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SCMP Reporter

Breakthrough inventions will help create super flat screens that cost less and use less power

Think of the next leap in flat-screen technology, and images of sleek displays packed with pixels and more pristine images easily spring to mind.

Being told it was simply panels that cost less and needed less power might seem mundane. But if technology brings the price of flat screens down to earth, or makes third-generation (3G) mobile phones smaller, we might all be using them that much sooner.

The message that lower cost and more energy-efficient screens were the way forward was delivered by a mission of leading British scientists, led by Peter Batchelor  of Britain's Department of Trade and Industry, on a recent visit to Hong Kong.

It will also have struck a chord on the preceding mainland leg of the mission's trip as widespread power shortages give energy efficiency a newfound urgency.

The technology behind these new displays is polymer light-emitting diode (PLED),  often referred to as organic displays, which hopes to challenge the dominance of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs).

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) chief technology officer Jeremy Burroughes  said: 'While LCD screens need a back light to illuminate, PLED works simply by passing an electric current through layers of organic materials.'

He speaks with the authority of being one of the original three-person team who invented the technology in a Cambridge University Laboratory in 1989.

CDT was subsequently established as a spin-off from the university to develop the patented technology. Earlier this year, it filed for listing on Nasdaq.

Other advantages of organic displays are that viewing is possible in direct sunlight from any angle and surfaces can be as thin as 2mm. Mr Burroughes said cost reduction was driving sales of this breakthrough invention.

Aside from energy efficiency, manufacturing tends to be less costly than that of LCDs as fewer processes are needed.

Electronics groups Philips was expected to begin shipping PLED colour displays next year and Seiko targeted 2006.

Mobile phone manufacturers have been one of the earliest adopters of the technology as less power-hungry displays help keep handset sizes small - a particularly crucial issue for 3G phones as customers snub the bulkier handsets.

Battery-sensitive devices such as digital cameras are also prime candidates for this technology.

One weakness of the technology was its durability because organic materials could decompose and emissive displays eventually became dimmer. But this problem was being overcome rapidly, Mr Burroughes said. Near term, it was less an issue for mobile phone users than flat-screen televisions.

CDT does not have the organic-based displays market to itself. Imaging heavyweight Kodak has patented a similar technology. It is already being adapted for use in its EasyShare L663  digital cameras.

LCD technology will also remain hard to dislodge as the colossal sums of money invested in its development ensure its functionality will improve and get cheaper. Still, with expectations that the global LCD market will grow by about 40 per cent this year to US$60 billion, it is easy to see why optimism abounds.

One such innovation in LCD technology is a ZBD (zenithal  bistable display)  panel invented by QinetiQ, which allows images to be kept on a display indefinitely without the use of power after it is turned on. A prototype showed how the technology could be used for displaying supermarket prices allowing brighter and more complex displays.

This ubiquitous technology can be applied to smart cards, toys, electronic books and shop billboards. China could also retain its fondness for luminous displays, without using too much electricity.

QinetiQ business development manager Ian Sage  said the ability of manufacturers to easily add on ZBD to existing production processes was behind its strong reception from mainland companies.

But the trade mission was not just concerned with new flat screens.

Mervyn Rose,  of Dundee University, explained how technological advances could help traditional cathode ray tube boxes escape obsolescence by allowing them to make 'genuinely flat displays'.

The technology employs surface emitting devices and is being used by Cannon.

But so much for energy efficient displays, what about the sexier end of the display world such as pocket-sized foldable screens or the holy grail of monitors that deliver images as good as 20:20 vision?

Cold water was poured on the former innovation.

The main proponent seemed to be the United States military - 'but they got mugged on that one' was the verdict. The latter drew animation and agreement.

Logystyx's British director Chris Williams said: 'It is definitely going to happen. One day you will have a flat screen of sufficient image quality mounted on a wall that you will be able to look out the window and not know if it's real or not.'

Mr Sage confirmed the expert group had not lost its grip on reality. When asked if we can look forward to Star Trek-like visual effects, he said: 'You can beam me up Scotty, but you can't break the laws of physics.'



Displays set for organic leap with PLED, trade mission says