Organic Light-Emitting Diodes: for an EnLIGHTened" Future April 29, 2009 NEW YORK, April 29, 2009 – The OLED Association (OLED-A) is highlighting OLED displays and innovative OLED lighting applications at EcoFocus.  With display and lighting products and prototypes from its member companies and their customers, OLED-A is providing the media attending EcoFocus with an overview of the technology’s “green” benefits.   “The industry has long recognized the potential for power efficiency in both OLED display and lighting solutions,” said Barry  Young, managing director, OLED Association. “Power efficiency translates into lower power consumption which saves natural resources and reduces environmental impact.’  OLEDs are also easier and cleaner to produce than current display and lighting technologies, with a smaller carbon footprint throughout the product’s life cycle.” At EcoFocus, the Association is demonstrating flexible, near-eye, and direct-view displays for hand-held and wearable applciations, as well as lighting concepts that show the breadth of OLED’s current use and potential. According to the Association and its members, organic light-emitting diodes have the potential to offer even greater power savings as the technology continues to develop. Beyond that, though, their whole lifecycle yields  a significantly smaller carbon footprint than competing technologies.  OLED manufacture involves relatively few steps, and OLED products and pose none of the associated issues in customer handling and recycling. For example, while flourescent lighting offers significant improvements in power efficiency over traditional carbon filament lighting, flourescent bulbs contain mercury, posing handling issues in manufacture as well as in consumer usage and disposal. Recent work with OLED lighting indicates it can offer equivalent or better efficiency that flourescent lighting, but without mercury, while also offering a thin, flat and, possibly, flexible form factor. The OLED advantages multiply beyond their green characteristics. OLED displays provide more vibrant colors, higher contrast, and faster response. OLED lighting yields a warmer, more natural white light. “With better performance, better energy efficiency, and a smaller carbon footprint, OLEDs in displays and lighting just make sense for the user, the country, and the earth,” Young concluded. Contact information for all member companies is available at www.oled-a.org. About the OLED Association (OLED-A) OLED-A provides a forum for the interchange of technical and market information. Its membership includes companies involved in small-molecule OLED technology and polymer technology (PLED or light-emitting polymers), as well as supporting technologies, as well as companies incorporating OLED displays and light sources into their products. OLED-A serves its membership by fostering the more rapid development of OLED technology and OLED products; serving as a resource on OLED markets and products for media and investors; functioning as a catalyst in the development of standards for OLEDs; and providing a forum to promote and market OLED technology products.