For many years, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) struggled to fulfill their promise as the dominant technology for the next generation of general-lighting. As the major LED manufacturers began to expand capacity (thereby driving down costs), many end users continued to complain about color quality, usable-life claims and the actual return on investment. Through this feedback, manufacturers realized that the requirements for the general-lighting market were not synonymous with those of the automotive, display or indicator markets.

Over time, the major LED manufacturers made significant strides toward tuning their products specifically for the lighting market. As a result, today LEDs have reached a level of acceptance for use in most general-lighting applications. LED-based products provide a highly efficacious replacement for more traditional light sources, such as incandescent/halogen, fluorescent and high-intensity discharge. Although there is still much improvement to be realized, overall, LEDs are being successfully implemented in the general-lighting marketplace.

Organic LEDs (or OLEDs) are beginning to receive strong interest for use in general-lighting applications, similar to what we saw for LEDs around 10 years ago. They are being marketed as a uniform light source with the ability to reinvent how the world is lighted. In this document, we will provide a brief history, discuss their construction (and similarities to LEDs), examine their current applications, and then explore their potential in the general-lighting market. 

To learn even more about OLEDs vs. LEDs, check out our latest white paper.