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"  This test structure, built using a flexible composite called SmartWrap, shows the potential of organic light-emitting diodes to make walls glow from within. (Photograph by Barry Halkin) In these hi-def hungry times, anything that promises brighter, thinner, more energy-efficient TV screens generates some buzz. That&amp;#039;s why, for the past couple of years, tech-sector engineers have been chattering about organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which work by applying an electrical charge to a thin layer of organic compounds, which then emit light. The pixels are self-luminescent, so no backlite is needed. Samsung debuted a 40-in. prototype OLED display in 2005, and smaller screens, such as the 2.2-in. color display on Hasselblad&amp;#039;s high-end H2D-39 digital camera, are now hitting the market. But research into OLEDs isn&amp;#039;t limited to better TVs and camera screens. With $43.7 million in funding from the U.S. Army, the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University (ASU) was opened to develop ultraefficient flexible (or even rollable) screens using OLEDs and other approaches. Flexible OLED displays are still at least five years away, but OLED lighting is much closer. Last August, ASU partner Universal Display demonstrated a white OLED panel with double the power efficiency of a standard incandescent bulb. The panel emits true white light, without the bluish tones cast by nonorganic LED fixtures. Click to enlarge A Hasselblad digital camera that features a 2.2-in. OLED display. The most far-fetched application of OLEDs is, naturally, the most exciting: incorporating thin, flexible lighting into building materials to create walls and ceilings that glow or display moving images. &amp;quot;Originally, OLEDs were purpose-built. They were intended for cellphone screens and camera displays,&amp;quot; says architect James Timberlake of Philadelphia-based KieranTimberlake Associates. He is one of the creators of SmartWrap, a composite material that can be printed with OLEDs in weather-resistant sheets. &amp;quot;OLEDs are eminently scalable,&amp;quot; Timberlake says. &amp;quot;With SmartWrap, the size of the display is only limited by the size of the printer.&amp;quot; Timberlake expects SmartWrap to be available in three to five years. For now, researchers are experimenting with luminescent compounds and polymers to bring OLED manufacturing costs down. The R &amp;amp;amp; D pipeline is long, but there&amp;#039;s a bright and extremely flexible light at the end of it. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a1109/4204043/>