Big OLED panel supports HDTV

Samsung Electronics has developed the world's first single-sheet 40in active-matrix organic light-emitting diode for emissive flat panel TV applications.

Samsung Electronics has successfully developed the world's first single-sheet 40in active-matrix (AM) OLED (organic light-emitting diode) for emissive flat panel TV applications.

The high-definition-compatible OLED prototype has a wide screen pixel format of 1280 x 800 (WXGA) driven by an amorphous silicon (a-Si) AM backplane to permit faster video response times with low power consumption.

Samsung's 40in OLED panel will be demonstrated for the first time at the world's largest display industry event, Society for Information Display (SID) 2005 International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition in Boston, from 24th to 27th May 2005.

Manufactured on Samsung's fourth generation (4G) production line with a mother-glass sise of 730 x 920mm, the new OLED prototype combines all of the traditional features of emissive OLED technology, including wide viewing angle, thin package sise, no colour filter and no backlight, with the enormous production infrastructure advantages of standard a-Si techniques.

To date, AM OLED prototypes have used costly polysilicon approaches, which have limited production sizes.

Shattering traditional AM OLED sise limitations, the new prototype offers a maximum screen brightness of 600nits; a black-and-white contrast ratio of 5000:1; and, a colour gamut of 80%.

Motion pictures with ultra-high-quality images can be impeccably reproduced by skilfully employing OLEDs' rapid video response capabilities for image processing of HD-class resolution.

The ultrathin shape of the panels will allow future TV set designers to create televisions with a total thickness of only 30mm or less.

After launching its OLED development initiative in 2001 to secure leadership in next-generation display technologies, Samsung developed a 14.1in WXGA (1280 x 768) OLED panel in 2004, followed by the world's first 21in HD-class (1920 x 1080) OLED panel in January, 2005.

This ambitious pace of innovation accelerated development of today's unusually large 40in OLED prototype, paving the way for large-size OLED TVs.

"Our development of a 40in OLED will provide a firm basis from which we can become the unassailable market leader in the flat panel display market of the future", said Dr Kyuha Chung, Vice President of Samsung Electronics LCD R and D Centre.

"We're taking an early leadership position in the next-generation display market, building on Samsung Electronics' success in the TFT-LCD market".

Samsung Electronics is the supervisory and lead research institution for detailed implementation of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy's (MOCIE) Next-Generation Growth Engine Industries Initiative.

The latest round of development has been conducted as part of the project: "Development of solution-based AM OLED for low-cost 4G HDTVs using a-Si".

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