OLED Info

New EU and Russian project to develop OLED lighting modeling software

oled — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:54:01 +0000

The EU announced a new OLED lighting project called IM3OLED (Integrated Multidisciplinary & Multiscale Modeling for OLEDs) that aims to develop a software tool for multiscale OLED lighting modeling. The tool will enable a more systematic R&D process - which will accelerate efficient OLED design development.

The IM3OLED software will predictively model OLEDs in 3D and at all length scales – from molecular to large-area devices. It will include molecular calculations, electrical and optical simulation, 1D-3D light extraction and scaling / integration effects. It will also incorporate a dynamic feedback loop, enabling developers to accurately predict how changes in one area of OLED development affect other areas. This will allow multiple OLED properties to be optimized simultaneously.

Sony to make major investments towards OLED TVs

oled — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:19:54 +0000

Sony announced managemental changes and a new CEO and president effective April 1. The new president, Kazuo Hirai, announced his future plans - which include a reinforcement of Sony's core business, rebuilding of its TV business, reformation of its business portfolio and acceleration of innovation.

Sony XEL-1

Regarding the TV market, Sony plans to minimize investment in non-competitive fields, but they will make major investments in OLED TV, Crystal LED and other technologies and products that use Sony's own technologies.

LG Chem starts mass producing 45 lm/W OLED panels, plans more efficient, flexible and transparent panels

oled — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:57:28 +0000

We just got word from LG Chem that the company finished development of their first OLED lighting panel, and have started mass production. The "type 1" panel, or the LG-OLED-041 is a 100x100 mm square panel that features 4,000K, CRI>80, 45 lm/W and 10,000 hours lifetime (LT70) at 3,000 nits. The active emitting panel is 90x90 mm, and the whole panel is 2.44 mm thick (including the optical film and PCB. The OLED itself is 1.84 mm).

LG Chem is already developing the 2nd generation (or "type 2") panel which will up the efficiency to 60 lm/W and the lifetime to 15,000 hours. The size will be the same, but the color will be 3,500K. LG Chem will start mass production of type 2 panels in 2Q 2012. LG Chem further says that it decided to offer these new panels at "lower prices" - although we do not know the actual price yet.

AUO - we'll unveil OLED TV samples by end of 2012

oled — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:44:54 +0000

AU Optronics announced their financial results for 4Q 2011, with a record loss of $21 NT billion (almost $700 million USD). AUO is hoping to return to profitability - mostly because of growth in demand for LCD TVs in emerging markets such as India, Indonesia and Brazil. Regarding AUO's OLED program, the company re-iterated plans to mass produce AMOLED panels for mobile phone in this quarter (a little sooner then expected, actually), and more interestingly they said they plan to unveil OLED TV panel samples by the end of 2012.

AUO already unveiled a 32" OLED TV prototype back in November 2011, but they probably want to unveil larger panels towards the end of the year - and ones that are closer to mass production. The 32" prototype AUO shows had a Oxide-TFT (IGZO) backplane and was fabricated using vapor deposition using a metal mask. The panel featured Full-HD (1920x1080) resolution, 100,000:1 contrast ration, 0.01ms response time and brightness of 200cd/m².

Olympus OM-D E-M5

oled — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:14:49 +0000

Olympus' EM-5 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that has a 16mp four thirds sensor, a weather sealed body, new 5-axis image stabilization, ISO up to 25,600, 9fps image shooting, Full-HD video an electronic viewfinder (LCD, 800x600) and a VGA 3" touch AMOLED that can tilt 80 degrees upwards and 50-degrees downwards.

The EM-5 will start shipping in April, you can pre-order it now for $999 (body only).

OLED type:

3" touch AMOLED

Engadget reviews the Tab 7.7: the best 7" tablet, stunning display

oled — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:13:10 +0000

Engadget posted a review of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7. They say that it's the best 7" tablet - with a stunning display, a long lasting battery, good performance and thin size. The only problem? it's quite expensive. And they sure love the 1200x800 Super AMOLED Plus display - "We could tell you it's vibrant, stunning and breathtaking, but even that wouldn't quite do it justice. The contrast here is so deep, and the viewing angles so wide, that other tablets' screens look washed-out in comparison". Amazon.com is now offering an unlocked model for $749.

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the world's first tablet with an OLED display, a 7.7" Super AMOLED Plus panel, offering 1280x800 resolution. Other specs include Android v3.2, Dual-core 1.4 Ghz processor, HSPA+ radio, 16GB to 64GB internal storage and a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, GPS and two cameras (3MP and 2MP).

