Separately, a team of German scientists searching for a way to solve the same manufacturing problem said they have developed a cheaper, simpler process to create multicolour OLED displays. Manufacturers have found it difficult to support full colour on OLED screens. The researchers, led by David Muller of the chemistry department at the University of Munich, used a method called "solution processing" to create a class of electroluminescent polymers that can be patterned to fabricate pixilated matrix displays. The work is published in the February 20 issue of the journal Nature. "I think one of the most important developments described in the paper is that it provides some hope for manufacturers of polymer-based OLED, who are facing a real challenge right now," said Kimberly Allen, the director of technology and strategic research at the research firm iSuppli/Stanford Resources. Although multicoloured OLEDs have already been successfully manufactured using a vacuum deposition of small electroluminescent molecules by researchers and companies such as Philips, the process is said to be cumbersome. This method also "requires relatively costly technology." said Klaus Meerholz, a professor at University of Cologne and a member of the German research team. Meerholz added that the team's research work has been patented and licensed for commercialisation. He declined to name which company or companies had licensed the manufacturing process.
See the Hardware News Section for the latest update on everything from MP3 players and PDAs to supercomputing.
Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.
