This is what Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) -- and Kodak with another technology -- are telling us.
CDT, which licenses its patents and technologies to other companies, is working on polymer organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology, which promises thinner, lighter and less power-consuming displays than today's LCDs.
And they are serious. Look at their home page -- today at least.
Every few decades something significant happens to change the way we see the world, literally. The serendipitous discovery of Light Emitting Polymer technology is creating a new class of flat panel displays that are set to change not only the nature of display products that are all around us, but how they are manufactured as well. Cambridge Display Technology, CDT, the inventor and licensor of the technology, is leading the development and commercialization of this remarkable phenomenon.
Marketing language on the side, it seems that David Fyfe, the CEO of this british company, has covered all the bases.
To the question "Are you developing ways to use polymer OLED technology in displays?", here is his answer.
We own the fundamental patent in the use of large-molecule light-emitting polymer, and so anybody who wants to make a display using that technology has to have a license from us. We've also built up a portfolio of over 100 patents which go alongside that first patent and are available to the licensee for use. So, basically, we are going out there and selling a license to a display maker to allow him to exploit the technology.
He seems pretty confident that OLED displays will appear on the market before 2005.
I'm looking at my monitor while typing this column and it's all electronic -- as far as I know. I'm not sure that I'll look at an "organic display" the same way. It sounds strange. Anyway, we have several years to get used to this idea.
Source: Richard Shim, CNET News.com, August 29, 2002.