Samsung Electronics considers taking over SMD

oled — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:57:18 +0000

In a filing to the Korean Stock Exchange, Samsung Electronics announced it is considering taking over Samsung Mobile Display. Currently Samsung Electronics holds 64.4% in SMD (the rest is held by Samsung SDI). SMD is Samsung's OLED unit, and they produce over 90% of the world's AMOLED displays.

Samsung Electronics says that this move will improve the synergy within the group. But this can be bad news for other companies who rely on SMD's AMOLED panels, as perhaps the will not want to keep the best displays for their own devices.

Lux compares display developers for technical value and business execution

oled — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:59:08 +0000

Lux Research posted an interesting grid that shows how different display developers rate on technical value and business execution. It includes mature technologies (such as OLED and e-paper) and emerging technologies such as electrochromic and electrofluidic displays.

Lux says that OLED materials and equipment developers have a clear head start over other technologies, with notable players such as UDC, CDT, Novaled and Kateeva. The company that stands out in both technical value and business execution is E Ink - with high score in technology and IP and strong partnerships and management team. E Ink is the only company that scores a "strong positive" - with their nearly 100% market share of the electrophoretic market - which is used in products such as Amazon's Kindle and B&N Nook e-readers.

eMagin awarded $1.12 million to commercialize a 1920x1200 OLED microdisplay

oled — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:04:54 +0000

eMagin has been awarded a $1.12 million SBIR seven month project from the US's Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to optimize emagin's WUXGA (1920x1200) full color OLED microdisplay for mass production. There's also a six-month option to extend the project further for $435,000.

An eMagin OLED microdisplay

The microdisplay is already available as an engineering sample, and this project will enable eMagin to mass produce it at an affordable price. It was originally funded by the US Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), and features over 10,000:1 contrast ratio and consumes less than 350 mW.

Corning - a day made of glass 2

oled — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:04:11 +0000

Back in April 2011 Corning produced a nice video called A Day Made of Glass, showing future designs made with durable, transparent and even flexible glass displays. Now Corning is back with a sequel, showing the same family but with some new ideas in the home, car, classroom, outdoor and work environments:

A lot of these displays can be achieved with OLEDs, although OLEDs aren't specifically mentioned in those video. Just a few days ago Corning announced an OLED glass joint-venture with Samsung. Corning also released an unpacked version of this video- that includes explanations about the technology shown in the video:

What's behind Nokia's ClearBlack display technology?

oled — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:14:59 +0000

Nokia's ClearBlack Display technology has been announced in September 2010, and Nokia is using it in several phones (including the Lumia 900, Lumia 800 and older Symbian models such as the X7 and E7). We know that it includes polarizing filters to block incoming light. Today however Nokia finally revealed how it actually works:

A CBD filter includes both a linear polariser and retardation layers between the surface of your phone and the display. When light hits your screen, this is what happens:

Tokyo Electron established an OLED department

oled — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:01:31 +0000

Tokyo Electron (TEL) performed a re-organization, and as part of that they established a new OLED department (called the "organic EL division"), to be managed by Takeshi Okubo. This is good news and probably means that the company is putting a greater emphasis on OLED manufacturing equipment development.

TEL is developing OLED TV printing equipment together with Seiko Epson. In September 2011 it was reported that the two companies will launch an inkjet-printed OLED TV production plant in 2012 or 2013.

Samsung invests $5 million in Cambrios

oled — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:00:24 +0000

Cambrios announces a new CEO and a $5 million investment from Samsung Ventures. Cambrios reveals that they were in close discussions with Samsung for collaboration on "important and valuable" projects over the past several years. Cambrios' first product, ClearOhm is a coating material for plastic or glass that produces a transparent, conductive film by wet processing. Cambrios says that ClearOhm offers significantly higher optical and electrical performance than currently used materials (such as ITO).

ClearOhm can be used in OLED panels, LCDs, e-paper displays and solar panels. Perhaps Samsung wants to use this new material in upcoming OLED panel designs. Cambrios is also collaborating with Plextronics on OLED lighting electrodes.

New video mic flag uses 3 OLED displays, new advertising space

oled — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:46:53 +0000

Recom group has released the world's first video mic flag - which uses 3 to 4 (depends on configuration) OLED displays. The company reports that the new mic flag is already being used at by CBS, CNET, NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN, CNN, and Bloomberg and was also used by several broadcasters at the superbowl and the NBA. This mic flag was also used by many broadcasters at CES, and CNN's Katie Linendoll called it one of her top five picks of the show.

