A SEMINAR REPORT ON

Evolution of AMOLED AND SUPER AMOLED display technology

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
PRESENTED BY: ESHAN SINGH ROLL No. 0809140030 SESSION 2010-2011 SEMINAR SUPERVISOR:

JSS MAHAVIDYAPEETHA

JSS ACADEMY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, NOIDA

November 2010

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Seminar Report entitled ..................................... which is submitted by Mr/Ms.... in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree B. Tech. in Department of ........................................ of U. P. Technical University, is a record of the candidate work carried out by him under my supervision.

Date: SUPERVISOR Mechanical Engineering Department JSSATE, Noida

ABSTRACT Technology today is moving at an unimaginable pace. From the outdated CRT to the unbreakable and flexible AMOLED screens, would anyone here have imagined hammering their cell phones screen and its still working? Super AMOLED have evolved from LEDs that used semiconducting properties to emit light. The width went to decreasing as did the number of layers required for the setup. Super AMOLED is one of the latest engineering developments in this field that used just a single AMOLED panel with a width of around 0.001mm. It covers the various drawbacks registered by the previous winner AMOLED screen in this series.

INDEX 1. Introduction 2. L. E. D. 3. O. L. E. D. 3.1 OLED 3.2 Working Mechanism 3.3 How OLEDs work 3.4 Advantages 3.5 Samsung Applications 3.6 Sony Applications 4. A. M. O. L. E. D. 5. Super A. M. O. L. E. D. 6. 5 reasons why we should be excited about Samsungs Super AMOLED. 7. Challenges and Issues 8. Future Tech: Transparent and Flexible screens 9. Conclusion

Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices, and are increasingly used for lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962, early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness. When a light-emitting diode is forward biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. An LED is often small in area (less than 1 mm2), and integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern. LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. LEDs powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output. Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as replacements for aviation lighting, automotive lighting (particularly brake lamps, turn signals and indicators) as well as in traffic signals. The compact size, the possibility of narrow bandwidth, switching speed, and extreme reliability of LEDs has allowed new text and video displays and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in advanced communications technology. Infrared LEDs are also used in the remote control units of many commercial products including televisions, DVD players, and other domestic appliances.

Physics
Like a normal diode, the LED consists of a chip of semiconducting material doped with impurities to create a p-n junction. As in other diodes, current flows easily from the p-side, or anode, to the n-side, or cathode, but not in the reverse direction. Charge-carriers electrons and holesflow into the junction from electrodes with different voltages. When an electron meets a hole, it falls into a lower energy level, and releases energy in the form of a photon. The wavelength of the light emitted, and thus its color, depends on the band gap energy of the materials forming the p-n junction. In silicon or germanium diodes, the electrons and holes recombine by

a non-radiative transition which produces no optical emission, because these are indirect band gap materials. The materials used for the LED have a direct band gap with energies corresponding to near-infrared, visible or near-ultraviolet light.

Organic light-emitting diode

An organic light emitting diode (OLED) is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compounds which emit light in response to an electric current. This layer of organic semiconductor material is situated between two electrodes. Generally, at least one of these electrodes is transparent. OLEDs are used in television screens, computer monitors, small, portable system screens such as mobile phones and PDAs, watches, advertising, information and indication. OLEDs are also used in light sources for general space illumination and in large-area light-emitting elements. Due to their comparatively early stage of development, they typically emit less light per unit area than inorganic solid-state based LED point-light sources. An OLED display functions without a backlight. Thus, it can display deep black levels and can also be thinner and lighter than established liquid crystal displays. Similarly, in low ambient light conditions such as dark rooms, an OLED screen can achieve a higher contrast ratio than an LCD screen using either cold cathode fluorescent lamps or the more recently developed LED backlight. There are two main families of OLEDs: those based upon small molecules and those employing polymers. Adding mobile ions to an OLED creates a Light-emitting Electrochemical Cell or LEC, which has a slightly different mode of operation. OLED displays can use either passive-matrix (PMOLED) or activematrix addressing schemes. Active-matrix OLEDs (AMOLED) require a thin-film transistor backplane to switch each individual pixel on or off, and can make higher resolution and larger size displays possible.

