Display screens go organic

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
Inkjet printer company Seiko Epson and start-up Cambridge Display Technology formed a joint venture on Friday aimed at popularising an emerging display technology that could eventually rival liquid crystal displays. The two companies formed Polyink, which will create equipment and provide services to display companies looking to manufacture organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens. Polyink will use inkjet printer technology from Seiko Epson along with inks from UK-based Cambridge Display. Those inks contain light-emitting polymers, the key component of OLEDs. The companies expect the joint venture to produce high-resolution, active matrix displays in high volumes by 2004. While OLED remains a fledgling technology when it comes to large-sized displays, the joint venture should help increase the speed of its development. Manufacturers have demonstrated some large OLED displays, but so far practical use of the technology has been limited to small screens such as those in cell phones. Researchers expect OLED screens to be brighter and -- because they don't require back-lighting -- thinner than liquid crystal displays, but analysts have estimated that OLED is about 10 years away from challenging LCD as the dominant display technology. According to projections by market research firm iSuppli/Stanford Resources, revenue from the OLED market in 2002 will be $112m (£76m) and will increase to $1.2bn by 2006. Revenue from the LCD market will reach $29bn in 2002 and increase to $52bn by 2006. ISuppli/Stanford Resources analyst Kimberly Allen said Friday's announcement "eases the process of becoming a producer of OLED displays and offers more companies the chance to get into the game sooner and help to develop the market more quickly." Allen added that Cambridge Display, a key intellectual property holder of OLED technology, has been busy signing partnerships with companies all along the display manufacturing chain. Among them are Philips, which announced in April that it was the first polymer-based OLED maker to be shipping large volumes of small displays for mobile phones and pagers. Seiko Epson has been a Cambridge Display licensee since 1998. Cambridge Display has been playing catch-up to Eastman Kodak, which has its own version of OLED technology called "small molecule" OLED. Cambridge has been promoting polymer-based OLED technology, which differs from small molecule in the way light-emitting particles are distributed on a substrate, the layer of material that sits behind a transparent surface to create a screen. In the polymer method, particles are basically sprayed in liquid form onto a substrate, whereas with the small molecule approach, particles are evaporated and allowed to settle onto the substrate. Supporters of polymer OLED suggest that polymer requires less expensive equipment than small molecule and is also less time-consuming to manufacture. "Polymer is a relatively new field," said Stewart Hough, vice president of business development at Cambridge Display. "Kodak has been able to gain licensees, which is good for the industry, but with polymer there can be a shift in the manufacturing approach that could result in lower (manufacturing) costs and higher throughput."
See the Hardware News Section for the latest update on everything from MP3 players and PDAs to supercomputing. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

4 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

13 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

21 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

23 hours ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

23 hours ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material