SEMINAR ON

Prepared By :

CONTENTS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Introduction to How OLEDs Work Working principle OLED Components Types of OLEDs (Composition & Structure) OLED Advantages OLED Disadvantages Current and Future OLED Applications References

INTRODUCTION

OLEDs are solid-state devices composed of thin films of organic molecules that create light with the application of electricity. OLEDs can provide brighter, crisper displays on electronic devices and use less power than conventional light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used today. The layer usually contains a polymer substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited. They are deposited in rows and columns onto a flat carrier by a simple "printing" process. Samsung's prototype 40-inch OLED TV.

WORKING PRINCIPLE

A voltage is applied across the OLED such that the anode is positive with respect to the cathode. This causes a current of electrons to flow through the device from cathode to anode. Thus, the cathode gives electrons to the emissive layer and the anode withdraws electrons from the conductive layer. In other words, the anode gives electron holes to the conductive layer.
OLED schematic 1. Cathode(-) 2. Emissive Layer 3. Emission of radiation 4. Conductive Layer 5. Anode (+)

How do LEDs emit light ?

The process is called electrophosphorescence. An electrical current flows from the cathode to the anode through the organic layers. The cathode gives electrons to the emissive layer of organic molecules. The anode removes electrons from the conductive layer of organic molecules. At the boundary between the emissive and the conductive layers, electrons find electron holes. When an electron finds an electron hole, the electron fills the hole giving up energy in the form of a photon of light.

OLED COMPONENTS

An OLED is a solid-state semiconductor device that can have either two layers or three layers of organic material. In the latter design, the third layer helps transport electrons from the cathode to the emissive layer. In this article, we'll be focusing on the two layer design. An OLED consists of the following parts: (i) Substrate (clear plastic, glass , foil) (ii) Anode (transparent) (iii) Cathode (iv) Conducting & Emissive Layers

TYPES OF OLEDS: (Based upon composition)

Passive-matrix OLED (PMOLED)

PMOLEDs have strips of cathode, organic layers and strips of anode. The intersections of the cathode and anode make up the pixels where light is emitted. External circuitry applies current to selected strips of anode and cathode. The brightness of each pixel is proportional to the amount of applied current.

TYPES OF OLEDS CONTD..

Active-matrix OLED (AMOLED)

AMOLEDs have full layers of cathode, organic molecules and anode. But the anode layer overlays a thin film transistor (TFT) array that forms a matrix. The TFT array itself is the circuitry that determines which pixels get turned on to form an image.

TYPES OF OLEDS:
(Based upon structure)
Transparent OLED

Transparent OLEDs have only transparent components (substrate, cathode and anode). When a transparent OLED display is turned on, it allows light to pass in both directions. A transparent OLED display can be either active- or passive-matrix. This technology can be used for heads-up displays.

TYPES OF OLEDS CONTD..

Top-emitting OLED

Top-emitting OLEDs have a substrate that is either opaque or reflective. They are best suited to active-matrix design. Manufacturers may use top-emitting OLED displays in smart cards.

OLED Advantages

The plastic, organic layers of an OLED are thinner, lighter and more flexible than the crystalline layers in an LED or LCD. OLED substrates can be plastic rather than the glass used for LEDs and LCDs. OLEDs are brighter than LEDs. OLEDs do not require backlighting like LCDs OLEDs have large fields of view, about 170 degrees.

OLED Disadvantages

Lifetime - While red and green OLED films have long lifetimes (10,000 to 40,000 hours), blue organics currently have much shorter lifetimes (only about 1,000 hours). Manufacturing - Manufacturing processes are expensive right now. Water - Water can easily damage OLEDs

Current and Future OLED Applications

Currently, OLEDs are used in small-screen devices such as cell phones, PDAs and digital cameras. In September 2004, Sony Corporation announced that it was beginning mass production of OLED screens for its CLIE PEG-VZ90 model of personal-entertainment handhelds. While eMagin Corporation is the only manufacturer of active matrix OLED-on-silicon displays. Kodak already uses OLED displays in several of its digital-camera models.

REFERENCES

www. howstuffworks.com www. wikipedia.org A. Bernanose, M. Comte, P. Vouaux, J. Chim. Phys. 1953, 50, 64 (eBook). T. R. Hebner, C. C. Wu, D. Marcy, M. H. Lu & J. C. Sturm, Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 519 (1998) (eBook) J. Bharathan & Y. Yang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 2660 (1998) (eBook)

THANK YOU