Quantcast

Don't have an account? Register Now! Forgot password?

Related Articles
Maximum IT
SEE MORE MAXIMUM IT
News

Flexible LED Technology Breakthrough Allows Giant Displays

Posted 08/21/09 at 06:38:22 PM  by Pulkit Chandna

comment Commentsprint Printemail EmailDeliciousDiggStumbleUponRedditFacebookSlashdot

Ford’s quest for contour-hugging brake lights has led to a major breakthrough in the development of flexible LEDs. A group of international scientists has developed a new process for manufacturing ultrathin, flexible LEDs. The inorganic LEDs developed using this technique are not only slender and flexible like their organic counterparts, but just as durable and bright as inorganic LEDs are expected to be. Ford, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy jointly provided funds for this project.

The team behind this project consists of researchers from institutions in the US, Singapore and China. The new LEDs, though fully inorganic, possess qualities associated with both organic and inorganic LEDs. "We wanted to see if we could use inorganic LEDs in ways that exploit some of the processing advantages of organic LEDs,” John Rogers, a materials scientist at the University of Illinois, told the journal Science.

LEDs can be made to be almost transparent using the new technique in which LEDs are placed at a considerable distance from each other. The technique can be used to make figure-hugging LEDs to be fitted onto buses. It could also make it possible to weave optical electronics into textiles.

Image Credit: Science

COMMENTS:3
TAGS: display, led, Research, Science, flexible displays, inorganic
COMMENTS
avatarhmm..

Submitted by Jono on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 10:49pm

you know what maybe I'm confusing LEDs with LCDs.. LCDs require a backlight and thats part of the reason image quality suffers a bit. In terms of image quality, is there even a difference between inorganic and organic LEDs is what I was trying to figure out??

Login or register to post comments
avatarInorganic vs Organic

Submitted by Jono on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 12:40am

"but just as durable and bright as inorganic LEDs are expected to be" - was that a typo?? I thought OLEDs had a better dynamic range and competed with CRT monitors in terms of professional color management, whereas the inorganic LEDs were subpar. "Just as bright" is no improvement in tech over OLEDs. Who care if it can bend. I want it to show me more colors, glow brighter, and give me deeper blacks. Then.. let me bend it around my wrist like a watch =)

Login or register to post comments
avatarYou have to read the second link.

Submitted by JuanSolid on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 1:30am

"But because the inorganic diodes are so much brighter, far fewer are
needed to create a display of equivalent brightness--and therefore the
cost of the inorganic LED arrays is comparable."

I think by "dynamic range" you really mean dynamic contrast ratio. Contrast ratio would be everything inbetween the darkest dark to the brightest bright. Anything over 1000 for a contrast (not dynamic) ratio will never be noticed as different in a room with a candle lit, to the human eye.

A dynamic contrast ratio essentially rates everything inbetween darkest dark to the brightest bright in a room that is pitch black. It's useless for everyday viewing, I would rather have the display be clear and at 120+hertz for viewing pleasure, rather than oooooing and aaaahing at a pitch black screen compared to a completely white screen and all the levels inbetween. (yes technically white is a hue of all the colors of the rainbow, just extremely bright, so your colors will not necessarily look richer)

Dynamic contrast ratio is something that manufacturers use to show the consumer a higher number. Most consumers assume higher means better. I can show you some knock off brands with horrable pictures but better contrast ratio's than most high end sony's, but I believe samsung holds the record with 1million to 1 dynamic contrast ratio.

If you can notice the ocean level lower when you come out of it after swimming (some is clinging to your body and is not in the ocean anymore) than you may have a good enough eye to notice the difference between 10k to 1 and 1million to 1.

In short, oled can have finer levels you probably will never notice, but if oled's brightest was compared to led's brightest, the led can go brighter theoretically. If your tv set let's it is a different story. On the brake lights for a bus, yeah the LED will be brighter than the OLED.

This was too long, but I do dislike the assumption of bigger is always better....

Login or register to post comments

This Month's Issue
Maximum PC
SUBSCRIBE NOW
AND SAVE!
FEATURE How to Get FREE Programs, Services, Software & MoreFEATURE Digital Photo Printer RoundupHOW TOBuild a 3D CameraFEATUREDIY Arcade PCWHITE PAPERHow TRIM Works