All About White OLED Lighting

Sony has just launched the first OLED television to hit the market, and the technological world is abuzz! The Sony XEL-1 OLED TV has a screen that measures a mere 3mm in depth and allows use of a memory stick for high resolution digital images. But what about white OLED Lighting?

The magic of OLED is that the emissive electroluminescent layer is made of a very thin coating of organic compounds that can be flexible (even when on) or transparent when the lights are not in use. Because of how thin the layer is, the technology is well suited for small devices and is already used in products like cell phones and PDAs. OLED is also more efficient than current lighting technologies, and can mean longer battery life.

The first OLED lamp was produced by OSRAM and designer Ingo Maurer earlier this year. The light features ten separate OLED panels that emit a white light. This is the first step in what the industry hopes will be a deluge of lighting products for the home, office, auto, and anywhere else lighting is wanted.

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Company has an annual production of OLED panels numbering over two million, for use mainly in cell phones and other smaller electronic devices. Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic are also in on the OLED race, hoping to have their own OLED televisions on the market soon.

There is no telling what the future holds for White OLED Lighting technology. A flat, flexible light source that can be transparent opens the possibilities to the far reaches of the imagination. Windows that are clear during the day and a light source at night, lighted tiles, windscreen with built in lighting – all of these are just over the horizon!