OLED was the most twitted topic on CES as more people discussed OLED display technology than any other tech- world trend.

CHANDRAGUPTA AMRITKAR reports from Las Vegas.

Is 2012 the year of OLEDs? It probably would be as more and more companies are focusing on OLED products. Though in existence for a few years, this years CES brought them into focus as the two technology powerhouses - Samsung and LG Electronics - wowed the crowd with the new 55- inch 3- D capable OLED ( organic light- emitting diode) TVs for the first time. Even CEA president Gary Shapiro while addressing the press said OLED was one of the main topics at CES. Mobile phones were the first to adopt AMOLED ( Active- matrix OLEDs) displays and is the largest market for OLEDs today.

Simple MP3 players with small character displays or A/ V players with large full- colour displays - many such devices use OLED panels today. Several compact and high- end cameras use AMOLED displays that offer rich colours and high contrast and brightness OLED lamps are currently very expensive, but already several companies are offering these in the premium lighting category.

OLEDs are also used in wrist watches, headsets, car audio systems, remote controllers, digital photo frames and many other kinds of devices. OLEDs are also used in largearea light- emitting elements for general illumination.

OLED TVs aren't available yet commercially - but some high- end small s are already shipping in small volumes and thats our focus in this column.

So what is an OLED? An OLED is a light- emitting diode ( LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compounds which emit light in response to an electric current. This layer of organic semiconductor material is situated between two electrodes. Generally, at least one of these electrodes is transparent.

There are two main families of OLEDs: those based on small molecules and those employing polymers. Adding mobile ions to an OLED creates a Light- emitting Electrochemical Cell or LEC, which has a slightly different mode of operation. OLED displays can use either passive- matrix ( PMOLED) or active- matrix addressing schemes. Activematrix OLEDs ( AMOLED) require a thin- film transistor backplane to switch each individual pixel on or off, but allow for higher resolution and larger display sizes.

LGs 55" OLED TV LG OLED TV, the 55" 55EM9600 was an attraction at CES 2012. This is a Full- HD panel that features 100,000,000: 1 contrast ratio and fast response time ( 1,000 times faster than LCD according to LG). The TV is based on LG Displays Oxide- TFT white- OLED with color filters ( RGBW, more on this below) OLED panel. LG says that their OLED TV will generate the most natural colours of any TV set - at a much lower price point than could have been achieved using the standard OLED manufacturing process. As the OLED TV does not require a lamp or bulky support structures, the OLED TV is 4mm thin and weighs a mere 7.5kg ( 16.5 pounds), making the OLED TV ideal for wall mounted display. Additionally, when mounted on a wall, the OLED TVs design creates minimal space between itself and the wall.

Samsung 55" OLED TV Samsung Super OLED TV Dominated CES 2012 ( yes the company is calling its spin on organic light- emitting diodes 'Super OLED'). Its 55- inch Super OLED TV collected numerous prestigious awards including Best of CES Innovations Award at CES 2012.

Super OLED technology delivers the ultimate in picture quality and thinness, since there is no need for a color filter as the OLED pixel unit comprises self- emitting RGB sub- pixels laid directly on the display panel, each emitting its own light.

The technology is also able to differentiate varying degrees of blacks and shadows, so that users can enjoy unparalleled detail even in the darkest of scenes for the ultimate TV experience. The Super OLEDs built- in camera recognises movement in the foreground to enable intuitive control, and two unidirectional array microphones recognise voice at an incredibly accurate rate. Noise cancellation technology helps to separate any background noise from the users'commands. ( Part 2 next week )