OLED Panels Central to Land Rover’s Discovery Vision

OLED screens will be integrated into the driver controls, in-car entertainment system and windows of the new Land Rover Discovery Vision range. A prototype of the new vehicle platform was unveiled on 21 April.

Simpler driving controls
Jaguar Land Rover is marketing the new Discovery as a major step forward in producing a smart sport utility vehicle (SUV). The driver's display will use two conformable, 3-million pixel OLED displays for driving functions. These will be controllable by touch gesture technology already familiar to smartphone users.

The new system will allow the driver to change of gears more easily using a simple hand swipe on the screen, as well as operate the Discovery's indicator lights (turn signals) and headlights. By integrating driving functions into a touchscreen format the Discovery Vision will eliminate the number of levers and knobs found on contemporary steering wheels and dashboards.

Jaguar Land Rover has invested time in developing and calibrating touchscreen sensors to ensure that such gestures are accurately captured and do not imperil the vehicle.

Interior entertainment
In-car environment functions, like air conditioning, locking and opening the doors will also be controllable via an OLED touchscreen. Passengers in the rear seats will be able to experience and control the SUV's entertainment system via another set of 10-inch OLED screens embedded in the back of the seats in front.
The Discovery Vision concept model was showcased at the New York Auto Show at the conference venue aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier the USS Intrepid. It is designed to carry seven people. Land Rover's press release on the Vision SUV says: 'The future Discovery range is set to fundamentally enhance the way drivers around the world take on the adventure of modern life.'

Smart glass
The most interesting innovation in the concept car is to use smart glass for the windows and roof panels of the Discovery Vision. These will contain transparent OLED displays. At a basic level this would allow sensitive tinting of the windows in response to bright sunlight, but could also evolve to include the ability to display information. For example, interesting details on the landscape outside could be displayed on a passenger's window as sensors detect the direction of their gaze.

For the driver, a head-up display (HUD) could be reproduced on the windscreen. By utilising cameras embedded in the front bumper the smart glass could even be used to give a picture of what is immediately below the SUV, giving the impression of a transparent bonnet (hood) - a useful aid when driving off-road.
The head lamps will use conventional LEDs, not OLEDs as some other car manufacturers, like Audi, are starting to do, but will include other innovations like laser terrain scanning. There are even plans to develop a capacity to drive the vehicle by remote control.

Although not all of the advanced functions demonstrated in the Discovery Vision model 2014 concept model will be available at once - Land Rover sees the luxury smart SUV platform developing over the next decade.

Stylus Finds New Role Measuring Thin-film Deposition

Research into thin-film electronics is becoming increasingly reliant on the function of tools such as stylus profilometry - instrumentation-based measurement of a surface's profile, in order to quantify its roughness. Advances in the use of profilometry will be fundamental to the commercialisation of barrier films and other key elements of flexible and/or transparent electronics in future.

Versatile
A US academic has demonstrated the adaptability of stylus profilometry to analyse thin-film barriers, promoting uniformity in production and helping to characterise novel materials.
Ghassan Jabbour, director of the University of Nevada's Renewable Energy Center in Reno, has found metrology instruments central to a number of his research projects. These include work on flexible electronics, photonics and photovoltaics, optoelectronic materials and devices, and solar and voltaic engineering.

Jabbour has used stylus profilers, like the Dektak 150 made by Bruker, to measure thin film thickness and to calibrate the deposition rates in vacuum chambers after depositions on film have been done. Common applications in these vacuum chamber depositions include measuring the thickness of thin coatings, spin coatings, and roll-to-roll printing.

Jabbour says: 'We used the Dektak 150 to measure 3D step heights of depositions on some of the thin films. We tried to use optical microscopy, but these films were so transparent that we could not get good resolution or images.'

Proven Technology
The original concept of a tactical measurement is still valid and critically important many decades after the stylus profilometer was first introduced. Technical evolution is now allowing more accurate measurements to be taken. Analytical capabilities have been improved by electronics capable of providing characterisation of increasingly smaller steps and surface roughnesses, automation to speed measurements, and the incorporation 3D mapping and other software advancements.

