Move Over Science Fiction, Transparent Displays Now Science FACT
It seems that every week there are exciting innovations in light technology that bring us a little bit closer to the kind of world that only used to exist in our imaginations. Now many light and display manufacturers have begun producing not only flexible displays but ALSO transparent OLED displays.
Like the name implies, transparent OLED displays allow light to pass through the display in both directions. These displays can either be actively utilized by a user or can be used as a passive screen that displays a set image, series of images or moving footage. Most of the parts used to build the transparent displays are also transparent themselves. The parts are so small that the human eye cannot see them directly, but they do block enough light to create a haze that can affect the crispness of the displayed image.
Currently, these displays have a relatively low resolution, as this technology is still very new. As a result, the usability of these displays is also very low at this time. The eventual goal is to be able to produce a comparable high definition image to other non-transparent OLED displays. Future plans hope to incorporate transparent OLED displays into a variety of applications like car windshields, heads up displays on planes, and potentially wearable displays in the spirit of Google Glass.
Even though, this technology is still fairly new, many major electronics retailers have impressive timelines for eventually getting transparent displays out to consumers in just a few short years. LG was one of the first to produce an 18-inch transparent display, and by 2017, they hope to have a 60 inch OLED display that is both flexible AND transparent.
As the development of transparent OLEDs become more and more of a reality, it will become essential to have precise and highly accurate light measurement software to continue to improve the display resolution and image quality. Konica Minolta’s LS-100 Luminance Meter and CS-100A Luminance and Color Meter are high-quality instruments capable of handling transparent OLED testing and development.
