Much of what we do these days involves interacting with computers via different types of displays—many or most of them manufactured in South Korea or by South Korean companies. It should thus be no surprise that, for a book on advanced display technology, its editors and most of its contributors would be South Korean. Much of the book focuses on the state of the art in the solid-state physics of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), including diagrams of organic compounds, bandgap diagrams, molecules and orbitals. Many of the diagrams are in color. Among the later chapters are some with circuit diagrams for driving OLED pixels and with more systems issues.
Exciting technologies mentioned (however briefly) include cinematic-sound OLED (using OLEDs to generate sound for videos), rollable displays (one of the earliest promises of OLEDs), and transparent displays. Each chapter has a long list of current references, many hot off the presses (2020 and even 2021). The electronic copy reviewed includes a “Check for updates” button at the beginning of each chapter to look for online updates to the published version.
Sadly, the book lacks an introductory chapter or preface that would set the stage for the reader and map out the rest of the book. The separate chapters tend to stay separate, each with its own more or less extensive introduction. As a result, for example, Nick Holonyak, the discoverer of light emission in inorganic materials, is first mentioned in the last third of the book. Some chapters end with a market or technology forecast, while others end abruptly with no summary or concluding thoughts. The book lacks an index, which should be inconvenient at least for readers of the printed version.
Overall, this is a cutting-edge book on a hot topic. It is clearly a good reference for professionals in the field, especially for those with interests spanning from organic chemistry and solid-state physics all the way to systems issues.
Review by Bogdan Hoanca, University of Alaska Anchorage, USA.
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or its publisher, Optica (formerly OSA).