Jabbour notes that with stylus profilometry his team is able to get a bigger picture and visualise the 3D structures that are printed. The stylus profilers have also been used in fully transparent applications like inkjet print micro-optics on glass.

Being able to accurately map the surface of a thin film rapidly within a production line is becoming an area of increasing interest for manufacturers seeking to scale up plastic electronics production. Current techniques are limited, meaning detection is carried out post-production and faulty panels may not be detected until they are integrated into the finished product. In-production detection allows for less costly waste, and the rapid reworking or repair of defective areas before they leave the factory. This and the cost associated with it is a major limiting factor on economically viable, large-scale printed electronics sheets, like those used large OLED television screens.

Vacuum Deposition
Besides adapting this proven metrology for quality control, the stylus has also demonstrated its potential in characterising the vacuum deposition new materials, where it can obtain the unknown tuning factor of via an iterative process. First a thin film is deposited, and a stylus profilometer is used to measure the film thickness. This is repeated at multiple deposition rates so that the deposition rate can be precisely programmed based on the calibrations from the stylus. In this way, deposits of any thickness can be determined precisely, down to a nanometer.

Jabbour explains: 'The stylus was critical in helping us obtain information, previously unknown about certain materials, to key into the deposition monitor.'

Long-used techniques, such as vapour deposition, spin coating, and roll-to-roll printing, are still being used today in the new generation of flexible electronics.

Multiple applications
Jabbour adds: 'Everything you see, from displays all the way to solar cells, uses one of those techniques in its fabrication. I am working on solar cells and on sensors, and I can tell you that, without a stylus profiler, the work would not be complete. You need to know the thickness of your absorber, of your transport layers, of your electrodes -- it is really critical.

'Right now the stylus is the most important tool for our work. Without it, the measuring would take a much longer time, and time is money - and innovation. If you waste time with slower techniques you lose out to your competitors. Having the right tool to measure thin film thicknesses fast and in a robust manner is paramount. For us, the stylus is unlimited.'

LG Launch OLED Table Lamp

LG recently showcased a new OLED table lamp at an industry event in Germany. The development raises the prospect that the Korean firm is looking to capitalise on its leadership in OLED screens to diversify into other markets too.

The new desk lamp takes advantages of the ready conformability of OLED sheets to allow for a modern curved shape for the lighting surface. The demonstration piece shown at Light+Building 2014 in Frankfurt h incorporates two LG 210x50mm OLED panels.

The lamp can also be controlled by a smartphone and offers a range of lighting and energy saving modes.

Samsung Plan Flexible OLED Production Line by 2015

Reports from Korea state that Samsung is planning to take the plunge and invest in a factory from the wide scale production of flexible OLED panels.

Flexible smartphones
The company's A3 facility, located in Asan, will produce Gen 6 (1500x1850mm) OLED sheets. These will be fitted to give a flexible 5 or 6 inch screen for Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy S6 smartphone and Galaxy Note 5 tablet computer, both of which are set for release early in 2015.

To meet this schedule the new plant will need to be functioning by November or December 2014, with two months of test runs predicted before full scale production can begin. It is estimated that it will take at least until November for Samsung to receive the necessary production equipment from suppliers and set up the manufacturing lines. In time, these are set to produce 15,000-20,000 units each month.

Booming market

Market research from IHS iSuppli in 2013, estimated a 334% leap in the global market for flexible OLEDs in 2014 - rising from €16.6 million in 2013 to €69 million.

Though some industry insiders have suggested that the market for flexible OLEDs will not reach maturity for more years, commercial pressure from rivals are believed to be one reason Samsung has chosen to invest in the site now. Coverage in Business Korea reports that some potential Samsung customers were losing patience with the firm and threatening to take their business elsewhere; including to Chinese suppliers who are striving to catch up with market leaders in Korea.

By making the decision to use flexible OLEDs in its own products, Samsung has assured that there will be an initial market for the panels it makes. Success will de dependant on how flexible the screens actually are and to what extent they are seen as a game-changer by smartphone users. However in the longer term, it is believed that the OLED sheets will also be sold on to other equipment manufacturers for use in the burgeoning field of wearable electronic devices too.

A wider trend

Ultimately the Asan factory will also support Samsung's display products allowing cheaper production of large size curved or flexible televisions. It is not the only company that has recently decided to invest in moving to wider scale production to capitalise on the potential of OLEDs.

