If you’re old enough, you remember sitting in front of a TV with a picture tube (cathode ray tube) to watch your favorite shows. Those clunky TV sets were wonderful at the time, but the picture quality wasn’t great and they took up a large chunk of your living room. Thank goodness TV technology has improved! Now you can get an OLED TV with better picture quality than you could imagine then. Plus, these TV sets are practically paper-thin. Take a look at how OLED technology works and why you need it in your life.
LED vs. OLED Technology
TV technology has changed a lot over the past decade. We went from CRTs to flat screens to high-definition LCDs and LEDs very quickly. Now, OLED TVs are the standard that provide ultra high-definition picture quality to viewers. OLED screens are an offshoot of LEDs. Traditional LEDs produce photon lights by putting electrons into electron holes on semiconducting materials. These photon lights produce what you see on your screen as pictures. OLEDs improve on this method by using a series of light emitting films made of organic compounds instead of individual lights for their electrons and electron holes. These compounds are what make the “O” in OLED. The process uses less energy and fewer heavy metals, and the visual results are much better than regular LEDs.
A Closer Look at OLED Technology
Photons are what you see on your screen when you’re watching TV. They are created as electrons are put into electron holes. OLEDs produce their electrons and electron holes though six layers of materials. The top layer is a seal and the bottom layer is a substrate. Next you have a cathode on top to create a negative terminal and an anode on the bottom to create a positive terminal. These layers are essential in the transfer of electrons into electron holes. Between the cathode and anode are two more layers, which are the emissive layer and the conductive layer, where the photons are actually produced.
Colors are produced on OLEDs through thousands of red, green, and blue films. They work independently, like the pixels on LCD screens, which is why we can get complex, hi-resolution pictures with perfect black and intense color. Although Samsung and Sony have produced OLED TVs, LG is the industry leader.
Types of OLEDs and Advantages
Now that you understand the technology behind OLEDs, there are two different types of OLEDs you can encounter. The most common type deposit organic molecules onto glass to produce photon lights. The other type deposit polymer molecules onto plastic to produce their light. They are thinner and flexible.
OLEDs are great because they are so thin. This is because they don’t require a backlight since their light is produced internally. Plus, the response time of the OLED picture is much better than in other technologies, which reduces delay in video games, sports, and movies. And OLEDs consume less energy, which can save you money on your electric bill.
You need OLED technology in your life. It is the best way available today to improve your TV viewing experience.
