There were some rich developments in components
in 2007, particularly in innovative display technologies.
Novaled, Immersion, and Clairvoyante
all reported key advances. And necessary though
taken for granted, capacitors also saw a noteworthy
development, thanks to Electronic Concepts.
INNOVATION ON DISPLAY
Novaled has extended the
life of white organic LEDs (OLEDs), addressing a primary
concern surrounding their use. As a result of proprietary PIN
OLED technology and materials, the company reports an
efficiency of 35 lm/W and a lifetime of 100,000 hours at a
brightness of 1000 cd/m2. At a brightness level of 4000
cd/m2, white OLED efficiency is 31 lm/W with no significant
changes in color or color rendering index (CRI) value.
The component exhibits CIE color coordinates of x/y =
0,43/0,44 with a CRI of 90. It also features a stacked setup
with blue fluorescent and red/green phosphorescent
emitter materials, described as a hybrid approach. Proprietary
materials make up the stacking and transport layers.
Plus, the device includes a standard out-coupling
enhancement film.
Delivering a taste of virtual reality, Immersion’s TouchSense
technology makes graphic buttons on a touchscreen feel like
their mechanical ancestors. The tactile-generation technology,
consisting of an interface and software, feeds back vibrations
at varying frequencies, intensities, durations, and wave shapes
to the touchscreen. This gives users the impression they are
pushing buttons, toggling switches, and moving levers. These
vibrations are synchronizeable with audio to further enhance
the experience.
TouchSense is available in two versions: one for larger systems
with touchscreen sizes from 2 in. to more than 19 in.,
and TouchSense Mobile supporting touchscreen sizes up to
15 cm diagonal (Fig. 1 and 2). In addition to opening a range
of new consumer applications for touchscreens—i.e., cell
phones, games, and media players—the technology has several
essential benefits. As a tactile feel ensures an action
occurs, the advantages are obvious for visually impaired
users as well as in medical and industrial environments
where users may need to wear gloves.
Also chipping away at the barriers to OLED usage, performance,
and manufacturing concerns, PenTile RGB subpixel rendering technology from Clairvoyante
opens the doors for the display
market’s first high-resolution activematrix
(AM) display panels using
OLEDs. One of the challenges for such
displays is getting the resolution
beyond qVGA.
Higher resolutions require higher
pixel counts, which require higher
current levels. Higher current, in turn,
significantly lowers the life expectancy
of OLEDs. PenTile technology can
deliver VGA resolution with a third
fewer pixels than current LCD technologies,
resulting in lower current
and longer display life. On the manufacturing
side, PenTile significantly
reduces the number of transistors on
the backplane, translating into higher
backplane yields and even lower power
consumption.
The first fruits of this technology will
take the form of a handheld wVGA (480
by 800) OLED panel from Samsung SDI
for handheld Web browser, GPS, and
other portable video applications. Set for
sampling during the first quarter of
2008, the display provides a diagonal
viewing area of 3 in. and specifies a luminance
of 200 cd/m2, a contrast ratio of
10,000:1, and an NTSC color gamut of
100% while consuming 400 mW.
TOP CAP
Electronic Concepts’ Fuseac
technology protects metallized film
capacitors from failures due to overheating
in ac applications. It performs like a
thermal fuse, as it disconnects the capacitor
from the circuit when it reaches a particular
temperature.
The technology also can preset a critical
temperature and pinpoint hot
spots on the capacitor. In addition to
providing reliable protection in system,
Fuseac accounts for the self-healing
properties of metallized film capacitors.
By disconnecting the capacitor
before healing is required, it eliminates
excessive healings, which degrade the
component over time and reduce its
functional life.
The company’s 5MPF series of
polypropylene film capacitors puts
Fuseac to work (Fig. 3). These caps offer
voltage ratings of 300, 600, and 900 V
ac and capacitance values from 10 to
250 µF with an operating temperature
range of –40°C to 85°C. Other features
include inverter output filtering for Wye
and Delta circuits.