Scientists make bendable, transparent LEDs—without organics

jjufon · 08-21-2009, 09:34 AM

Organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs, promise to bring a great deal of flexibility to where we can put a display—literally. Because of their organic components, it should be possible to create flexible and transparent displays, opening up a large number of potential uses. But now, just as OLEDs may finally be ready for the consumer market, some engineers have figured out a way to get many of the same properties using inorganic LEDs (ILEDs), using a method that's so simple, even a biologist could understand it. It's a few years away—at least—from commercialization, but it's a significant advance.
The paper that describes the process will be published today in Science. The basic idea is that, since LEDs are so efficient at converting electrical charges to light, the human eye can detect the light of very small LEDs. As a result, it's possible to make a display out of a surface where only a small fraction is occupied by the actual LEDs, which can be small enough to be invisible to the naked eye. Under these conditions, the display will take on the properties of whatever material the LEDs are embedded in: bendable, transparent, etc.
Unfortunately, although we've gotten rather good at depositing the layered structure needed for making a normal ILED, the manufacturing processes we use don't scale down to the size of individual pixels in a typical display, which need to be on the order of 100µm or less. So the researchers came up with a simple solution: make a big one, and then chop it into little pieces.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/...ganic-leds.ars

Stew4HD · 08-21-2009, 09:46 AM

Now dats some kewl chit!

Our kids are going to see things along the lines of Total Recall's window/video screens.. or something like it!

**PFC5** · 08-21-2009, 10:17 AM

Very cool. My kids will at least have something to look forward to besides how bad economy/society & the national debt get.

Dare · 08-21-2009, 11:02 AM

LEDs printed on every surface of everything. That should be interesting.

08-21-2009, 09:34 AM	#1
jjufon CMMS Junkie Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Frisco Tx Posts: 968	Scientists make bendable, transparent LEDs—without organics Organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs, promise to bring a great deal of flexibility to where we can put a display—literally. Because of their organic components, it should be possible to create flexible and transparent displays, opening up a large number of potential uses. But now, just as OLEDs may finally be ready for the consumer market, some engineers have figured out a way to get many of the same properties using inorganic LEDs (ILEDs), using a method that's so simple, even a biologist could understand it. It's a few years away—at least—from commercialization, but it's a significant advance. The paper that describes the process will be published today in Science. The basic idea is that, since LEDs are so efficient at converting electrical charges to light, the human eye can detect the light of very small LEDs. As a result, it's possible to make a display out of a surface where only a small fraction is occupied by the actual LEDs, which can be small enough to be invisible to the naked eye. Under these conditions, the display will take on the properties of whatever material the LEDs are embedded in: bendable, transparent, etc. Unfortunately, although we've gotten rather good at depositing the layered structure needed for making a normal ILED, the manufacturing processes we use don't scale down to the size of individual pixels in a typical display, which need to be on the order of 100µm or less. So the researchers came up with a simple solution: make a big one, and then chop it into little pieces. http://arstechnica.com/science/news/...ganic-leds.ars __________________ JJufon

08-21-2009, 09:46 AM	#2
Stew4HD High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 9,068	Now dats some kewl chit! Our kids are going to see things along the lines of Total Recall's window/video screens.. or something like it! __________________ ___________________________________

08-21-2009, 10:17 AM	#3
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,385	Very cool. My kids will at least have something to look forward to besides how bad economy/society & the national debt get. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

08-21-2009, 11:02 AM	#4
Dare I moon you. Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 4,436	LEDs printed on every surface of everything. That should be interesting. __________________ LG GGC-H20L Super Multi Blue Blu-ray & HD DVD ROM Drive 58 31

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