New Dual Status Profiled Backlights

Combine two colours in a single device for cost-effective, dual-colour status indication in displays

Easy to integrate and drive; clear and bright backlight colour can be seen from oblique angle; suits industrial, petrochemical, instrumentation and medical designs

April, 2023…New from OMC, the pioneer in optoelectronics design & manufacture, Dual Status Profiled Backlights™ combine two colours of emitter in a single profiled backlight, enabling designers to use the single backlight source to indicate status very clearly, rather than a single colour backlight that is simply on or off.  Dual Status Profiled Backlights provide a clean, bright and clear illumination for a display to ensure the machine-human interface is easy to understand.  As robust components with an extended product life, Dual Status Profiled Backlights can be used in multiple applications and industries, including harsh environment applications such as the petrochemical industry (explosive gas detector systems, display systems for oil pipeline valves, gas and electricity metering) and in research, instrumentation and medical applications (life support system displays, imaging applications, measurement instrument displays).

Dual Status Profile Backlights bring benefits to industrial applications where colour backlights have not previously been a practical solution for displays, as they solve the additional cost and reliability issues around adding multiple LEDs to a backlight cost-effectively when custom dimensions are required.  Dual Status Profiled Backlights are easy to drive, take up less space in a design and provide a cost-effective solution, even for small to medium volume requirements.  The two colours indicate status very clearly and provide a way to attract attention even from an oblique angle. Temperature status is a common application, where the use of a red LED emitter alongside a green LED emitter, enables a fast “switch to red” warning.

Dual Status Profiled Backlights have individually addressable LED emitters, and available colours range through ultrabright blue, four greens, three yellows, orange, three reds and ultrabright white.

OMC Commercial Director, William Heath comments: “We pioneered the introduction of LEDs as a backlighting technology over thirty years ago with our Profiled Backlight range, and invented our side-firing backlight emitter, which illuminates backlights in a wide range of colours and brightness levels. Our new Dual Status Profiled Backlights are a further development of our award-winning technology and our unique manufacturing techniques mean any quantity can be produced cost-effectively, from less than ten parts to tens of thousands, with samples available in as little as five to ten working days.”