(Feb. 24, 2009) TOKYO: Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has found a way to turn an entire wall into a TV screen using organic light emitting diode technology. The company developed an enhancement that overcomes the efficiency limitation that has constrained OLEDs up to now. The technology, called “nano-grating,” improves the light extraction capability of OLEDs by a factor of 1.6, Tech-On reports.

OLEDs consist of particle layers that conduct energy to organic molecules that emit light. Light was first coaxed from organics about 50 years ago. The combination of materials determines the color. OLED was incorporated into diodes about 20 years ago; and into polymers during the 1990s. The polymer bit allows for the flexible displays that have emerged at trade shows in recent years.

Universal Display Corp. in Ewing, N.J., has been developing OLEDs since 1994 and holds a slew of patents for it. Samsung licensed Universal’s OLED technology in 2005 and rolled it out in a 40-inch HDTV last October, the largest OLED display unveiled up to that time.

Toshiba’s nano-grates redirects available light to increase the light efficiency of OLED, which in turn is more energy efficient than liquid crystal or plasma display technology.

OLED wall covering could be used for anything from a video display to a source of ambient lighting. While the technology is nowhere near the point of being a retail product, the scientific advances continue nonetheless. Tech-On also reports that scientists in Japan have created a OLED capable of producing 3D images through the use of circularly polarized light.