A notebook-sized screen created by a printer

Britain's Cambridge Display Technology said it has produced screens illuminated by organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) that measure 14-inches across, a milestone in the effort to bring these types of displays to the mass market.

The 14-inch display, which has a resolution of 1280 pixels by 768 pixels, is functional. Moreover, more than one has been made, the company said. Earlier this year, Cambridge Display showed of a prototype measuring 5.5 inches in diameter.

OLED is viewed as a potential successor to liquid crystal displays, used in many flat-panel TVs and computer monitors. Materials in an OLED display emit light when an electrical current is applied. The displays can function without a backlight, which cuts down on power consumption, screen thickness and cost. OLED displays also offer higher resolution than LCDs.

The screens, potentially, also cost less to produce. Cambridge sprays its pixels on with multi-nozzle inkjet printers. The printers can sport 128 nozzles and come from a company called Litrex, which is half owned by Cambridge.

Small OLED screens, measuring around 2 inches across, can already be found in some cell phones. Manufacturers, meanwhile, have been showing off prototypes of larger screens this year to demonstrate the potential commercial viability of the technology.

Samsung, for instance, showed off a 21-inch diameter OLED that could be used in TVs.

Like Samsung's prototype, the backplane of Cambridge's 14-inch monitor consists of amorphous silicon. Some smaller OLEDs are printed on polymers, leading to flexible screens.