Conventional, inorganic light-emitting devices are typically made from materials like indium phosphide or gallium arsenide that are expensive to dispose of and highly toxic. Both these substances are costly to handle and also prone to defects when used over large surface areas. In contrast, OLEDs can be made of simple nontoxic organic materials. And engineers can stretch these films over much larger areas with a smaller rate of defects than occurs in conventional displays. OLEDs do have some drawbacks.
Organic films degrade quickly when exposed to air, water, or ultraviolet light.
But advances in film casings that protect OLEDs from these elements have now enhanced their stability significantly. Before, OLEDs lasted a few hundred hours at most, which is not commercially acceptable. With these improved OLED lifetimes, a welter of new products are coming through the development pipeline. Kodak is one company that looks well positioned to cash in on the bonanza with 50 OLED patents. The display is targeted for digital cameras, PDAs, and other handheld electronic devices.