OLED, also known as Organic Light-Emitting Diode, has been introduced to us as this technology that makes gadget sound “high-tech”. What is it and who invented it?
Professor Ching Wan Tang, Hong Kong and American Physical Chemist, was awarded the 2019 Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology for introducing and one of the contributors of OLED. The Inamori Foundation, Kyoto, Japan, presents the Kyoto Prize as a global recognition for those who have made important contributions to humankind's advancement in science, culture, and spirituality. OLED is a technology that makes use of LEDs and generates light from organic molecules. The best display panels in the world are thought to be made with these organic LEDs.
Photo taken from Hong Kong Academy of Science
Hong Kong-born Tang completed his higher studies in Canada and the US before beginning his employment at Eastman Kodak in 1975. They used the organic heterojunction, a Tang-invented bilayer structure with an electron donor and an electron acceptor, for a variety of applications, including OLEDs, after employing Van Slyke. Wherever LCDs are used, OLEDs can also be used. They offer improved brightness and color, are lighter and thinner, and have an incredibly quick response time for actions like refreshing and switching on and off. OLED panels use luminescent organic materials to create their own light, unlike LCDs, which rely on a backlight that uses color filters to produce light.
For his work on organic materials and electronics, Tang has won various honors, including the 2011 Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the 2004 American Chemical Society Award for Team Innovation, which he also shares with Van Slyke.
Written by: Issa Calipay
Issa Calipay is a digital marketing intern of PS Media Enterprise. She is an incoming 4th Year student of Advertising and Public Relations from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Sta. Mesa.
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