OLEDON unveils plane source deposition technology for ‘super-gap’ OLED manufacturing.

Attention is growing since OLEDON, a venture company developing OLED deposition equipment, unveiled plane source deposition technology for OLED manufacturing to maintain ‘a superb gap with the competing countries’, at IMID2018, held in COEX, Seoul, Oct. 24, 2018.

Hwang Chang-Hoon, CEO of OLEDON, said, “Korea should actively invest in the development of creative deposition technology to maintain the first place in the current OLED producing countries.” He expects that plane source deposition technology is to be used both for small and medium size OLED and large area OLED manufacturing in future.
OLEDON is developing the world’s first curved plane source FMM deposition technology, which is an ultra-high-resolution OLED deposition technology capable of manufacturing 2250ppi AMOLED. The shadow distance of fine pattern can be up to 0.18um, enabling 11K high-resolution AMOLED pattern process.

 

<Existing FMM deposition pattern (left) and plane source FMM deposition pattern (right), Source: OLEDON>

According to Hwang, this process was confirmed with 800 ppi shadow mask, and the emission area of the pattern deposited with plane source was 1.7 times higher than the conventional deposition method.
On the other hand, OLEDON holds the original patent for the FMM deposition technology of plane source, and has recently applied for a patent for vertical plane source deposition for large area OLED TV manufacturing.

 

 

<Vertical plane source deposition for OLED TV manufacturing, Source: OLEDON>

Room mirror and side mirrors of Smart Car will be replaced by OLED

Japan Electronics Show, CEATEC2018, was held at Makuhari Messe last week. CEATEC JAPAN 2018 is a global showcase for Japan’s growth strategies and vision of the future. Various Japanese companies exhibited products centered on IoT robots and AI. It is recognized that the electronics industry in Japan is gradually shifting from large hardware to small advanced parts and software industries.

In the exhibition, the core technology of smart car was introduced for self driving. Kyocera introduced cockpit technology that can anticipate and prevent various accidents that may occur in blind spots as advanced sensing technology and image processing technology to enhance the safety of automobiles.

 

For automotive display business, the company also exhibited advanced concept cars with clusters, CIDs, room mirror displays and side view displays.

 

According to Kyocera officials, room-mirror and side-view displays that show the external environment might have limitations and need to be converted into OLED displays since all of the concept car’s displays use LCDs.
When LCDs are used for room mirror display and side view display that show rapid changes while driving at high speed, the location of surrounding cars is to be expressed as being behind the actual location, which can result in an accident. In particular, LCDs with low contrast ratio are not able to accurately represent external objects at night.
OLEDs with high-speed response and high contrast ratio are expected to dominate the future automotive room mirror and side view mirror market.

[ICEL 2018] TADF attracts attention as next generation emitting material

In addition to monitors and virtual reality devices, OLED is gradually expanding its domain beyond smartphones and TVs, inclusive of the application of side-mirror OLED in automobiles. As new OLED applications are increased in various environments, it is essential to develop technologies to satisfy users.

In ICEL 2018, which is being held at Jeju International Convention Center from October 15th, many presenters and attendants emphasized that material development is essential to improve the performance of OLED as the OLED market grows more. As an alternative material, TADF (Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence) is mentioned.

First, Hwang Seok-Hwan, chief researcher in Samsung Display said that TADF is to be a good resolution as one of emitting materials for new deposition process, referring to the continued growth of OLED panel and material market.

 

 

Hwang said that the efficiency of fluorescent Blue is almost saturated, so 100% luminance efficiency can be obtained theoretically by applying TADF with the advantages of not using expensive rare earth metals. He added that improvement of material stability, improvement of color purity by using boron material, development of host having high triplet energy need to be superseded.

 

Also, CYNORA, a leading TADF developing company, disclosed the performance of dark blue TADF developed so far.

CYNORA said that the luminance efficiency and color purity of dark blue TADF reached the level that the related companies required, and that its current goal is to develop the technology to improve lifetime. In addition, based on this know-how, the company will quickly develop green and red TADF, and now green TADF has been delivered to several customers as a sample.

