In a production step that eventually may have a cost-effective impact on mass production of OLED HD displays, researchers in Germany report a breakthrough in the process of producing OLED lighting products.
Scientists at two of the Fraunhofer Institutes in Dresden announced this week the creation of some OLED devices using what they call "a continuous roll-to-roll process."
These devices are primarily lighting devices (with which OLED is most closely associated). However, some TV makers have produced OLED TV units as well, although they typically come in a screen size of only 11 inches, as they're costly to produce.
The non-TV OLED devices created at Fraunhofer use a relatively inexpensive aluminum foil substrate--creating a flexible base that tends to block oxygen and water vapor that can otherwise destroy OLED materials.
The other breakthrough, a top layer of transparent material positioned over the OLED material in a roll-to-roll process, points to the potential of creating high-volume production facilities to create OLED lighting products and eventually other OLED products, to, including TV HD displays which are more intricate to produce.
