Organic LEDs light up dashboards
By: Jack Nerad for Driving Today
Date: 2005-10-03
No, they're not free-range lights fed no additives and kept away from chemical fertilizers. But organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in auto dashboard displays are making their debut in three new automobiles: the Aston-Martin DB9, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the Chevrolet Corvette.
While previous uses of OLEDs have been limited to cell phones, digital cameras, and automotive aftermarket radios, ABI Research analyst Joshua Laurito said that displays made using OLEDs offer one great advantage to auto makers: they don't burn out as quickly as the lamps that illuminate conventional dashboards. Because of this, the new technology makes perfect sense for high-end vehicles. Even factoring in the higher cost of the new displays, fewer warranty claims to replace a part costing under a dollar translates into big savings for luxury car manufacturers and dealers and greater satisfaction for customers.
The new instruments have been built by Yazaki Corporation, which says that they offer a high contrast ratio, low voltage and power consumption, cold temperature operation, a nearly perfect 180-degree viewing angle and a thin, lightweight construction.
"Eventually," Laurito said, "higher production volumes will drive down the cost of OLED displays until they are affordable in even mid-range vehicles. Samsung, for instance, has announced a doubling of OLED production, allowing prices to fall by as much as 50 percent."
While OLEDs produced by expensive "small molecule" processes hold center stage today, low-cost printed polymer OLED displays will eventually--towards the end of this decade--provide the mass market needed to spur widespread adoption, in the automotive market and elsewhere. We just can't wait.
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