 

 

Merck confirmed that TADF is the most powerful luminescent material to replace fluorescent Blue at its presentation together with a poster about TADF.

OLED companies and research institutes are focusing attention on whether blue TADF can quickly enter OLED market and upgrade OLED performance further.

 

[ICEL 2018] What are the future challenges for LG Display to improve OLED TV performance?

At ICEL 2018, held at Jeju International Convention Center from Oct. 15, Soo-Young Yoon, Vice President and Head of LG Display Laboratory, presented the challenges for the OLED TV performance improvement and price reduction

 

Yoon said “In 2018, the future prospects of OLED TVs have changed more positively compared to that in 2016. In 2013, only LG Electronics was an OLED TV set maker. The number of OLED TV set makers has steadily increased; ten in 2016, and fifteen in 2018. Many TV set makers are choosing OLED. ”

He added that although OLED TV is on the track of success with lots of improvement, it has to be further developed. The challenge is the improvement for high brightness, color reproduction rate and with the development of 8K resolution. Also he mentioned that the price reduction is to be necessary.

 

 

Yoon explained that the development of components such as driver IC and controller is an important task to develop 8K OLED TV. In order to improve the brightness, color reproducibility, and lifespan, TADF and phosphorescent Blue are to be good alternatives for improving the RGB emitting materials. The enhancement of out-coupling is also important.

In addition, he referred to the solution processed OLED as a technology, to compete against LCD TV price, with the necessity of developing inkjet equipment, process, and soluble materials. For this, it is required to develop the ink jet equipment and shorten the process time for mass production, but the performance and reliability of the soluble materials will be more important.
Finally, he commented that the company will focus on 8K OLED TV and rollable OLED TV with the improvement of brightness until 2020. After 2022, the company will develop the OLED TV which has an enhanced brightness of 300 nits or more, a color gamut that satisfies BT.2020, and a lifespan of more than 30,000 hours.

 

CYNORA announced that it has extended its joint development agreement for TADF commercialization with LG Display.

TADF developer CYNORA has announced that it has extended its joint-development agreement with LG Display. The two companies have been co-developing deep-blue TADF OLED emitters for two years, and have now decided to continue the cooperation towards the commercialization of TADF emitters in OLED displays.

The performance of CYNORA’s latest deep-blue material was presented at IMID 2018 held in August of the year. Among the performance introduced, the CIEy is 0.13, the EQE is 20% based on 1000 nits, and the LT97 is 15 hours at 700 nits.

CYNORA CEO Gildas Sorin commented, “Currently, CYNORA focuses on the development of deep blue TADFs for OLED TVs. Through the accumulated know-how to develop deep blue TADF, it also has plans to develop a light blue TADF for lighting applications and a green TADF for displays.”

The golden market for Automotive OLED Displays is approaching.

The display of connected cars is getting bigger and bigger to for the convenience of providing various information. The displays used in general vehicles include the cluster, CID (center information display), RSE (rear seat entertainment), and RMD (room mirror display). In connected cars, various buttons of the center fascia are displayed, and a display is attached to the door using a camera instead of a side mirror. The Audi e-tron®, all-new electric Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) feature a small side-view OLED display instead of the existing side mirrors. According to Choong-Hoon Yi, CEO of UBI Research, the reason why automobile manufacturers are actively trying to use OLED displays is because OLED can be a good resolution in various aspects such as design, visibility and thickness. Since the side view camera is attached to the door, the viewing angle should be very good for the driver’s eyes. Especially in nighttime driving, black should be accurately represented on the display to make things clearer. In addition, OLEDs with fast response must be used for the mirror of car because the screen needs to be changed rapidly depending on speed of the car (if it is running at a high speed). In winter season when temperatures are low, LCDs with slow response times are not recommendable to be used.

Flexible OLEDs should also be used to mount the cockpit display on the dashboard that maximizes driver’s convenience.

