How to select an OLED?

Passive matrix OLEDs have been around since the 1980s and are currently regarded as a mainstream display technology due to their extended lifetimes, great brightness, and reduced unit and tooling costs compared to custom displays.

Discussion of the KEY parameters, which include:

Full Color vs. Monochrome

Overall Size: What are the physical constraints that the OLED must work around?

Resolution: How many pixels per inch are you looking for?

Luminance: How bright should it be?

All of these factors can and will influence the pricing of the OLED display, so knowing what you need can save you time and money.

Full color or monochrome?

When you've established that an OLED display is the best option for your project due to its high contrast ratio, brightness, and resolution, the following step is to decide whether you'll require monochrome or multicolor.

If you chose monochrome, keep in mind that many OLED displays support grey. What does this imply? It's basically the variations from WHITE to BLACK in various levels. Typically, from 2 levels (WHITE(ON) /BLACK(OFF)) to 16 levels, providing a variety of gray tones. Similarly, if you decide that a full color display is required, there are numerous color options available, ranging from 64k to 265k.

Size

The active area size and the panel size are the two most important dimensions to consider. The active area is the area of the display that contains the pixels that will light up to show your image. The panel size is the overall physical size required to fit into your product. In an OLED display, there is often a border between the edge of the glass panel and the active area. This border is required for the internal wiring of each pixel, as well as the possible mounting of the driver IC that controls the current to the pixels.

Resolution

This phrase denoted the size of the pixels. The smaller the individual pixel size, the higher the resolution of the display. The amount of resolution you want will be determined by what you intend to display on the monitor. For example, if you want to display icons or symbols with limited text, you may only need a low resolution, but if you want to display video images or very elaborate graphics with gray scale, you will need a higher resolution capacity.

Luminance

In the early stages of product development, luminance or brightness can be the most difficult metric to quantify. Because the luminance of an OLED is determined by the type of organic material used as well as other structural aspects, it is critical to share your application with the OLED provider so that they can guide you. In rare situations, OLED vendors may be able to offer you an independent demo of the OLED operating according to its specs. One way to determine how much brightness you will require from the display is to determine whether the OLED will be used indoors or outdoors. Outdoor applications will necessitate a high luminance to overcome the brightness of the sun; otherwise, the display may be unreadable.

Cost

All of the important characteristics I mentioned above will have an impact on the price of the OLED display. Most OLED vendors will work with you to find a happy medium between what you require and how much you are willing to spend on the display.