Scientists at the Technical University of Braunschweig have announced the development of transparent OLED panels. That's correct, transparent.
Many users have been waiting to see OLED technology come into the mainstream for computer displays. Sure, OLED screens are available on some cell phones and MP3 players (and even the C6 Corvette's gauge cluster), but those are relatively small displays compared to what would be seen on a typical laptop, desktop or TV display.
How 'Transparency' was achieved :
By marrying transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs) to OLEDs. Transparent TFTs are made of zinc-tin-oxideâ€â€as opposed to the more common siliconâ€â€and transmit at better than 90 percent in the visible spectrum.
In the transparent displays, the TFTs and the OLED pixels are positioned next to each other. The OLED pixel can be placed on top of the TFT driver circuit without interference.
In addition, because the TFT layers are thin, they can be deposited on large areas with conventional techniques; and because these techniques can be performed at temperatures below 200 degrees Celsius, cheap, flexible plastic substrates can be used.
The displays can be varied in brightness from 0 to 700 candelas per square meter by altering the voltage.
Advantages of OLED panels :
Not only might they be manufactured relatively inexpensively, but they can produce a much higher quality picture than that available through current LCD technology.
They are brighter (more than twice as bright as a typical computer screen, even when comparing the laboratory devices built by the Braunschweig team), use less power, refresh faster, and offer a true black.
Not only that, but because the OLED emits light itself, no backlight is required, so the display can be mighty thin. How thin? Thin enough, possibly, to roll into a tube, although there's no word if it will be practical to make the transparent versions that skinny.
End User :
This offers more than just the opportunity to play Minority Report - The Home Game. The development team sees this as having applications ranging from operating rooms, where surgeons could be fed a constant stream of patient data without blocking their field of view, to automobiles, although if the technology is added to windshields, we're going to recommend against hooking up the game machine while driving.
Yet OLED technology is seen by many as the future of displays, and their numerous advantages over what you're using now suggest that they are likely part of your destiny as well. With the additional advantage of transparency, a new range of useful possibilities emerges.
Many users have been waiting to see OLED technology come into the mainstream for computer displays. Sure, OLED screens are available on some cell phones and MP3 players (and even the C6 Corvette's gauge cluster), but those are relatively small displays compared to what would be seen on a typical laptop, desktop or TV display.
How 'Transparency' was achieved :
By marrying transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs) to OLEDs. Transparent TFTs are made of zinc-tin-oxideâ€â€as opposed to the more common siliconâ€â€and transmit at better than 90 percent in the visible spectrum.
In the transparent displays, the TFTs and the OLED pixels are positioned next to each other. The OLED pixel can be placed on top of the TFT driver circuit without interference.
In addition, because the TFT layers are thin, they can be deposited on large areas with conventional techniques; and because these techniques can be performed at temperatures below 200 degrees Celsius, cheap, flexible plastic substrates can be used.
The displays can be varied in brightness from 0 to 700 candelas per square meter by altering the voltage.
Advantages of OLED panels :
Not only might they be manufactured relatively inexpensively, but they can produce a much higher quality picture than that available through current LCD technology.
They are brighter (more than twice as bright as a typical computer screen, even when comparing the laboratory devices built by the Braunschweig team), use less power, refresh faster, and offer a true black.
Not only that, but because the OLED emits light itself, no backlight is required, so the display can be mighty thin. How thin? Thin enough, possibly, to roll into a tube, although there's no word if it will be practical to make the transparent versions that skinny.
End User :
This offers more than just the opportunity to play Minority Report - The Home Game. The development team sees this as having applications ranging from operating rooms, where surgeons could be fed a constant stream of patient data without blocking their field of view, to automobiles, although if the technology is added to windshields, we're going to recommend against hooking up the game machine while driving.
Yet OLED technology is seen by many as the future of displays, and their numerous advantages over what you're using now suggest that they are likely part of your destiny as well. With the additional advantage of transparency, a new range of useful possibilities emerges.