The mic flag shows advertisements - from companies such as Ford, Toyota, Subway, Gillette and Pepsi. This brings extra revenue for the broadcasters. Recom says that the flag uses 3 to 4 OLED displays (probably the same ones as on Recom's video name tag - 2.8" 320x240 AMOLED panels) and it lasts 8-10 on a single battery charge. It provides a premium advertising space because it's part of the broadcast. Here's a video of the mic flag in action, from the superbowl:

Corning and Samsung forms a new OLED glass joint venture

oled — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:33:43 +0000

Corning and Samsung Mobile Display are going to establish a new equity venture for the manufacture of specialty OLED glass substrates in Korea. The new venture will combine Corning's Lotus Glass substrate technology with SMD's OLED display expertise - and will provide product solutions for current and future OLED technologies.

The new venture will produce glasses for all OLED sizes: for small mobile panels to large OLED TV panels. It'll be interested to hear whether this new venture will also develop transparent and flexible glass displays, as envisioned in Corning's"Day made of glass" concept video:

Developer creates OLED-friendly black Google android apps

oled — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:23:44 +0000

A modder developed a black-themed version of Google apps (he called this Black Google Apps) that is a much more battery friendly on OLED mobile phones. The application are not just "darker", they are inverted (see the image below).

This idea isn't new of course - when Microsoft developed the WP7 operation system they assumed most phones will sport OLED displays and this effected the user interface design.

Konica Minolta to split its OLED division into a new subsidiary

oled — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:15:55 +0000

Konica Minolta announced plans to splits its LA Business division (who is in charge of OLED lighting and new functional materials) into a new subsidiary which will be called Konica Minolta Opto (KMOT). This split will be effective by April 2012.

KM says that the split will aid their ventures to accelerate OLED lighting commercialization. They hope that this move will also optimize its facilities and staff resources.

MagnaChip sees AMOLED driver revenue grow 700% in 2011

oled — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:08:47 +0000

MagnaChip reported their financial results for 2011, and they say that AMOLED display driver revenue grew 700% compared to 2010, but they wouldn't reveal exact numbers.

MagnaChip is providing 800x580 AMOLED drivers for Samsung's Galaxy SII LTE phone (it has a 4.65" Super AMOLED Plus display) and multiple Microsoft Windows-based smartphones.

STMicroelectronics announce a new miniature AMOLED power supply chip

oled — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:02:05 +0000

STMicroelectronics announced the STOD13AS - a new miniature AMOLED power supply chip. The new chip is produced using ST's innovative Silicon On Insulator (SOI) process technology, which ensures outstanding energy efficiency and results in longer battery life. The chip offers high immunity to cellphone-communication noise - and thus minimizes flicker on the display.

ST explains that the new chip is better than the predecessor (the ST0D03A) because it integrates the step-up and inverting DC/DC converters needed to generate the positive and negative supplies on the same chip. It also features increased display-driving capability as well as additional short-circuit and overload protection modes to maximize ruggedness and reliability. When the display is not used, the new chip can be completely turned off which saves more power, and it also features pulse-skipping operation that optimizes efficiency when the display is consuming minimal power.

AUO and Idemitsu Kosan to collaborate on OLED displays

oled — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:30:07 +0000

AU Optronics (AUO) and Idemitsu Kosan announced that they will form an OLED strategic alliance - and will collaborate to develop high-performance OLED displays and OLED-related patents. Idemitsu will supply OLED materials to AUO including device structure proposal. AUO committed to reinforce the development of OLED products - both small sized OLED displays for phones and tablets and large sized OLED panels for TVs. The two companies will also study the possibility of collaboration in other fields beside OLEDs.

AUO 32-inch OLED TV prototype

AUO is gearing up towards mass production of 4" - 5" OLED panels in Q2 2012, targeting smartphones. AUO is using LTPS substrates and vapor deposition for the direct-emission RGB OLED sub pixels. AUO will produce these panels in their 3.5-Gen line in Hsinchu, Taiwan. In the second half of 2013, AUO's 4.5-Gen AMOLED Line in Singapore (at AFPD) will start producing panels as well. Towards the end of 2011 AUO unveiled prototypes of Oxide-TFT based 32" OLED TVs, 4" flexible OLEDs and 6" transparent ones.