LG Philips develops oil and water based flexible display

LG Philips, known for its nearly constant pursuit of new flexible display solutions, has recently applied for a patent on a bendable OLED screen technology which would use oil and water to produce images. Apparently, current flexible OLED displays are hampered by the fact that the OLEDs get hotter than the plastic substrate, making manufacture difficult and expensive. The new process that the company is developing would circumvent those problems by making pixels out of oil and water connected to plastic electrodes. The opaque oil would float on the water and obscure a colored surface beneath -- when an electric charge was applied to the field it would reveal the surface and change the color of the pixel. The process is cheap and simple, which hopefully means a future of reading a completely digital morning paper for all of us.

[Via NewScientist, thanks Alan]

[The Best Person EVER!! @ Jul 30th 2007 9:55AM]

excellent, We NEED MORE iPhone NEWSS!!!!

[AlexP @ Jul 30th 2007 9:59AM]

Hey.

Shut up and stop trolling.

[blueeyesm @ Jul 30th 2007 10:03AM]

I find this ironic that the more advanced display technology becomes, the more we seem to going back to a very ancient way of reading information from a medium, i.e. scrolls.

[jaapv @ Jul 30th 2007 10:51AM]

The 'scroll' is the best method to illustrate its 'bendiness'.

Just showing a picture of it on the surface of a cell phone would only show that it is curved.

Having a bendable screen has more positive aspects. Like creating curved screens, or a screen from top to bottom on a flip-phone, and of course it wouldn't brake as easy. But these things are hard to show on a picture.

[Brian McBride @ Jul 30th 2007 3:22PM]

We need more scroll reading. They make you look more wise when reading them too!

[Leg3nd @ Jul 30th 2007 10:16PM]

Think about it, in scroll form no need to have ya 50inch HD television sticking out ya trunk..

[David @ Jul 30th 2007 10:04AM]

"applied for a patent on a bendable OLED screen technology"

This patent is for a bendable screen technology all right, but it's an OLED alternative, not an OLED technology itself.

[randy @ Jul 30th 2007 10:07AM]

Scrollbars in that example indicate this is a touchscreen too then? That example would be useless without a touch layer. But honestly there's been an OLED 'breakthrough' like this every week for the past 7 years. The OLED wait is burning me up. I'm going to just freeze myself.

[Ellianth @ Jul 30th 2007 2:44PM]

I can tell you that next week's model will have a sticker that says: Now with 0 grams of trans fat!

[Jason @ Jul 30th 2007 10:16AM]

This flexible display and I go together like oil and water.

[Paris K @ Jul 30th 2007 10:24AM]

Is the water drinkable?

[rob paek @ Jul 30th 2007 10:31AM]

sigh... yet another thing the world needs, an oil dependent product.

[zed @ Jul 30th 2007 10:36AM]

Well...You won't use it for just a couple of miles...

[rob paek @ Jul 30th 2007 10:37AM]

haha that's true, but I mean seriously, will this be that beneficial to technology? if we use this technology for "digital newspapers," think how much oil will have to be used. granted most people get their news online anyway, there is still throngs of people who subscribe to print newspapers.

[Josh @ Jul 30th 2007 10:40AM]

Since when does 'oil' mean 'petroleum'?

[John Doe @ Jul 30th 2007 10:49AM]

You probably better not think to hard on where the plastic from your laptop, in your car, on your bicycle, in your phone comes from then. Everything is made with oil to a certain extent.

[randy @ Jul 30th 2007 12:49PM]

Are you aware of how much oil it already takes to produce an LCD? Do you think the 0.04 milligrams of organic fluid (OIL! Ssssssss! Sssssss!) in this little display is going to make ANY DIFFERENCE?

Ban OLEDs, right! Let's just all just go back to scratching pictures on ROCKS so the planet might one day trend every-so-slightly back towards an Ice Age so the great grandson of the great grandson of the great grandson of the lovechild you and Al Gore have together can paddle her little hemp thatch pontoon in some pristine glacial pond next to the MANSION her great great great great great grandfather bought with his 'global warming' speech circuit MILLIONS then carved out of a pristine Tennessee hillside forest.

[Chris Derry @ Jul 30th 2007 2:05PM]

why do people hate al gore? boggles the mind...

[Rob @ Jul 30th 2007 4:17PM]

I don't know why people have to hate either. All I'm saying is we heavily rely on oil. Why do people have to start bashing other people, who aren't trying to start a fight? Who knows. Anyways, I'm done talking about this subject for today, it is rather tiresome. Also, where is this information with the use of oil in LCDs? I tried finding some but probably lookin' at the wrong area. Everything is made out of oil, but that doesn't mean we have to continue the trend.

[StrangeBum @ Jul 30th 2007 10:32AM]

It sure seems like a nice idea..but what happens when you are supposed to cut out coupons and stuff...

But, IMHO, I know that these new developments happen all the time, but I am glad to see them none-the-less. Because when the day comes that I can read a book from a single, collapsible piece of material will be a great day indeed.

[rob paek @ Jul 30th 2007 10:49AM]

that's true, but it seems like if it were vegetable oil or something, they would have specified, since it's not the usual "oil" we think of when the word is uttered or typed. i suppose we will have to wait and see?

[rob paek @ Jul 30th 2007 10:54AM]

no, I completely understand that. It just seems pointless to have (assuming it's petroleum) oil in a product (digital newspaper) that's completely unnecessary. we have cell phones, computers, and PDAs that can provide the news. Yes, you're right, nearly everything around us is made out of petroleum based products, I'm just saying we don't need to add to the list. We really shouldn't be too dependent on anything, except air and water of course. Then again I wouldn't want to give up my truck for an ugly electric car!

[gadjitfreek @ Jul 30th 2007 11:11AM]

I still want my flying car! You know, the one they have been promising us since the 1950's? A George Jetson model, that defies the laws of physics and folds down into a briefcase!

[Frankenstein Black @ Jul 30th 2007 1:18PM]

Sweet! One step closer to the "true iPhone killer" device.
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/efc_device.jpg
Keep going boyz...

[BPM @ Jul 30th 2007 2:12PM]

Good idea that they use oil and water instead of what I was thinking of using: blood. Because blood is thicker than water, making the screen less flexible.

[Lester @ Jul 30th 2007 2:45PM]

If the photo is an LG Philips display, why does it appear to be showing the name of OLED maker Universal Display Corporation in the header and include UDC's logo on the right-hand side of the display? Stock photo?

[lol @ Jul 30th 2007 2:48PM]

Just keep the soap away from the display.

[joshua.matson @ Jul 30th 2007 3:16PM]

A product that uses two things that we have an unlimited supply of... oil and water.

[TNP @ Jul 31st 2007 11:05PM]

Sadly, it can only display ads for salad dressings.

[ExcavatE @ Jul 30th 2007 3:21PM]

I really hope 10 or 20 years from now I can unfurl a 60+ inch version of these on my wall or at a presentation (here's hoping) !

:)

[blore40 @ Jul 30th 2007 3:22PM]

Animations on condom wrappers?

[Ant @ Jul 31st 2007 4:26AM]

My friend is a manager at a big print firm and sneaked a sample of this type of stuff to show me early this year (it was inside a rather strong display case so no touching). It only had backlit images changing from one to another and text areas that changed with the image but it was amazing to see, really magical stuff. It really is as thin as 120-140 gram paper, mad.