Sony, announced the commercialization of 0.5-inch micro OLED with UXGA resolution

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Sony announced the upcoming release of the ‘ECX339A’, a 0.5-inch OLED micro-display with UXGA resolution. According to Sony, it has achieved the world’s smallest pixel pitch of 6.3 μm, enabling a resolution 1.6 times higher than its predecessor, “ECX337A “(0.5-inch QVGA (1280 × 960)).

<Sony’s 0.5 inch micro OLED ‘ECX339A’, Source: sony.co.jp>

By employing newly-designed peripheral circuits that operate on half the voltage of previous model, it supports a high frame rate of up to 240 fps, with dual line progressive driving technique and low power operation.

<Comparison of OLED resolution between new product(left) and previous product(right), Source: sony.co.jp>

According to Sony, the high resolution of the existing micro display had problems such as deterioration in picture quality and deterioration in viewing angle due to pixel pitch reduction; however, they have been improved by Sony’s transistor layout, process optimization, and compensation circuit. In addition, the color filter is deposited directly on the silicon substrate, reducing its distance from the light emitting layer, and the filter’s color array has been modified to secure the viewing angle properties while achieving high resolution.

<Structure and viewing angle image, new product (left) and previous product (right), Source: sony.co.jp>

The mass production schedule for the ECX339A is November 2018, and the sample price is set at JPY 50,000 (Tax not included). Sony expects this product to be applied to high-end cameras and head-mounted displays for virtual reality, which require the highest picture quality.

<ECX339A, key specifications, Source: sony.co.jp>

[SID 2018] OLEDON, presented about X-mixing plane source deposition technology for AMOLED efficiency enhancement.

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In SID 2018, Hwang Chang-Hoon, CEO of OLEDON, announced a new plane source FMM deposition technology that can produce ultra-high resolution AMOLED of 2,250 ppi.

According to the announcement, the linear source currently applied to mass production has a problem of causing superimposition of fine adjacent patterns in a high resolution implementation due to a shadow distance of 3 μm. But Hwang said he succeeded in reducing the shadow distance of the patterns by 0.18 um using plane source, which is the smallest shadow distance ever introduced.

<Shadow effect comparison between current process and the process applied with the plane source, Source: OLEDON>

Hwang added that he developed ‘X-mixing’ technology in which the host and dopant thin films were separately deposited on the metal surface and then the host molecules and dopant molecules were automatically diffused through the plane evaporation to form the light emitting layer. Hwang commented, “It is not easy to control the composition of the dopant by using the linear source evaporation technology, which vaporizes the host material and the dopant material at the same time. However, since X-mixing technology can control the composition, it is possible to achieve a material utilization rate up to 4 times higher than the conventional method.”

<SIMS data comparison between the emitting layer deposited by conventional method and the emitting layer deposited by the plane source, Source: OLEDON>

<Dopant gradient data of the emitting layer applied with X-mixing technology, Source: OLEDON>

Hwang said, “In case of green OLED produced by X-mixing technology, 40% improvement in the emitting efficiency was verified, compared to the existing technology. OLEDON is currently under development of the optimized X- mixing development for forming exciton and the mask aligner with new concept sub-micron precision.

<Luminance data for green OLED produced by X-mixing technology and green OLED produced by the conventional method, Source: OLEDON>

Finally, Mr. Hwang mentioned that based on the development results, he plans to install a plane source FMM evaporator capable of manufacturing ultra-high resolution micro OLED devices in Dankook University.  (Reference: OLEDON homepage: www.oledon.co.kr)

TCL announced “Establishing large-area OLED panel production plant”, is solution processed RGB OLED mass production accelerated?

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China TCL will invest RMB 42.8 billion (US$ 6.71 billion) in Shenzhen to establish a factory for large-area OLED panel production. According to South China Morning Post, TCL recently announced that it will produce 90,000 units on the basis of 70-inch panel in the new production line of Gen 11 (3370 mm x 2940 mm) with the goal of mass production in March 2021 in the data submitted to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The main products are to be known as 65-inch and 75-inch OLED panels, and 65-inch, 70-inch and 75-inch display panels with 8K resolution.

