A fiber optics cable is a kind of pipeline containing a light transmitting material, called the core, surrounded by a plastic sealant, called the clad. Light enters one end of the cable, passes through the core, while the clad prevents escape. The light exits the other end of the cable without losing almost any energy. Now imagine the same thing, but flat.
How can a fiber optics cable, by definition round and long, turn into a flat, square shape? More important - why? Oree believes that flexible flat three-ply light transmitting systems will replace back light units (BLU) in televisions and mobile phones, because the new system will transmit better quality light, is substantially more energy efficient, and the technology can be molded into any shape imaginable.
Oree CEO Eran Fine says the company is developing a kind of sandwich using elastic polymers. The core layer is covered by two clad layers. Instead of light entering from one end of a cable and exiting the other, as in an ordinary fiber optic cable, it enters the core layer from one edge, and spreads evenly through the core. In this way, the light uniformly breaks through the clad, in other words horizontally with the help of Oree’s technology. The technology channels light through the layer via micron-sized granular material. In this way, the sheet become a light source, suitable for back lighting for flat screens of any size.
Liquid crystal display (LCD) screens are the commonest type of screen for electronic appliances, including televisions, computers, and devices such as PDAs and mobile telephones. An LCD screen works as follows: at its back is a uniform light covering the full spectrum, and the arrangement of crystals in the screen defines which colors pass through at which point and at what intensity. The back lighting in LCDs is usually based on a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), which generates a lot of heat, is expensive, and often low quality. In recent years, CCFLs have been replaced by liquid emitting diodes (LEDs). Oree doesn’t want to replace the LED, but to make it much more efficient.
An LED has a silicon body inside of which flows an electric current vibrating at frequencies in the light spectrum. Fine says LEDs are expected to replace the light source for LCD screens within 20 years. The problem is that current screens have trouble uniformly transmitting light from LEDs to every part of the screen to create a uniform picture. LEDs also require considerable energy and their efficiency is low.
Current LED systems work as follows: light is emitted from an LED placed behind a screen, from which it is separated by a plastic sheet. The light from an LED passes through the LED’s clad, then through an air layer, and enters the plastic sheet, where is disperses to be emitted at the other side of the sheet in a fairly uniform manner. The problem is that the transitions between the LED, clad, air layer, and plastic sheet breaks up the light and causes it to lose energy. The loss of energy requires a more powerful source of light, which means a stronger battery, greater heat, and a larger LED. In addition, the dispersal of light within the plastic sheet is not completely uniform.
And now for something completely different: Oree proposes a different structure for the sheet, a new location for the LED, and unique methods for dispersing the light within the plastic. First of all, the sheet in which the light is dispersed is built in the form of a three-ply fiber optic made from flexible polymers. The LED is placed parallel to the sheet, instead of behind it, and most importantly, the LED is placed within the sheet, rather than outside it. In this way, the light only passes through one layer (between the LED and the clad) to disperse within the sheet. This cuts energy consumption in the sheet by 30-50%. Oree is considering building the LED directly inside the sheet, which will act as its own clad, further reducing energy consumption. This method should also shorten production procedures of screens, cutting costs even more.
Installing an LED within the sheet, the need for fewer LEDs, and less energy sources should also make thinner screens possible. In the screen industry, as in life, thinner is the ambition of many.
Fine says that another advantage of fiber optics is its elasticity and flexibility. The LED is placed inside the fiber optic, and the light disperses uniformly without depending on the angle of the sheet. Consequently, the sheet can be folded or rolled, and the light will still disperse through the clad. This development means that it will be possible to make LCD screens in any shape: round, curly, or suitable for placing on clothing.
To date, Oree has obtained a few hundred thousand dollars in financing from private investors, and has developed a prototype. The company now needs $3 million for marketing and setting up production.
“Globes”: What product are you offering industry?
Fine: “We intend to manufacture a component that any screen maker can install in its screens at their own production lines, without having to redesign them.”
Who are your competitors?
“Any company making high-energy back lighting is a worthy competitor. Some companies make very good attachments, and others have already succeeded in placing LEDs inside. These companies are already in the market and have sales, but their products are less efficient than what we believe is possible to achieve, nor are they able to insert an LED within a screen without a clad, because their production processes require much higher temperatures.”
What stage of development have you reached?
“We’re at the pilot stage, manufacturing the sheet at the laboratory level. Our initial applications will be for televisions and mobile telephones. We already have an agreement with a leading television manufacturer to test how the system functions when attached to the screen; in other words, do we meet the specifications of savings in energy we promise. We’re also talking with another leading manufacturer for the same purpose.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 17, 2005