Luminous PWBs - OLED-Displays on FR4

Organic light emitting diodes (OLED) are the basic components of a new display generation. They are convincing compared to liquid crystal displays (LCD) by a higher contrast ratio and smaller power consumption. Additionally, these luminescent elements can be produced ultra-thin. "Conventional" OLEDs are usually processed on glass and provided with an external control. Our approach is now to implement this inside a printed wiring board (PWB). PWBs can be manufactured and equipped with high throughput. Apart from the cost advantages the high degree of integration affects also the minimization of the overall height of the display assembly. However the new concept requires various adjustments of the different manufacturing steps. For example a top-emitting OLED-structure is needed. Also the printed wiring board has to get properties, which make it suited for an OLED. The effects on the assembly of the electronic components can't be neglected, too. Technological aspects as well as first results of the practical conversion are described