Audi, leading the automotive pack in lighting tech, dazzled attendees at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show with its Matrix OLED lights. For the first time ever, OLED tail lights were demonstrated in a concept car at the IAA. But what exactly are OLED lights, and what makes them so special?

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. They’re composed of two electrodes (at least one of which is transparent), which sandwich thin layers of organic semiconductor materials. Each layer is exceedingly thin at less than one-thousandth of a millimeter, or 15-100 times slimmer than a human hair. When an electrical current travels through the electrodes, the organic material lights up, and the color of the light is determined by the molecular composition of the material. But what makes them better than regular LEDs?

Normal LEDs are point light sources. They cast shadows and tend to require reflectors or light guides. In contrast, OLEDs are flat light sources. They can be dimmed continuously and the light they provide is much more homogenous without the need of optical components, making them more lightweight and efficient. Not to mention the fact that they need hardly any cooling. (Waste energy in light sources is given off as heat, but since OLEDs are so efficient, they aren’t very hot.)

Audi is very excited about the opportunities OLEDs provide their automotive engineers, and here at 3Birds Template we’re excited to see what they do with this amazing technology. To see more of Audi’s tech for yourself, be sure to contact us and schedule a test drive, or come by and see us at the dealership.

Image: Audi