What Is the Difference Between LED & OLED?

Regular LED

• A regular LED is essentially a semiconductor diode with a positive and a negative side joined together. The place at which these two sides join is call a pn-junction, where p stands for positive and n for negative. In semiconductor physics terminology, the negative side has an excess of negative charges, or electrons, while the positive side has a net deficiency of electrons. The deficiency of electrons creates a net positive charge on the p-side. When the negative and positive terminals of an LED are connected respectively with the positive and negative sides of a battery, the electrons cross the pn-junction and recombine with the net positive charge on the p-side. This recombination causes the atoms to emit light. Such LEDs are made up of inorganic semiconductors, such as GaAsP or AlGaAs.

Organic LED

• An organic LED, or OLED, is similar to a regular LED except that it is made up of organic semiconductor material, such as Alq3, which has the chemical formula Al(C9H6NO)3. This organic material is sandwiched between two electrodes and produces light when current is made to flow through its volume. The active material is thinner than a regular LED. OLEDs are commonly used in high-resolution displays for devices such as televisions, computers and cellphones.

Applications of Regular LEDs

• Regular LEDs are used as status indicators in electronic devices, as lighting sources and in display units. Use of these LEDs in industrial lighting applications is growing fast mainly due to their low power consumption and long life. However, until the cost of LED-based lights comes close to traditional light bulbs, their household use will remain limited. Regular LEDs also are used in high-resolution display units.

Applications of Organic LEDs

• OLEDs have a big advantage over regular LEDs due to their malleability, that is their ability to be transformed into any shape or form. Hence, large panels made of OLEDs can be constructed and formed into desired shapes for high-resolution display units, such as high-definition televisions. Since OLEDs do not require backlight, they have an advantage over traditional LCD displays in terms of power consumption and device engineering.