TCL will form a partnership with the China Development Fund for the necessary financing and will set up a new production line at TCL’s semiconductor subsidiary with RMB 20.3 billion.

Large-area OLED to be produced by TCL is expected to adopt solution process RGB. At the ‘4th OLED Korea conference’ hosted by UBI Research in March, James Lee, deputy chief engineer of TCL mentioned about the development of next-generation premium TV with the screen size of 70-inch or more and 8K resolution, based on the solution process.

Lee said, “The price difference between OLED TV and premium LCD TV is estimated to be reduced to 1.4 times when the price of large-area OLED panel is lowered by the operation of LG Display’s Gen 10.5 plant in 2020. We are developing solution process technology for large area OLED and it will be applicable to Gen11 factory. ”

Gen 11 production line is capable of producing six sheets of 75-inch OLED panels, being able to achieve a yield three times higher than Gen 8.5 production line and a cutting efficiency of over 95%. In addition, it is possible to produce large-area OLED panels with a real RGB structure instead of the WRGB structure when solution process is applied. Based on this, TCL emphasized that the construction of the Gen 11 solution process OLED mass production line is essential. Meanwhile, TCL has jointly established JUHUA Printing Display Technology with Tianma, a Chinese company, in 2016 through CSOT, which is a subsidiary of TCL, and is continuously developing the inkjet printing process by a Gen 4.5 R&D pilot plant.

 

SID2018] Samsung display’s OLED technology, one step closer to full screen

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At the SID2018 exhibition in Los Angeles, a new concept OLED with no front speakers on the Smartphone was introduced.

Samsung Display’s new “Sound on display” removes the speaker at the top of the smart phone. Instead, it has a piezo electric actuator on the back of the panel that can turn the electrical signal into vibration. This is the mechanism by which the actuator vibrates the OLED panel to produce sound. It is the same method as LG Display’s “Crystal sound OLED”.

When this technology is utilized, the speaker can be removed from the front of the smart phone, resulting in a wider display area. Following the trend that the home button is embedded in the display, OLED will continue to evolve in the direction that the speaker is also embedded in the display.

Foldable OLED device is nearing commercialization. What are the technical challenges to be solved?

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Attentions are growing for the foldable smartphone since it can provide a wider screen and higher resolution than the display of conventional smartphones, while maintaining the portability of the smartphone. The foldable smartphone is a smartphone when folded, and it becomes a tablet PC when it is unfolded. Following Samsung Electronics, Huawei is also aiming to launch a smartphone with a foldable display this year.

Yi Choong-Hoon, president of UBI Research, said, “Ideal foldable displays require such kind of reliability that there is no problem even with more than 300,000 times folding at the bending radius of 1R or less. For this, some changes or innovations are needed in the material and structure of the display.

In the ‘2018 OLED Component & Material Report’ published by UBI Research on May 21, 2018, the key issues and development trends for foldable OLED display with a bending radius of 1R are described together with the classified contents of structural change to secure reliability at thickness reduction and alternative material development.

<Change in OLED panel thickness accoding to bending radius, 2018 OLED component & material report, UBI Research>

In addition, the report covers the application status, development trends, and market forecast of key components and materials for rigid OLED and flexible OLED for mobile device, and large-area OLED for TV. Thus, it is helpful for the related part and material companies to develop their future directions, establish business strategies, and analyze technology and market trends.

Samsung Electronics, is increasing full screen rigid OLED adoption

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Samsung Electronics is expected to launch next-generation smartphones with full-screen rigid OLEDs, next to the popular Galaxy A8 (2018) series. Accordingly, attention is focused whether the sluggish rigid OLED market will revive.