LG is set to cement its lead over the rival Korean firm in screen production later this year when it opens a Gen8 (2,200x2,500mm) OLED production line at its Paju factory. At optimum performance this will be able to turn out 26,000 such panels per month.

Across the Sea of Japan, Konica recently made a similar commitment to mass-produce OLED lighting panels. It has committed €70 million to the factory at Chuo-shi, which will be able to produce 1 million white-light and colour-tuneable panels each months.

OLED Sensor Glasses Designed To Reproduce Human Emotions

A set of goggles, which use OLED screens linked to sensors to simulate human emotions has been demonstrated. The device has been designed by a Japanese cybernetics expert, Hidotaka Osawa, and is intended to remove the 'emotion labour' involved in maintaining an interested expression for workers in the service industries.

The goggles called Agency Glass use an embedded gyroscope and accelerometer to track head movements and alter the OLED screen's output in response to a predetermined physical cue - for example blinking when the wearer nods their head.
A camera is used to track and identify faces to allow an impression of eye contact with a conversation partner to be maintained.

In its current format, Agency Glass is far from a commercial rollout as it is both bulky and has a battery life of just one hour. Besides their use by customer-facing employees, the goggles may also in time find a niche with patients who have ocular damage or suffer from a condition like autism.

Samsung announces breakthrough for commercialising graphene

A team of material scientists at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) has announced a major development in plans to produce graphene for use in commercial products.

The research leaders released a statement on 4 April saying: 'This is one of the most significant breakthroughs in graphene research in history. We expect this discovery to accelerate the commercialisation of graphene, which could unlock the next era of consumer electronic technology.'

The results were published in the journal Science on 3 April.

The key step has been to move away from a multi-crystal synthesis methods for large graphene panels, which have been found to inhibit the material's electrical performance. The new method developed at SAIT in association with the Sungkyungkwan University's School of Advanced Materials Science repeatedly synthesises a single graphene crystal to produce a functional semiconductor wafer.

Once graphene can be reliably produced to retain its unparalleled electrical and mechanical performance, it is though that it could become the material of choice for ultra-tin flexible display technology and wearable devices.

Athlete Electrical Muscle Stimulation Enters Wearable Era

A US company, SmartMio, is designing versions of its wireless electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) device to fully integrate with new wearable devices including Google Wear and Moto 360. The product will align with an emerging trend for the first generation of wearable technology and target the serious athlete.

SmartMio
The device, also known as SmartMio, is fitted to the skin and stimulates the wearer's muscles to contract repeated with electrical current. Rather than relying on wires and external controls, SmartMio will now be integrated with smart fitness devices via a BlueTooth connection. By integrating it into a wearable electronics network the developers believe they have created 'the most interactive and user-friendly EMS interface in the world.'
In tests, the company claims that using its EMS as part of an integrated training programme has enhanced the lifting capacity of an elite weightlifter by 20 kilogrammes after just 2 weeks.

Prototype
A prototype of the SmartMio device has now been developed backed by $50,000 (€36,500) of crowd-sourced cash. It has been tested to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for medical devices and it is planned to have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for sales in the US by December 2014.

The patches are flexible, will adhere to the skin and are powered by a lithium-ion battery, that can hold its charge for a week. Its versatility has already been proven by a team of mountaineers who have used the EMS equipment during an ascent of Mount Everest

Consumer rollout
The first version of SmartMio will sell for $149 (€109) or $289 (€211) for a two pad unit. This is close to the full cost of the device, though the firm are much keener at this point to prove the concept and allow EMS to become fully integrated into the evolving of smart wearable electronics - hence the importance of the development work with Google and Motorola.

In the past, the validity of EMS as a sports training concept has been damaged by adverts that presented it as an exercise-free way to achieve good muscle tone; but SmartMio will be firmly aimed at professional and serious amateur athletes.

Once market share is established, the company will then look to move beyond EMS fitness devices and develop other models. These would be used in therapeutic roles, for pain reduction, aiding muscle repair following injury or to stimulate blood flow during prolonged air travel to protect against deep vein thrombosis.

