Sony increases investment in OLED

 

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Posted on 19 Feb 2008 at 08:09

Sony is increasing its investment in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, as it seeks to take an early lead in the market.

The company launched the world's first OLED TV in November, and now it intends to spend $203 million on further developing its manufacturing infrastructure behind the technology.

OLED displays use organic compounds that emit light when electricity is applied. Unlike liquid crystal display panels they do not need backlighting, making OLED TVs around 3mm thick and around 40% more energy-efficient than LCD TVs.

However, large OLED panels are difficult to manufacture and Sony's existing OLED TV has just an 11in screen. The engineering challenges have already caused Toshiba to shelve its OLED plans, and Panasonic to put back development until 2010.

Author: Reuters