Companies are still investing time and money in OLED research, and TDK is one of the innovative companies. At the CEATEC exhibition in Japan TDK showcased an OLED panel measuring just 0.3 mm in thickness, and an OLED panel that is 50% transparent. 

0.3 mm OLED
There has been a lot of talk of the OLED technology for many years now and the problem with sub-pixel lifetime has been improved considerably in the recent years. Instead, the different companies are now racing to exhibit the potential of the OLED technology.


TDK 0.03 mm OLED

At CEATEC 2010 in Japan TDK exhibited OLED panels measuring just 0.3 millimeters (0.12 inches) in depth. By comparison, a standard printing paper has a thickness of 0.1 mm. 

The OLED panel is deposited on a plastic substrate, which is part of the reason that the panel is this thin. It also makes the screen very flexible and you can actually roll the screen.


TDK 0.03 mm OLED in color

The showcased panel is 3.5 inches in size and has a resolution of 256x64 pixel. According to TDK a plastic substrate - rather than glass – does not reduce picture quality visibly.

TDK expects to begin mass production of the panel in late 2011. 

OLED with 50% transparency
TDK also exhibited a 50% transparent OLED panel, which is a new record in terms of transparency. Samsung previously exhibited a 40 % transparent OLED panel in a laptop computer.


TDK 50% transparent OLED

The panel is 2 inches large and has a resolution of 320x240 pixels. TDK says that they can initialize mass production as soon as customers want it. 

From the front, images on the screen are visible but from the back of the panel no images are visible. See the picture below. 


TDK 50% transparent OLED from the back when it’s on

Learn more about the OLED technology on our OLED coverage page here.

Source: Nikkei.co.jp