In early May, Samsung Electronics unveiled ‘Galaxy A6 (2018)’ and ‘Galaxy A6 + (2018)’ with full screen rigid OLED, eliminating the home button. The Galaxy A6 (2018) adopts rigid OLED with HD + (1480 x 720) resolution at 5.6 inch, and the Galaxy A6 + (2018) is applied with rigid OLED with FHD + (2220 x 1080) resolution at 6.0 inch.

<Samsung Galaxy A6(2018), Source: GSM-specs.com>

On the other hand, the official rendering image of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy J6 (2018), another entry-level smartphone, was leaked through WinFuture, the German media on May 16.

<Samsung Galaxy J6(2018), Source: WinFuture>

The Galaxy J6 (2018) is expected to have 5.6-inch rigid OLED with FHD + (2220 x 1080) resolution. Both the Galaxy A6 series and the Galaxy J6 are expected to be launched around the end of May.

Recently, the demand for rigid OLED for smartphone market has decreased due to the introduction of full screen LCD as well as LCD adoption in low-priced smartphones. Consequently, the utilization rate of rigid OLED mass production line has also decreased. According to UBI Research, rigid OLED shipments rose steadily from 2014 to 2016, but 290 million units were shipped in 2017, 8% down from the previous year.

However, the full screen rigid OLED, which was launched in the second half of 2017, started to be adopted in the VIVO X20 and Galaxy A8, and has been expanded to be applied to a number of smartphones such as the Galaxy A6 series and Galaxy J6. As the utilization rate of rigid OLED mass production lines is expected to normalize from the second half of this year, attention is growing whether rigid OLED market will be rebounded again.

LG OLED TV was selected as the best TV for 3 consecutive years

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At the best 2018 TV released recently by Consumer Reports, US consumer magazine, LG Electronics’ 65-inch OLED TV ‘OLED65C8PUA’ was selected as the best product among all the products.

<LG Electronics’ OLED65C8PUA, Source: lg.com>

Consumer Reports notes that the OLED65C8 has a good balance of price and performance. With the excellent quality of images including excellent high definition, UHD performance, and infinite viewing angles, it mentions that ThinQ AI platform, an artificial intelligence platform, is also excellent.

LG Electronics’ OLED TV series has remained in the first place for three consecutive years since being selected as the best product in 2016. In particular, the OLED TV released this year was upgraded to higher quality by installing ‘Alpha 9′, a proprietary image quality chip developed by LG Electronics, to reduce noise to half compared with previous models, and to achieve accurate colors with more sophisticated color coordinates.

On the other hand, LG Electronics’ OLED TV continues to secure its position in the premium TV market. LG Electronics announced at the conference call held on April, 26th that the sales revenue and operating profit of its HE (Home Entertainment) business division were recorded KRW 4.12 trillion and KRW W577.3 billion, respectively in the first quarter of 2018. In particular, OLED TVs and UHD TVs led the growth. The operating margin reached 14.0%.

According to LG Electronics, it will continue to operate TV business with profitability. The proportion of OLED TV sales is expected to grow from 10 percent last year to mid 10% ~20% of the total TV sales this year.

OLEDWorks announces ‘OLEDSurface Light Module’ which integrates OLED light and driver

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OLEDWorks, specialized in OLED lighting, recently announced the launch of ‘OLEDSurface Light Module’, which integrates OLED lighting, driver and frame.

The OLEDSurface, 8.1m in thickness and 90grams, has a color temperature of 3000K or 4000K and brightness of up to 300 lm. It can be easily mounted to any flat surface such as walls or ceilings, and does not require an additional heat dissipation system. The module also includes a low voltage constant current driver and a 0-10V dimming-compatible driver.

“The beauty of the OLEDSurface Light Module allows designers of all skill levels to effortlessly install elegant light tiles for the pure, direct view light experience that is uniquely OLED. In addition, developers will realize cost savings for low voltage wiring, optional elimination of junction boxes, and no need for a plenum that hides bulky heat sinks and drivers.” explained Giana Phelan, OLEDWorks’ director of business development.

Applied with Brite OLED lighting panel, the OLEDSurface runs from any low voltage power source (28-48VDC) with typical power consumption of 5.4W.

