Thinnest HDTV (AMOLED) Revealed by Samsung

Samsung has revealed a host of display units that are powered by the new AMOLED technologies - including a full sized 30" display at SID 2008.

Since this is the first time we’ve covered AMOLED’s lets first look at how they work.

An active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display consists of OLED pixels that have been deposited or integrated onto a thin film transistor (TFT) array to form a matrix of pixels that illuminate light upon electrical activation. In contrast to a PMOLED display, where electricity is distributed row by row, the active-matrix TFT backplane acts as an array of switches that control the amount of current flowing through each OLED pixel.

The TFT array continuously controls the current that flows to the pixels, signaling to each pixel how brightly to shine. Typically, this continuous current flow is controlled by at least two TFTs at each pixel, one to start and stop the charging of a storage capacitor and the second to provide a voltage source at the level needed to create a constant current to the pixel. As a result, the AMOLED operates at all times (i.e., for the entire frame scan), avoiding the need for the very high currents required for passive matrix operation.

In addition to the 31" HDTV, they have also unveiled a concept laptop that has an AMOLED display.

Units like this will give the MacBook Air a serious run for the money - both as a supermodel thin laptop, but also as a super-power-efficient laptop which might just survive trans-pacific trips from Hong Kong to New York. Why? Simple .. the AMOLED’s do not require a power hungry backlight AND as we all know, Samsung has some pretty cool stuff going on with its 200GB solid state drives which further reduce power consumption.