OLED display?

[clinton_abe]

I was reading about the development of OLED displays, Organic Light-

Emitting Diodes, and how they will be replacing LCDs in many

consumer products. The advantages of OLEDs in a digital camera is

that unlike a LCD screen that is used on the back of most digital

cameras, they don't get washed out when viewed in sunlight, OLEDs

are bright and vivid, so you can see what you've shot without having

to shield the screen. Another advantage is that the response time is

much faster so that you don't get a jerky image. In fact, it is

predicted that soon you won't need the mirror and prism that are

used in a DSLR as the OLED will give you an image that is actual

time. Already several digi-cams and digital cameras are using OLEDs.

Canon is reported to be coming out with a number of products in the

next year that use OLEDs instead of LCDs. Hopefully Sony will be

using this technology in their DSLRs, and not take the attittude

of 'we're not using it, because we didn't invent it.'

[peterblaise]

.

 

Thanks for the heads up on emerging technologies - where'd YOU read about it?

 

Got a link or reference, especially on your inference that Sony has spoken on the subject, and it's potential effect on the Minolta audience?

 

Thanks.

 

MY references are from Laser Focus World magazine, where they have mentioned it 159 times in the recent past, especially regarding Kodak, Sanyo, DuPont, UDC, Epson, and Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and of course, Japan:

 

=====

 

From Optoelectronics Report June, 2005 (yes, more than a year ago)

 

Japan takes the lead in OLED displays

 

EL SEGUNDO, CA - According to a recent report by iSuppli Corporation, Japanese manufacturers have taken the early lead in the fast-growing equipment market for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, looking to recover their reputation in the global display market now dominated by Korean and Taiwanese suppliers.

 

The report finds that Japanese suppliers have leveraged their strengths in semiconductor and thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) manufacturing equipment to gain the early lead in the OLED equipment market. Japanese makers Tokki Corp. and Ulvac top the list of suppliers selling production-scale OLED deposition equipment, according to the report.

 

ﾓIn a bid to retain their advantage in this area, the Japanese are keeping many of their OLED secrets close to the vest,ﾔ the report noted. ﾓHaving lost much of their manufacturing advantage in TFT-LCDs to Korean and Taiwanese companies over the last decade, Japanese companies have become more cautious.ﾔ Although this approach is helping Japan maintain its market lead in the short-term, according to iSuppli, it is also slowing the development and standardization of OLED equipment.

 

In fact, while the outlook for OLED displays is robust, near-term sales growth is being inhibited by inadequacies in production equipment. Both technical and business issues are playing a role in slowing OLED equipment development. A major challenge in the OLED equipment market is a lack of standardization. Every piece of OELD manufacturing gear is custom-made even if the manufacturer offers a set menu of features and options. This is due to the fact that OLED processes vary greatly and are not optimized; therefore, panel makers need special adjustments as well as built-in flexibility for the inevitable changes that are still occurring in the market. Another challenge is the scarcity of inkjet printing tools for manufacturing. Inkjet printing is an attractive option for OLED because it promises lower manufacturing costs but top panel makers believe inkjet remains a manufacturing technology of the future-not the present.

 

Nonetheless, developers of inkjet printing and suppliers of printers are ramping up activity in Japan and Korea because a near-term opportunity is arising in the printing of color filters and other components for TFT-LCDs, iSuppli noted. Korean manufacturers, which overtook the leading position in the TFT-LCD industry last year, are hoping to extend their dominance in the OLED sector. Samsung SDI Co., an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, was the worldﾒs largest OLED display supplier last year, accounting for a 44% share in terms of revenue. Samsung SDI plans to increase its OLED output this year, including doubling the supplies for mobile-phones, expecting a 17% growth in sales.

 

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As I write, there are 159 other archive articles on OLED at Laser Focus World magazine home page http://lfw.pennnet.com/home.cfm all there for your review. Neat stuff. Subscribe today, everyone, and keep abreat on some incredible technoligies. I've got mine! ;-)

 

Click!

