The acquisition of Gracel and its portfolio of OLED materials broadens Rohm and Haas’s growing Display Technologies business. Rohm and Haas manufactures TFT (thin film transistor) photoresists and related materials as part of its Display Chemicals group, and added Optical Display Films when it acquired Eastman Kodak's Light Management Films business in June 2007. Rohm and Haas launched SKC Haas Display Films in December 2007, a new joint venture that develops and manufactures advanced films and filters for LCD and plasma displays. Including the acquisition of Gracel, Rohm and Haas has invested $270 million during the last 12 months to build its Display Technologies business unit.

We’re pleased to welcome Gracel and its strong pipeline of OLED materials to Rohm and Haas, said Dr. Yi Hyon Paik, vice president and business group director, Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials. Gracel has an excellent track record of innovation and an established customer base. In fact, its advanced OLED materials are used today in devices that are manufactured by leading display companies. The future of this technology is very bright, and we look forward to bringing a new generation of OLED materials to the growing display market.

Update: We've got some more technical details and nice closeup photos of the OLED panels used in the Early Future.

OSRAM has announced the world's first OLED lamp called Early Future. It was designed by lighting designer Ingo Maurer. This is more of a 'prototype' than a real commercial product - they will only make 25 of these lamps, which will cost around €25,000.

The lamp uses 10 OLED panels by OSRAM, sized 132 x 33 millimeters.

Sony's 11" OLED TV (XEL-1) is now available to purchase from Amazon. It costs 2,500$, and ships only to the US.

eMagin Corporation announces completion of a $1.7 million private placement of its common stock and warrants with both new and existing institutional investors. The net proceeds from the financing will be used to provide working capital.

Under the agreements, investors agreed to purchase 1,586,539 shares of common stock at a price of $1.04 per share and warrants to purchase 793,273 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.30 per share with the warrants expiring April 2, 2013.

We are pleased to receive the support of both existing and new investors," said Admiral Thomas Paulson, eMagin’s interim chief executive officer. "These funds will not only help to support our balance sheet, but will also allow us to undertake capital expenditures on our production line to support our efforts to increase revenues and meet expected demand this year and enhance the introduction of new products that will drive our growth in the years to come.

The story we published two days ago about Panasonic's small Plasma displays was a hoax - an April's first joke. The strange thing - it was actually released on April's third! And frankly - that's not really a funny story, is it?

Read more here (engadget)

Researchers at Purdue University have created the first active matrix display that uses a new class of transparent transistors and circuits. The researchers say this is a first step towards flexible color monitors and heads-up displays in car windshields.

The transistors used in the display are made of nanowires, which are tiny cylindrical structures assembled on thin glass or plastic films. The nanowires used by the researchers for the display are as small as 20 nanometers or about a thousand times thinner than the average human hair. The nanowires were used to create an OLED display that rivals current flat-panel TVs in brightness.

LG said its supply has improved thanks to the growth of Viewty Pink in sales and the popularity of Korea’s first AM OLED phone.

LG has sold 1.64 million units in 1Q including 590,000 units in last month. It accounts for 26% in the Korean market.