ABSTRACT
Effi cient organic thin-fi lm electroluminescence was discovered in the 1970s and forms the basis of a new generation of fl at-panel display technology. A device based on this phenomenon is called an organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The rapid pace of technological development in OLEDs directed toward display applications, such as notebook PCs and TVs, is driven largely by the substantial revenue opportunity in this market segment.1-7 For a large market penetration, however, active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display performance should meet or exceed power effi cacy, lifetime, color gamut, resolution, and display luminance specifi cations in order to be competitive with the well-established LCD and PDP technologies. This requires careful selection of OLED materials, device architecture, manufacturing methods, and backplane technology. OLEDs also represent the future of a vast array of completely new lighting applications.8-10 By combining color with shape, OLEDs will create a new way of decorating with solid-state lighting. At the same time, OLEDs offer the potential to become even more effi cient than fl uorescent light bulbs.