<BenzのF015 cockpit displayとAudiのe-tron side view display>

In contrast, LG Display, the strongest player in the market for OLED TVs, is looking for the display market for clusters and CIDs as flexible OLED with two layers of RGB OLED. Visteon, the second-largest supplier of automotive displays, is preparing for the cluster market with LG Display’s pOLED. Since 12.3-inch p OLED is made of LTPS substrate and its OLED process is more complicated than that of OLED for smartphone, panel prices including module are expected to be equal to 55-inch WRGB OLED, which can create a premium market even if the quantity is small.

<Visteon, 12.3 inches pOLED>

According to “Automotive OLED Display Report” published by UBI Research, the market for automotive OLED displays led by Samsung Display and LG Display is expected to grow to US$ 540million in 2023.

Samsung Display, supplies 7-inch OLED for Virtual Exterior Mirror to Audi

Samsung Display announced on October 3 that the company will be supplying a 7-inch OLED display for Audi’s all-new electric Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), the Audi e-tron®. The Audi e-tron has attracted attention throughout the automotive industry. One of its highlights are optional* ‘virtual exterior mirrors’ – a ‘first’ for a volume-production car.

Audi’s virtual exterior mirrors feature a small side-view camera instead of the existing side mirrors. The driver can view the images captured by the camera in real time through the OLED display installed between the vehicle’s A pillar (the column next to the front glass) and the door

<Virtual exterior mirror applied to e-Tron, Audi, Source: news.samsungdisplay.com>

The OLED display supplied by Samsung Display is equipped with one camera on each side of the vehicle dashboard, replacing the existing side mirror function, and the built-in touch sensor allows people to zoom in or out on the screen as if to manipulate a smartphone. Audi said the Virtual Exterior Mirror offers a wider field of view without blind spots, compared to a typical side mirror. It provides better visibility even on cloudy days and in dark places, and it provides a ‘view mode’ suitable for each driving situation such as highway driving, rotation, parking, etc for more convenient and safe driving. By eliminating the side mirrors that protrude out of the vehicle, it reduces air resistance and wind noise. Also, slim and beautiful design is possible, reducing the body width by 5.9 inches.

The images seen on the Samsung display that covers each virtual exterior mirror appear natural and distinct with none of the drag effects typically triggered by a slow response rate at low temperatures, while exhibiting outstanding color reproducibility. The Samsung 7-inch OLED display provides Audi e-tron drivers with an ideal visual solution, thanks to its low power consumption and innovatively thin, lightweight design, in addition to its superior imaging.

Jeeho Baek, Senior Vice President of Samsung Display, said “It is inspiring to many that our OLED display is used in Audi’s virtual exterior mirror, demonstrating that Samsung OLED technology is being optimized for cutting-edge automobile systems around the world. We will continue to actively support leading automotive manufacturers in helping them to advance the future automotive market through the use of our OLED display technology with its high resolution, advanced designs and low power consumption.”

OLEDON develops vertical plane source deposition technology for large OLED TV manufacturing

Hwang Chang-Hoon, CEO of OLEDON, which has developed plane-source deposition technology for small & medium-sized OLED and large area OLED, said that it is under development of vertical plane source deposition technology capable of manufacturing ultra-large OLED TVs of 77 inches or larger. Hwang introduced the related technology that it is possible to mass produce OLED TVs of 77 inches or more without the sagging problem of large substrate such as 12th generation (3300 x 4000 mm) substrate when using vertical plane source deposition technology.

According to Hwang, the production yield for 75 inch TVs or larger with the conventional inline type evaporator might be very low due to severe sagging of the substrate and difficult control of many linear sources. To solve this problem, Hwang said that a new 12-generation large-area cluster-type deposition technology is needed, and that vertical plane source deposition technology will be an appropriate alternative.

On the other hand, OLEDON holds the original patents for plane source deposition technology. It also filed a patent related to the curved plane source FMM deposition for high-resolution AMOLED manufacturing, and a patent related to the vertical plane source deposition technology for manufacturing large-area OLED TV.