Jordan O'BrienWhen we discussed the pros and cons of OLED vs QLED, we noted that the latter offers a much brighter picture due to limitations with OLED screens. Thankfully, that may not be the case for much longer, as researchers at Imperial College London have come up with a way to boost the brightness of OLED displays while also reducing their energy usage.
According to the researchers, the problem with OLED isn’t to do with the technology itself, but the fact that most manufacturers choose to layer their displays with anti-glare filters. After all, if you’re watching TV in a sunny room, the last thing you want is to be watching yourself. The problem with anti-glare filters is that they block out a significant amount of the light OLED displays actually produce, requiring the device to push more power to the OLED display to ensure it’s as bright as possible.
The researchers at Imperial College London have come up with a technique to avoid the issues of anti-glare filters, and it uses a modified OLED which can create polarised light, which should pass through the anti-glare filter undimmed. “Our study suggests, for the first time, that by changing our OLED recipe we can generate efficient polarising OLEDs,” notes Dr. Jess Wade.
“The findings could make screens of all kinds brighter, with better contrast and longer life.”
If you’re hoping that your next project will use a bright OLED TV that’s equipped with a polarised OLED, then I’ve got some bad news. There’s currently no timescale regarding commercialisation of this technology, although the big manufacturers have made some moves towards fixing the issue. Take for instance LG’s 2019 OLED TVs, which are their brightest yet at 790 nits. Compared to some LCD TVs that output at over 2,000 nits, however, OLED still has a long way to go.