OLED is the abbreviation for organic light-emitting diode. It is a special type of LED, at times called organic LED. It is named 'organic' because the thin layer film consists of organic compounds. The thin-film is sandwiched between two layers, one cathode layer and one anode layer. By applying voltage to the layer, light is emitted.
Organic LED display technology is used in television screens and computer displays, but the most frequent area where OLED is used are cellular phones and portable music players. Several phones like the Samsung SGH X120 or the Nokia 6125i are powered by an OLED screen, either as a main screen or as an external display. There are several dozens of music and video players with an organic LED display.
The Cowon iAudio 6 is powered by a 260 thousand colour, 1.3 inch width screen that allows a resolution of 160 x 128 pixels. The well-liked Zen Micro Photo music player has a 1.5 inch screen with 262k colours. There are many other mp3-players like the Max Movie or iRiver that also use an OLED screen.
Why are lots of devices powered by organic LED displays? First of all, OLED is thrilling. It allows displays that are flexible, transparent or ultra-thin. Thrilling products are therefore possible. The brightness is better in comparison to traditional displays and the durability is higher, which means the temperature range by which the gadget can operate is broader. Another benefit is lower power use, especially for portable devices like music players or mobile phones.
Why are OLED displays thin and power efficient over traditional LCDs? Organic LEDs do not require a backlight, hence less power is needed and less space is used.
Organic light emitting diodes can furthermore be used as a solid state light resource; they can produce white light and can be used as a bulb substitution. Even the military is examining how OLED can be used in uniforms to build a display inside a soldier's helmet visor. Another future vision is a window with transparent organic LEDs that can lighten the room at night and pass daylight the other times.
There are various technologies today on the market that claim to be the next big thing, but OLED is definitely worth keeping an eye on.