Working principle

Schematic of a bilayer OLED: 1. Cathode (), 2. Emissive Layer, 3. Emission of radiation, 4. Conductive Layer, 5. Anode (+)

A typical OLED is composed of a layer of organic materials situated between two electrodes, the anode and cathode, all deposited on a substrate. The organic molecules are electrically conductive as a result of delocalization of pi electrons caused by conjugation over all or part of the molecule. These materials have conductivity levels ranging from insulators to conductors, and therefore are considered organic semiconductors. The highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) of organic semiconductors are analogous to the valence and conduction bands of inorganic semiconductors. Originally, the most basic polymer OLEDs consisted of a single organic layer. One example was the first light-emitting device synthesised by J. H. Burroughes et al., which involved a single layer of poly(p-phenylene vinylene). However multilayer OLEDs can be fabricated with two or more layers in order to improve device efficiency. As well as conductive properties, different materials may be chosen to aid charge injection at electrodes by providing a more gradual electronic profile, or block a charge from reaching the opposite electrode and being wasted. Many modern OLEDs incorporate a simple bilayer structure, consisting of a conductive layer and an emissive layer. During operation, a voltage is applied across the OLED such that the anode is positive with respect to the cathode. A current of electrons flows through the device from cathode to anode, as electrons are injected into the LUMO of the organic layer at the cathode and withdrawn from the HOMO at the anode. This latter process may also be described as the injection of electron holes into the HOMO. Electrostatic forces bring the electrons and the holes towards each other and they recombine forming an exciton, a bound state of the electron and hole. This happens closer to the emissive layer, because in organic semiconductors holes are generally more mobile than electrons. The decay of this excited state results in a relaxation of the energy levels of the electron, accompanied by emission of radiation whose frequency is in the visible region. The frequency of this radiation depends on the band gap of the material, in this case the difference in energy between the HOMO and LUMO.

How do OLEDs work?

An OLED is made by placing a series of organic thin films between two conductors. When electrical current is applied, a bright light is emitted. Here's Kodak's description of OLEDs "OLED displays stack up several thin layers of materials. They operate on the attraction between positively and negatively charged particles. When voltage is applied, one layer becomes negatively charged relative to another transparent layer. As energy passes from the negatively charged (cathode) layer to the other (anode) layer, it stimulates organic material between the two, which emits light visible through an outermost layer of glass."

Advantages
The different manufacturing process of OLEDs lends itself to several advantages over flat-panel displays made with LCD technology.

Future lower cost: Although the method is not currently commercially viable for mass production, OLEDs can be printed onto any suitable substrate using an inkjet printer or even screen printing technologies they could theoretically have a lower cost than LCDs or plasma displays. However, it is the fabrication of the substrate that is the most complex and expensive process in the production of a TFT LCD, so any savings offered by printing the pixels only work to offset the OLED's costly LTPS substrate - a fact that is borne out by the significantly higher initial price of AMOLED displays than their TFT LCD competitors. A mitigating factor to this price differential going into the future is the cost of retooling existing lines to produce AMOLED displays over LCDs to take advantage of the economies of scale afforded by mass production. Light weight & flexible plastic substrates: OLED displays can be fabricated on flexible plastic substrates leading to the possibility of Organic light-emitting diode roll-up display being fabricated or other new applications such asroll-up displays embedded in fabrics or clothing. As the substrate used can be flexible such as PET, the displays may be produced inexpensively. Wider viewing angles & improved brightness: OLEDs can enable a greater artificial contrast ratio (both dynamic range and static, measured in purely dark conditions) and viewing angle compared to LCDs because OLED pixels directly emit light. OLED pixel colours appear correct and unshifted, even as the viewing angle approaches 90 degrees from normal. Better power efficiency: LCDs filter the light emitted from a backlight, allowing a small fraction of light through so they cannot show true black, while an inactive OLED element produces no light and consumes no power. Response time: OLEDs can also have a faster response time than standard LCD screens. Whereas LCD displays are capable of a 1 ms response time or less offering a frame rate of 1,000 Hz or higher, an

OLED can theoretically have less than 0.01 ms response time enabling 100,000 Hz refresh rates.

