Organic Light-Emitting Diode Displays for High-End Audio Systems

NASA Tech Briefs, Jan 2005

OLEDs improve resolution, definition, and user ergonomics.

Fairlight, Sydney, Australia & OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH, Regensburg, Germany

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology comprises organic thin films that, when placed between two conductors, can serve as a display. This technology requires very little power and produces radiant, self-luminous displays that do not require backlighting, resulting in thin, very compact displays. Furthermore, they offer crystal clear resolution in any lighting environment.

OLED displays made of organic materials (polymers), such as polyphenyl vinylenes and polyfluorenes, have recently been integrated into products for the high-end audio market. Specifically, a 96x64-pixel OLED display has been integrated into a large format audio mixer and multi-track editor. Additionally, 72 OLED displays were used for visual and ergonomie enhancement of the In-line Channel Panel (ILP) on the mixing surface. Audio mixing systems are traditionally mounted at desk height and at a distance of over 2.5 meters to the left or right of the seated operator. The wide viewing angle (up to 160 degrees) and bright viewing surface (average luminance of 100 nits and contrast ration of 100:1) of the displays in this system enable users to read the display no matter how they move around the studio. This results in a more efficient studio-session.

Unlike traditional LED displays with only enough resolution to present a 14-character channel name, these OLED displays enable ILP users to view vast quantities of information on a screen without having to page through menus. The information includes accurate, instantly recognizable representations parameters such as equalizer and dynamics processor information, channel name, panning position, and status.

Driven by standard IC-driver technology that supports both parallel and serial interfaces, these OLED displays are single-color (yellow, orange, green, or white) and have a 4-bit pixel grayscale capability. Operating half-life is more than 10,000 hours under ambient conditions.

This work was done by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Inc. For more information on the company's Pictiva(TM) line of graphic display products, contact Kelly Mizener at helly.mizener@osram-os.com or (408) 456-4193. Visit the company online at www.osram-os.com. For more information on Fairlight contact John Lancken, CEO, at john@fairlightau.com or 02-9975-1777. Learn more about Fairlight and their Constellation-XT audio mixer and multi-track editor online at www.fairlightau. com.