Do LCDs have a chance to keep a leading position on flat panel display market?

Abstract

A lot of significant discoveries and inventions in the field of technology of displays were made in the latter part of the twentieth century. Apart from well-known CRT, the plasma-, luminescence- and liquid crystal-displays are commercially available. One can notice that a leading position on that flat panel displays market belong to LCD. But the progress in Organic LED materials and devices is impressive. Threshold voltage for light emission have fallen from several thousands V to just 2 - 3 V for today's OLEDs (polymer and small molecule). Luminous efficiency has increased from 0,01 to more than 10 lm/W. These improvements have brought PLED technology to the point where serious consideration is being given to OLED graphic and video display product. The question given some years ago by Dr. M. E. Becker, [Display Metrology and Systems]: "...is the current OLED enthusiasm justified because OLED displays feature significant improvements in visual and ergonomic performance, and because they are much cheaper to manufacture; Or it is just another hope for those who missed the LCD train?...," is trite. During SID Conference in Baltimore in 2003 two companies claiming to have built the largest organic LED. International Display Technology demonstrated a 20 inch display driven by "super amorphous silicon" technology; Sony showed off its 24 inch screen, which consists of a 2x2 tiled array of OLED displays. The presented work will be oriented towards specifying the characteristic features of liquid crystal and electro luminescence organic compounds which make these groups of displays so attractive and prospective among other imagery systems devices existing nowadays.