Samsung applications
By 2004 Samsung, South Korea's largest conglomerate, was the world's largest OLED manufacturer, producing 40% of the OLED displays made in the world, and as of 2010 has a 98% share of the global AMOLED market. The company is leading the world OLED industry, generating $100.2 million out of the total $475 million revenues in the global OLED market in 2006. As of 2006, it held more than 600 American patents and more than 2800 international patents, making it the largest owner of AMOLED technology patents. Samsung SDI announced in 2005 the world's largest OLED TV at the time, at 21 inches (53 cm). This OLED featured the highest resolution at the time, of 6.22 million pixels. In addition, the company adopted active matrix based technology for its low power consumption and highresolution qualities. This was exceeded in January 2008, when Samsung showcased the world's largest and thinnest OLED TV at the time, at 31 inches and 4.3 mm. In May 2008, Samsung unveiled an ultra-thin 12.1 inch laptop OLED display concept, with a 1,280768 resolution with infinite contrast ratio. According to Woo Jong Lee, Vice President of the Mobile Display Marketing Team at Samsung SDI, the company expected OLED displays to be used in notebook PCs as soon as 2010. In October 2008, Samsung showcased the world's thinnest OLED display, also the first to be 'flappable' and bendable. It measures just 0.05 mm (thinner than paper), yet a Samsung staff member said that it is "technically possible to make the panel thinner". To achieve this thickness, Samsung etched an OLED panel that uses a normal glass substrate. The drive circuit was formed by low-temperature polysilicon TFTs. Also, low-molecular organic EL materials were employed. The pixel count of the display is 480 272. The contrast ratio is 100,000:1, and the luminance is 200 cd/m. The colour reproduction range is 100% of the NTSC standard. In the same month, Samsung unveiled what was then the world's largest OLED Television at 40-inch with a Full HD resolution of 19201080 pixel. In the FPD International, Samsung stated that its 40-inch OLED Panel is the largest size currently possible. The panel has a contrast ratio

of 1,000,000:1, a colour gamut of 107% NTSC, and a luminance of 200 cd/m (peak luminance of 600 cd/m). At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2010, Samsung demonstrated a laptop computer with a large, transparent OLED display featuring up to 40% transparency and an animated OLED display in a photo ID card. Samsung's latest AMOLED smartphones use their Super AMOLED trademark, with the Samsung Wave S8500 and Samsung i9000 Galaxy S being launched in June 2010.

Sony applications
The Sony CLI PEG-VZ90 was released in 2004, being the first PDA to feature an OLED screen. Other Sony products to feature OLED screens include the MZ-RH1 portable minidisc recorder, released in 2006 and the Walkman X Series. At the Las Vegas CES 2007, Sony showcased 11-inch (28 cm, resolution 960540) and 27-inch (68.5 cm, full HD resolution at 19201080) OLED TV models. Both claimed 1,000,000:1 contrast ratios and total thicknesses (including bezels) of 5 mm. In April 2007, Sony announced it would manufacture 1000 11-inch OLED TVs per month for market testing purposes. On October 1, 2007, Sony announced that the 11-inch model, now called the XEL-1, would be released commercially; the XEL-1 was first released in Japan in December 2007. In May 2007, Sony publicly unveiled a video of a 2.5-inch flexible OLED screen which is only 0.3 millimeters thick. At the Display 2008 exhibition, Sony demonstrated a 0.2 mm thick 3.5 inch display with a resolution of 320200 pixels and a 0.3 mm thick 11 inch display with 960540 pixels resolution, one-tenth the thickness of the XEL-1. In July 2008, a Japanese government body said it would fund a joint project of leading firms, which is to develop a key technology to produce large, energy-saving organic displays. The project involves one laboratory and 10 companies including Sony Corp. NEDO said the project was aimed at developing a core technology to mass-produce 40 inch or larger OLED displays in the late 2010s. In October 2008, Sony published results of research it carried out with the Max Planck Institute over the possibility of mass-market bending displays, which could replace rigid LCDs and plasma screens. Eventually, bendable, transparent OLED screens could be stacked to produce 3D images with much greater contrast ratios and viewing angles than

existing products. Sony exhibited a 24.5" prototype OLED 3D television during the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2010.