Scottish-Polish team achieves record 90% luminance for red OLEDs

University researchers in Poland have employed two novel materials to produce what they claim are the brightest red OLEDs ever, and are considering their future application in treating cancer.

Europium
The new compounds were produced by introducing phosphine oxides to the element europium at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC-PAS) in Warsaw. Testing has shown that these are able to achieve luminescence quantum yields of up to 90% for red light with a wavelength of 612nm.

A second research team at St Andrews University in Fife, then used the new compounds to create prototype high-efficiency red OLEDs. Critically both materails are capable of being easily used into fast low-cost OLED production lines at room temperature and when completed do not degrade under exposure to light or oxygen.

Treating cancer
One application that is envisaged for the new printable red OLEDs is in wearable therapeutic patches. The plastic electronics would be integrated in a flexible patch to worn on the skin of a patient, where due to their efficiency they would draw very little power. When placed over a specific area the red light could be used to stimulate active cancer-treatment ingredients previously introduced to the patient.

Such an approach would allow the patient to stay mobile and reduce the time spent in hospital using specialised medical equipment - cutting the cost for healthcare providers.

Other uses for the high-efficiency red OLEDs are in displays and vehicle lighting.

In 2011, the IPC-PAS received €3.3 million via the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme to help fund its work.

Apple is reported to have purchased a batch of 65-inch OLED panels for development of a future version of its television, provisionally dubbed the iTV.

OLED switch?According to coverage in the Korea Herald the Californian company has sourced the sample panels from a Korean supplier, but has not yet fully committed to the following the OLED path set by LG and Samsung. 

It was originally planned that the iTV would use modern liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and be available in 65 and 77-inch models in the second half of 2014. However in October 2013, Apple announced it was pushing the launch date back to 2015 - a move which has been linked to a possible decision to switch to OLEDs, if an adequate large panel supplier can be found.

Wearable controller
Other reports have emerged that when it is finally launched the new television will come with a wearable electronic iRing to allow gesture control instead of conventional button based remote controls.

The name of the product is in doubt too, as iTV would potentially conflict with the name of the British television network, ITV - meaning it might need an alternative designation, especially in the UK. 

Printed Electronics Temperature Labels to Enhance Food Supply Chain in 2015

Plastic electronic labels innovator Thinfilm has announced a partnership deal with PakSense to sell the first generation of its printed electronic temperature sensing labels into the Americas.

Under the deal, PakSense has gained the exclusive right to sell the technology developed by the Norwegian company to its customers within the ambient, chilled and frozen food supply chain in North, Central and South America. The new labels will be integrated with PakSense's existing temperature monitoring labels used to assure the quality of shipments of packaged meat, produce and seafood.

Pre-order for 2015
The relative cheapness with which the plastic electronics temperature-monitoring labels can be produced means PakSense will be able to use several within each shipment pallet giving a more detailed picture of whether part or all of a container has exceeded a safe level.

PakSense has already submitted pre-orders for the labels which have been developed from a prototype demonstrated in 2013. They will be made available to its client base of major food retailers and suppliers from early in 2015.

Partnerships to market
The agreement with PakSense follows ThinFilm's established business tactic of evolving technology and then licensing a firm with an existing market presence, especially in the US, to allow a rapid penetration of a relevant market sector.

In January 2014, ThinFilm signed an accord with Brady to supply time sensitive labels for security applications.

Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm, explains: 'PakSense is a market leader in the development of intelligent sensing products specifically designed to monitor perishable goods - in addition to being a noted expert in cold chain transport and distribution. They maintain an extensive network of resellers and distributors, which makes them an ideal Thinfilm partner.'

A deal to rollout a label employing the same technology for the same function in healthcare and pharmaceuticals was announced on 31 March. The partner in this instance is Temptime based in New Jersey.

David Oster, CEO of PakSense, says: 'By introducing Thinfilm's printed electronics technology to the perishable foods space, PakSense will provide another tool to help ensure overall product integrity. We are delighted to pass this value along to our customers and look forward to working with Thinfilm on additional technology developments in the future.'

On-pack marking
It has been conjectured that in future smart labels with a temperature-monitoring function could become a standard feature on food packs and Thinfilm has an established development partnership with packaging manufacture Bemis to produce these.