 

Love and hugs,

 

Peter Blaise peterblaise@yahoo.com Minolta Photographer (happy, by the way, with my Minolta DiMage A1 EVF Electronic View Finder!) http://www.peterblaisephotography.com/

[phule]

Kodak put an OLED display in a digital camera in 2003

 

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0303/03030216kodakls633.asp

[clinton_abe]

Peter- I saw the article on MSN and was from Reuters (I believe). When I posted my 'question' on this forum, I was going to put a link to the article, but by then it disappeared. The technology has gotten to the point, as well as the price has dropped, to where the manufacturers can comfortably use this technology in their products. I know Sanyo has a Hi-Def camcorder with an OLED screen. In the future, you'll see HDTVs using this technology. Right now the largest screen is around 20". In a few years, this could completely LED and LCD TVs. Canon is using another techonogy for the TVs. They're coming out with SED screens.

[peterblaise]

.

 

Thanks for the (lost) lead.

 

What do YOU think the "minolta" in all this is?

 

"Just" new toys for Sony to incorporate into future Minolta A-mount DSLRs for those of us with Minolta A-mount lenses?

 

Speculation?

 

Click!

 

Love and hugs,

 

Peter Blaise peterblaise@yahoo.com Minolta Alpha Photographer http://www.peterblaisephotography.com/

[clinton_abe]

Peter- I mentioned the article because I hope Sony, with their new DSLRs, uses the best technology available irregardless of who invented it, and not take the attitude that they're not going to use it because they didn't invent it. If you've tried to view the screen on the back of just about every digital camera, in bright sunlight, you'll know how hard it is to see anything. OLEDs solve this problem. This is not about having the newest toy on the DSLR, but a very useful invention. They can get a jump start on the competition in employing this technology. I would expect Canon to use OLEDs across the board in a couple of years. I don't know if it is possible to retrofit OLEDs displays on exsisting products, but if it's possible someone will.

[phule]

<<I mentioned the article because I hope Sony, with their new DSLRs, uses the best technology available irregardless of who invented it, and not take the attitude that they're not going to use it because they didn't invent it>>

 

If Sony didn't invent it, they have to pay someone for it. Paying someone else, probably a direct competitor, thins the margins for products even more. And many companies don't want to license their technology to anyone in the first place (regardless of how much money they could make). In some cases it's better to be the only one with CoolFeature than to license it to competitors.

[andrew robertson]

At this point in time, OLEDs are really not much better than standard LCD panels.

[clinton_abe]

Andrew- They're good enough that Canon is planning to use them in more and more products. And have you ever tried to view a regular screen on the backs of most digital cameras on a bright sunny day? OLEDs over come that problem. If you can't see the screen what good is it?

[andrew robertson]

I have indeed looked at the backs of many digital cameras in bright sunlight. I was doing so

just yesterday. I didn't really have any problems.

[clinton_abe]

Andrew- Then why have companies like Hoodman and Delkin come out with folding shades for the screens? And have you seen an OLED screen?

[clinton_abe]

Andrew- You might want to do some reading about OLEDs before you say there isn't any real advantages to OLEDs. Here's a link to an article about OLED vs LCD.

 

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/editorial/display/oled.html

 

As you can see there are several advantages to OLEDs. If you're too lazy to click on the link, I'll give you some of the advantages 1) OLEDs have a wide angle of view than a LCD screen. 2) OLEDs don't need a backlight like an LCD, so you have lower power consumption, and therefore are able to use the power saved for other purposes, like taking more pictures between charges. 3) The thickness of the OLED display is less than a LCD display as you don't need backlighting, meaning thinner and lighter cameras.

[erik_strasser]

Hi Guys!

All Infos about OLED-Displays and products you can find here:

 

<a href="http://www.oled-display.net/how-works-the-oled-technology">What is a OLED-Display? </a>