Active-matrix OLED
Active-matrix OLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or AMOLED) is a display technology for use in mobile devices and televisions. OLED describes a specific type of thin film display technology in which organic compounds form theelectroluminescent material, and active matrix refers to the technology behind the addressing of pixels. AMOLED technology is currently used in mobile phone and media players and continues to make progress towards low power, low cost and large size (for example 40 inch) for applications such as televisions. Technical

Schematic of an active matrix OLED display

An active matrix OLED display consists of a matrix of OLED pixels that generate light upon electrical activation that have been deposited or integrated onto a thin film transistor (TFT) array, which functions as a series of switches to control the current flowing to each individual pixel. Typically, this continuous current flow is controlled by at least two TFTs at each pixel, one to start and stop the charging of a storage capacitor and the second to provide a voltage source at the level needed to create a constant current to the pixel and eliminating need for the very high currents required for passive matrix OLED operation.

TFT backplane technology is crucial in the fabrication of AMOLED displays. Two primary TFT backplane technologies, namely polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) and amorphous silicon (a-Si), are used today in AMOLEDs. These technologies offer the potential for fabricating the active matrix backplanes at low temperatures (below 150C) directly onto flexible plastic substrates for producing flexible AMOLED displays.

Super AMOLED

Super Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode or Super AMOLED is a display technology for use in mobile devices such as mobile phones. It differs from many other display technologies in that the layer which detects touch is integrated into the screen rather than being overlaid on top. The first company known to produce display units of this type is Samsung, when it introduced its Samsung Wave mobile phone on 14 February 2010. The Samsung i9000 Galaxy S series, including the Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, and Vibrant, also use this display. Compared with advantages are

the

first-generation

AMOLED,

the

Super

AMOLED

20% brighter screen 80% less sunlight reflection 20% reduced power consumption

Samsung's Super-AMOLED displays are AMOLED displays with an integrated touch function. Samsung has placed a touch-sensor (on-cell) over the display and made it evaporate. The thickness of the touch sensor is just 0.001mm (!) this allows the screen to provide better images and to have great visibility even in direct sunlight (Samsung says that they perform 20% better than regular touch AMOLED outdoors). SuperAMOLEDs also have better lifetime than regular AMOLED and are very

responsive to touch - even better than the iPhone's display. SuperAMOLED have been announced in January 2010. This display is indeed spectacular. People who've seen it say that it's bright and crisp has unbelievable colors, perform great under sunlight and is simply 'the best display found in any phone".

5 reasons to get excited about Samsungs Super AMOLED

Super AMOLED differs from other display technologies in that the layer which detects touch is integrated into the screen rather than being overlaid on top. Another benefit of the next-generation display technology is that an AMOLED display do not need backlights because they emit light itself when electricity is applied. The reduction in components and other advancements result in the absolute best display you will find on any smartphone this year. Samsung is already boasting that their Super AMOLED technology outperforms the iPhone 4 Retina display in several areas including contrast ratio, color reproduction, and response time.

1. Power consumption 20% more battery life Battery life remains one of the biggest areas of concerns for Android users. Sure your battery will normally get you through the day, but wouldnt it be nice if you could squeeze a couple extra hours out of your phone? Depending on how you use your phone, the display is normally at the top of the list when checking your battery use. Samsung claims their Super AMOLED display provides 20% more battery life vs traditional AMOLED, so its quite conceivable to give you that extra hour of use that you sometimes need. 2. Superior sunlight readability 80% less sunlight reflection The biggest gripe with traditional AMOLED displays (like the ones found on the Nexus One and Incredible) is that they are hard to read out in direct sunlight.There have been many times when I had to find some shade just so I could operate my phone. Since the touch layer is integrated into the Super AMOLED screen, there is less reflection when viewing the display. To be exact, Samsungs official measurement is 80% less sunlight reflection when using a Super AMOLED display.

