Next Generation AMOLED display technologies

Active-matrix OLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or AMOLED) is a display technology for use in mobile devices such as mobile phones. OLED describes a specific type of ultra thin, ultra bright display technology which doesn't require a backlight and Active-Matrix refers to the technology behind the addressing of pixels. AMOLED technology continues to make progress towards low-power and low-cost large size (e.g. 40-inch) for applications such as TV.


Technical explanation
An active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display consists of OLED pixels that have been deposited or integrated onto a thin film transistor (TFT) array to form a matrix of pixels that generate light upon electrical activation, which functions as a series of switches to control the current flowing to each of the pixels.


Typically, this continuous current flow is controlled by at least two TFTs at each pixel, one to start and stop the charging of a storage capacitor and the second to provide a voltage source at the level needed to create a constant current to the pixel and eliminating need for the very high currents required for passive OLED matrix operation.


Characteristics
Active-matrix OLED displays provide higher refresh rate than their passive-matrix OLED counterparts, and they consume significantly less power.This advantage makes active-matrix OLEDs well suited for portable electronics, where power consumption is critical to battery life. The amount of power the display consumes varies significantly depending on the color and brightness shown.


When the display gets bent with a radius smaller than the critical radius, it leads to cracking of the overcoat layer on the plastic substrate, and this crack propagates through the address bus lines. The cracked bus structures cause the displays to exhibit intermittent line failures, gross line failures, or large regions of non-functioning areas including complete display failure.


See also: amoled-mobile-display-technology-active