Displays are cropping up everywhere these days, from electronic billboards to office televisions to just about any consumer electronic device. Due to the high demand for these displays, many manufacturers have turned to OLED technology to make high definition capabilities more accessible. We’ll focus on the differences between OLED displays and how they are fundamentally superior options compared to the traditional LED displays.

What is OLED?
OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diodes, which is similar to normal LED technology. Light emitting diodes, or LED, are a semiconducting light source that produces light through moving electrons into defined spots with a screen’s emissive layer. It basically transforms electricity into light. OLED uses practically the same concept, but rather than involving individual LED bulbs lighting up, OLED uses light emitting films. This gives the OLED display the ability to produce higher contrast images. In other words, the lights are lighter and the darks are darker. This is due to the makeup of the OLED film (hydrocarbon chains rather than semiconductors), which also means that they consume less energy (electricity).

How Does It Work
An OLED panel contains several layers. The substrate layer acts as a structural framework; the anode, a film that draws electrons; the cathode, a film that provides the electrons; and the organic layer between them. The organic layer also contains two layers: the conducting layer that has holes, and the emissive layer where light is produced.

Types of OLED
The various types of OLED displays are used by different types of devices. Passive-matrix OLED has a slower refresh rate, which results in them being used on devices that have more static images. Active-matrix OLED devices have a faster refresh rate, making them ideal for devices like televisions, smartphones, and other displays that are always changing.

What are the Benefits?
OLEDs operate as both a light source and color simultaneously, which can create several benefits over your standard LED displays. Here are just a few of them:

• Reduced power consumption: An OLED display doesn’t need any of the electronics used to power the back light that were needed for traditional LED displays. Therefore, it uses less power.
• Improved picture quality: OLED uses color filters that can produce warmer colors and darker blacks. Additionally, OLED displays don’t have shutter arrays, meaning they can be produced with a higher refresh rate, as well as better viewing angles.
• Lightweight durability: Since OLED displays don’t have the backlight and shutter array technology found in ordinary LED displays, OLED devices are generally much lighter and flexible. A new innovation called inkjet-based printable OLED displays can reduce the nitrogen volume in a display and enhance the thermal uniformity of the display. This enables manufacturers to make more malleable displays, like wallpaper-like screens.
• Lower costs: Like any kind of technology, the more it’s used, the less costly it becomes to make. This drives down prices and makes them more affordable for everyone.

OLED displays are showing up all over the place, and they are only going to grow in popularity. How can your business benefit from this new technology? Find out by giving us a call at (502) 473-6407.