3. Viewing angle 180 degrees Did you know Samsungs Super AMOLED mobile phone display offers a 180 degree angle? That means even if you held the Super AMOLED display at eye level, you could still see the images on the screen without any blurring or distortion. This makes it easier to share your videos and pictures with the people around you without having to tilt the display. 4. Contrast ratio 100,000 to 1 Super AMOLED display offers 100,000 to 1 contrast ratio, for unmatched vivid colors and clarity. The contrast ratio for Super AMOLED is the closest comparison in the U.S. mobile industry to the current HDTV standard. 5. Brightness 20% brighter If you have never seen an AMOLED display, then drive down to your local Verizon store and play with the Incredible. The color reproduction of an AMOLED display is noticeably better than a TFT LCD when you hold them side by side. Games, pictures, and YouTube videos come to life with the vivid colors and brighter display. Samsungs Super AMOLED offers an even better display because it is 20% brighter versus a traditional AMOLED screen.

Challenges and Issues:

Samsung is producing the worlds best touch screens in the market today. But they also fear the upcoming mammoth demand for this technology as their phones are launched in the US this year itself. They have announced opening of a new factory capable of producing more than 30 million Super AMOLED touch screens each year but that, being opened late July 2011, the demand is certainly going to exceed the supply at their end. The resolution may also be one of the issues where they maybe feel like improving to tackle the RETINA display of iPhone 4 which claims to give 326 pixels per inch ( human eye can only differentiate upto 300pixels per inch) , hence given the name RETINA display to one of the finest display in market.the RETINA display was invented by LG Electronics but has been put to use and marketed under Apple only. The two model with Super AMOLED on board have a resolution of 480x800 which is very much satisfactory. The resolution development has gone to an extent that Michigan University students claim to have invented the highest resolution screen at lab drawing their logo on a 9 micron screen( a strand of our hair is more than 100 micron in width).

Future Tech: Transparent / Flexible OLEDs

Because OLEDs are so thin (and the architecture is simple) - they can be made flexible, and transparent, too. This paves the way to all sorts of interesting applications:

Curved OLED displays, placed on non-flat surfaces Wearable OLEDs Transparent OLEDs embedded in windows OLEDs in car windshields New designs for lamps And many more we cannot even imagine today... Obviously it's not so easy to make those advanced displays.

Flexible OLEDs require that the entire device is flexible - including the electronics and the encapsulation layer. Of course you cannot longer use glass like in LCDs. Several companies are working on this technology, using either plastic or metal based displays. The same goes for transparent OLEDs.

Conclusion
The added battery life alone is enough to sell me on the display and the extra benefits are just icing on the cake. Samsung actually produces most of the displays found in competing smart phones, so I expect they will have an exclusive for awhile.

The only concern is Samsungs ability to keep up with demand. Both the HTC Incredible and HTC Desire have faced extreme shortages because they utilized AMOLED displays manufactured by Samsung. The company is already building a new facility in South Korea which can produce 30 million displays per month, but it is not scheduled to open till July 2011. Hopefully, they can focus their current resources on producing enough 4 inch Super AMOLED displays to keep the Galaxy S inventories up when the phone launches in the U.S. this summer. For now the super AMOLED screen is at the highest end of mobile phone screen technology. But how will screens develop in the future? Manufacturers are currently working on solutions for common complaints, such as widening viewing angles and the strength of colours in direct sunlight. This will be even more important as tablet devices increase in uptake and users come to expect more visual functionality of their phones, tablets and e-readers.

REFERENCE
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active-matrix_OLED www.oled-display.net/what-is-amoled en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_light-emitting_diode en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_AMOLED www.oled-display.net/technology/super-amoled www.oled-display.net/super-amoled www.oled-info.com/super-amoled www.androidcentral.com/samsung-says-their-super-amoled-betterany-retina-display www.samsung.com/au/smartphone/technology/super-amoled.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB0CQOGJcHg&feature=player_ embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQkLMG3SBQ4&feature=player _embedded#at=50