Thinfilm and its partners are aiming to disrupt the global market for temperature monitoring sensors is estimated to be worth €2.54 billion. Around 200 million chemical sensing labels are currently sold each year at an average price of €0.22 each.

RF-future
While products developed from Thinfilm's first smart label platform are now clearly gaining market traction through their partners, the company has bolder plans for the future. In February it bought out the US smart label company, Kovio, thereby gaining access to its Near-Field-Communications (NFC) expertise and patents. NFC is a simple communications protocol compatible with modern Android system smartphones.

It is planned to design and build a smart label incorporating Thinfilm's sensors, printed logic and an NFC capability before the close of 2014 - doing this will potentially open up many more opportunities, especially in applications where direct contact with the consumer is desired. Ultimately, because a flexible printed electronics label is so cheap to produce the company hope they will become ubiquitous with many everyday items, forming a key building block of the Internet of Things.

OLED Lights Reach New Levels of Efficiency

Philips and Konica Minolta have both announced details of new super-efficient OLED lighting panels. Both are white light panels. This places them in a strong position for applications within the general lighting market.

The Japanese firm's new unit is 1,500 mm²and has a light output of 131 lumens per watt (lm/W). This beats its previous best performing OLED panel which had an efficiency of 103lm/W. It employs internal quantum efficiency and light extraction efficiency technology.

Phillips will give more details on its new panel in a presentation scheduled to happen at the SID 2014 Display Week in June. The Philips unit just beats the Konica panel, by giving 132lm/W, due to advanced optical design.

Konica meanwhile has announced that in Q3 it will begin mass production of OLED panels at a new custom-build €72 million facility in Japan.

Bayer Sells Off Graphene Patents

Bayer Material Science has announced that it is selling off a decade's worth of patents for graphene to another German company, which specialises in carbon composites.

Under the terms of the agreement announced on 31 March, 10 years' worth of intellectual property in graphene and carbon nanotubes will be transferred from Bayer to FutureCarbon based in Bayreuth. The price FutureCarbon has paid under the deal has not been publicised.

Walter Schutz, managing director of FutureCarbon, says: 'We are happy that we were able to acquire the Bayer patents for further market realisation of the technology. They expand our applications base substantially and open up new possibilities and business segments for us.'

In 2013, Bayer announced that it was closing the multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) production line on which it had spent a considerable amount of money, as the market for the much heralded material became saturated.

Bayer Material Science's CEO, Patrick Thomas, made the point that he did not consider that either material should now be considered a dead end. He says: 'We remain confident that the technology harbours tremendous potential, particularly for a renowned specialist company like FutureCarbon.'

Temptime and Thinfilm to develop smart label for pharmaceuticals

Temptime is looking to expand the range of monitoring services for healthcare after signing an agreement with leading smart labels firm Thinfilm.

Collaboration model
The two companies will now cooperate on evolving Thinfilm's existing printed electronics temperature-sensing smart label to allow it to measure the integrity of packaged pharmaceuticals during transport and in storage. Thinfilm's label is based on its first stand-alone printed electronic circuit which was announced in October 2013. The technology is also being successfully marketed at the perishable food packaging segment too.

The new labels will complement the existing range of specialist medical labels sold by Temptime.

Renaat Van den Hooff, president of Temptime, says: 'We are pleased to align with Thinfilm, an equally innovative company, to develop and produce cost-effective, electronic temperature indicators that accurately communicate critical temperature threshold data...[to] alert people to the risk of using medical products damaged by extreme temperatures.'

Healthcare markets
A key advantage of using the Thinfilm's labels in pharmeceuticals is that its digital display removes any ambiguity from temperature readings and whether a temperature that will damage a product has been exceeded.

Working with Temptime will give Thinfilm a partner in the healthcare industry, a market it sees as a major opportunity. It is believed that aging populations and the increased need to monitor them cheaply will create a demand for future smart labels with integrated biosensors.

The Norwegian company is well placed to exploit this, especially since its acquisition of Kovio in January gave it access to that firm's Near Field Communication (NFC) patented technology. This gives an easy route to communicate biosensor readings back to a clinician, as NFC capability is increasingly becoming a standard feature on Android system smartphones. 

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