Brite OLED lighting panel is one of OLEDWorks’ flagship products and the new Brite 3 series was unveiled at Light + Building 2018. The Brite3 products consist of square, rectangular and round type of rigid OLED lighting and bendOLED type of flexible OLED lighting. Rigid OLED lighting panel has a lifetime of 100,000 hours and efficiency of 80 lm/w and bendable OLED lighting panel provides an efficacy of up to 63lm/W with a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours.

<Brite 3 series OLED lighting panel introduced at Light+Building 2018>

BLUE OLED, is rapidly emerging as a competitor of WRGB OLED

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In the premium TV market, the share of OLED TVs is steadily increasing, and the price gap with LCD is gradually decreasing. As a result, LCD TV (QD-LCD TV) companies using quantum dot technology are sluggish in the premium TV market.

OLED TV uses white OLED and OLED panel with color filter (hereafter referred to as WRGB OLED), which is mass-produced only by LG Display.

Samsung Display is known to actively develop blue OLED + QDCF (blue OLED), which is one of the technologies to compete with WRGB OLED in the premium TV market.

UBI Research predicted that Samsung Display would implement blue OLED + QDCF with top emission method and it would be more advantageous to implement 8K and BT 2020 than WRGB in its ‘2018 OLED Material Industry Report’ published on April 18.

<Expected stack structure for Blue OLED, 2stack (left), 3stack (right), 2018 AMOLED emitting materials Report, UBI Research>

8K and BT2020 are to be adopted for the premium TVs. Also, the development of blue materials is expected to be aggressively progressed according to Samsung Display’s development of blue OLED. The blue material currently used in OLED is a fluorescent material that is insufficient in the efficiency and lifetime than phosphorescent material used in red and green. Blue phosphorescent materials have been developed continuously but they have not been applied to mass production due to the scarcity of materials and technical barriers. Therefore, blue fluorescent materials are stacked two or more times to improve efficiency and lifetime for large area OLED, and blue OLED is expected to use more than 2 stack structure.

 

With this trend, the market for blue emitting materials is expected to continue to grow. In 2017, blue materials (host and dopant) formed market of US$ 70 million.  According to the 2018 AMOLED emitting material market track published by UBI Research, blue material is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 32% by 2022 and reach US $ 272 million sales.

<Blue material (host and dopant) market forecast, 2018 AMOLED emitting materials Market track>

Foldable smart phone, can it absorb tablet PC market?

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“If foldable Smartphone is launched and commercialized in earnest, the high-priced tablet PC market is likely to disappear.”

Choong-hoon Yi, president of UBI Research, said in ‘the Latest OLED Technology Trends Seminar’ held at COEX in Seoul on the 26th April, 2018.

He also mentioned “The foldable smart phone is expected to be implemented as a 5.2 inch display with a 7.2 inch display folded in half. In addition, a bar-type display is to be added to the outside to check time and other information.”

Yi analyzed, “Foldable Smartphone can provide a momentum to revitalize the stagnant Smartphone market, and a positive aspect that can induce new investments to secure a sufficient number of panels due to the increase in the display screen size.”.

“If foldable smartphones are launched and commercialized, there is a possibility that the expensive tablet PC market will be disappeared. Foldable Smartphone can bring the tablet PC market which is being led by Apple.”He added.

Yi then predicted that foldable smart phones would implement 4K since their screen size is larger than normal smart phones. “OLED smart phones, which currently remain in QHD resolution, are expected to be difficult to implement it in five years due to the problems in masks, wiring widths and exposure systems; however, foldable smart phones are more free from these problems.” He said.

Finally, Yi pointed out the market success factors of the foldable smart phone as pioneering the Smartphone market for over $ 1,000, development of dedicated applications/contents and early establishment of 5G communication technology for data transmission such as video streaming.

Meanwhile, he estimated that OLED panels for foldable smartphones would be shipped to 100 thousand units in 2018, and 2.83 million units would be shipped in 2022.