A high contrast ratio combined with good readability from all angles are key quality factors for many display applications. These characteristics are standard features of screens based on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which in the past have not been rugged enough to be broadly implemented for industrial use. The display manufacturer ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY is aiming to target that issue. The implementation of a patented technology can dramatically increase the life time of OLED displays.
Using OLED displays is not just a favorable option in terms of aesthetics since they also feature an extremely high contrast ratio of at least 2000: 1. High contrast considerably improves the readability of displays. The same applies for a further important characteristic of OLED displays, the extremely wide viewing angle. Industrial applications where high-quality materials and prefabricated assemblies are often processed also require quick response times. Good readability can significantly contribute to the safety of the overall system as well as for the persons working on it. Till now, however, the primary implementation of OLED displays was limited to consumer electronic products such as smartphones and digital cameras. The reason for this: In comparison to conventional displays the limited service life expectancy rendered the organic display panels unsuitable for use in products with a long service life.
But now, this is about to change. The display specialist ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY introduced a range of OLED displays into the market whose life time absolutely rivals that of conventional TFT and LCD panels. At room temperature, these products can deliver a service life performance of 100,000 operating hours and more – a life expectancy that most conventional display units can’t even come close to. Our OLED displays are not just limited to operation at favorable room temperatures, they can also function flawlessly in machine rooms and other demanding environments. With a maximum operating temperature of 80°C, they are able to operate under conditions that are far too extreme for humans. And even after 14,000 operating hours under these thermal conditions, the new OLED displays can still deliver 50% of their initial brightness. Even at arctic temperatures these OLEDs are not prone to failure – quite the contrary. They can even be operated at -40°C without any loss of contrast. Unlike conventional LCDs, whose reaction times become increasingly slow at lower temperatures, OLEDs maintain their extremely fast response time of 10 microseconds even at subzero temperatures.
The OLED product range of ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY is comprised of 9 different models, which are available in various colors and sizes. All models are equipped with an integrated alphanumeric controller, whose instruction set is based on the HD44780 controller. The 3 most important character sets – European, Cyrillic and Japanese – are all contained in the controller of the displays; special characters can be defined additionally. The modules need only a simple form of power supply and feature low power consumption between 15 and 50mA. Depending on the module, the screens can display 2 lines with between 8 and 20 characters or 4 lines with 20 characters per line.