Thin, Flexy OLED Lighting Sheets Coming 2011

We’ve been hearing about OLED technology off and on for years now, but now we have word that flexible OLED lighting could be entering into production late next year.

According to Aving.net, Korean-based Modistech has demonstrated a flexible ultra-thin OLED light, which can be used as a white backlight source. The OLED light would be flexible to fit into form factors and designs that current LCDs do not permit.

Sadly, much of this technology, while possible today, is still a ways away. Mass production won’t begin until late 2010, with products based on it not hitting the market until 2011. It’ll also be expensive too, at a approximately $213 per square meter of the material.

While not the same thing, Sony showed off its own flexible OLED at CES early this year. Rather than being just a flexible, bendable light source, Sony’s prototype was a display capable of displaying full motion, albeit low-resolution, video.

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Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
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  • falchard
    Square meter? Thats actually fairly large.
    Reply
  • Tekkamanraiden
    That's what I( was thinking and really not that bad of a price.
    Reply
  • pharge
    It is not that bad... but that is just the cost of the film... the final product may end up very expensive. and... hmm...... wait! ... that is only an OLED-"light" not a "screen"... so having that price for a flexiable light source... hmm...
    By the way... it will be cool to have that OLED-light embedded into my tent... no more holding the fleshlight while reading in my camping tent ...:D
    Reply
  • kewl munky
    Yeah that's not that terrible of a price. But what would be the overall use of this? Maybe a way to display a picture on a dome ceiling of some sort? Or have a pillar with a screen wrapping around it?
    Reply
  • skine
    phargeno more holding the fleshlight while reading in my camping tent ...I don't even want to know what you're reading if you're holding a fleshlight.
    Reply
  • pharge
    haha.... lol
    Reply
  • afrobacon
    i can see people making glow in the dark cars with this stuff... fun
    Reply
  • Blessedman
    This is great news though, as the process to make these can't be far off from making OLED screens. This could rapidly drive down the prices of actual TV's. Lets hope this is actually a viable product.
    Reply
  • hustler539
    skineI don't even want to know what you're reading if you're holding a fleshlight.
    LOL, for those who dont know what a fleshlight is, yahoo it.
    Reply
  • Blessedman
    Also forget LED back lighting, this is the technology that will give us the next best display technology until OLED displays arrive. Imagine an OLED back light that you can control very effectively (shutting off portions to make LCD ink black) and be extremely thin.
    Reply