OSRAM are announcing new advances in their transparent OLED lighting panels. They have developed a large (17x17 cm2, with a 210cm2 luminous area) transparent OLED, which is only a few hundred micrometers thick. The samples have been developed as part of the TOPAS project (scheduled to produce a 1 meter-square OLED module by 2011).
OSRAM says that there is a "clear demand" for large, low-profile transparent light sources.
OSRAM says that they have developed a new electrode design, special component architecture and a new approach to thin-film technology. This resulted in the totally transparent OLEDs that they are showing now. The luminance on those panels is uniform. The new technology also simplifies the manufacturing process, whether OLEDs are produced on a small molecule or polymer basis. Irrespective of the material of the active layers, the technology can be used for colored, warm white and cold while OLEDs. The next stage is to integrate the processes into a stable manufacturing operation.
Further work is needed to make an even thinner carrier material, which will make for even thinner OLEDs.
I wish they would stop improving the devices and start shipping them already. Sure I'd love a 1m square panel in the future but I'd love a 15cm transparent panel now... these things have so much potential I'm itching to try them out.