightness may accelerate material aging and affect life.

4. Application areas

• Consumer Electronics: high-end mobile phones (such as iPhone, Samsung Galaxy), wearable devices (Apple Watch, smartwatch).

• TV: OLED TVs from brands such as LG and Sony are known for their ultimate contrast and colors.

• Car display: dashboard, central control screen, adapt to special curved surface design.

• VR/AR devices: High refresh rate and low latency to improve immersion.

• Lighting: Flexible OLED panels are used for innovative lighting design.

5. Key technologies and trends

• Extended life: Improved blue phosphorescent materials (such as contributions from the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry).

• Reduce costs: Inkjet printing technology (such as JOLED) replaces traditional evaporation processes.

• Flexible innovation: research and development of folding screens (Samsung Fold series) and reel screens (LG Signature RX).

• Transparent OLED: The light transmittance exceeds 40%, used in scenes such as building curtain walls and automotive ceilings.

• Environmental improvement: Optimize recycling process to reduce the use of rare metals.

6. OLED vs LCD

 

 

characteristic

OLED

LCD

Backlight

Self-luminous, no backlight required

Need a backlight module

Contrast

Infinite height

Restricted by backlight leakage

Response time

Microsecond level

Millisecond level (possible drag)

Flexibility

Support soft