Dash-Insights
  • Home
  • Our Focus
  • Blog
  • Events
  • About
  • Contact

MiniLED-Based Displays Poised for Expanded Presence

6/30/2020

0 Comments

 
MiniLED display technology can enable LCD to achieve high brightness, very high contrast, better HDR (High Dynamic Range), thinner form factor and higher power efficiency to compete directly with OLED. MiniLED-based displays were introduced in 2018, but trade issues in 2019, and global pandemic in 2020 have delayed suppliers’ expansion plans and product introductions.  Suppliers are now starting to increase capacities and investments.
The supply chain is evolving. Top consumer brands such as Apple are expected to introduce miniLED-based products by the end of 2020 and in 2021 for multiple applications. Cost is still the biggest challenge.

​MiniLED: Different from microLED

MiniLEDs are very different from microLEDs in terms of manufacturing process and their application markets. MicroLED can be considered as a revolutionary technology that will enable creation of a new self-emissive displays. MiniLED is a more evolutionary technology that can empower LCD backlights by helping in a reinvention process for most applications (high-end tablet, notebooks, monitors, TV, auto display, VR and others). It can also be used as a direct lit RGB LED for commercial applications like digital signage or control rooms.
MicroLED display still needs a technology breakthrough in mass transfer, higher manufacturing yield and significant capital investments to commercialize as reported earlier "MicroLED Display:  Progressing Towards Commercialization". However, miniLEDs can use existing fabs without major investments.


MiniLED: Enables Higher Display Performance

MiniLED-based display products were first introduced in 2018. Compared to microLED, this technology has higher manufacturing yield and is easier to mass-produce.
  • In terms of LED size, miniLED lies between traditional LED and microLED. According to the current general consensus I have heard, microLEDs are mostly <50 microns in size; miniLEDs are generally 100 to 200 microns; and traditional LEDs are generally higher than 300 microns.
  • By the use of multi zone blinking backlights (>10,000 zones), miniLED can enable LCD to have higher brightness (>1000nits), very high contrast (>10,000:1), excellent HDR, better color rendering, ultra thin form factor, superior power efficiency and display performance close to OLED.
  • Due to miniLED’s small size, it can enable curved form factors and narrow bezels.
OLED can have a true black state and excellent contrast being an emissive display, but to achieve >1000nits it requires relatively high current which can impact lifetime. LCD can achieve >1000 nit brightness by increasing the number of LEDs but contrast ratio is very limited. MiniLED can resolve these issues. For HDR, pixel level dimming is best which is possible with microLED technology. MiniLED with multi zone blinking backlight can work as an alternative for higher HDR with >100000:1 contrast ratio and higher peak brightness. HDR is expected to be an essential feature for next generation display products.

MiniLED: Increasing Capacity

Major LED chip companies such as Epistar (Taiwan) and Sanan (China) are increasing capital expenditure to increase capacity. They are installing equipment for high-speed transfer, die testing and sorting to improve manufacturing yield.
Equipment suppliers such as Kulicke & Soffa and AMSPT are focusing on high-speed transfer and bonding while suppliers such as FitTech, Saultech are providing sorting and testing equipment. K&S and Rohinni have co-developed miniLED placement solutions. The development of tools that can increase throughput efficiently and handle smaller dies (<100 micron), can reduce manufacturing costs.
As miniLED technology uses a large number of small size LEDs, the process of testing and repairing is very important to reduce repair costs and improve yield. Testing and sorting companies are starting to report strong growth in demand from Taiwan and China. Driver IC companies such as Taiwan’s Macroblock are focusing on miniLED products this year. Most of the miniLED capacity is expected to come by the end of 2020 and in 2021.


MiniLED: Evolving Supply Chain

There are currently more collaborations among suppliers within the miniLED supply chain: substrate, LED epitaxial wafer, packaging, driver ICs, display suppliers and even consumer electronic companies. Panel suppliers are collaborating with their LED subsidiaries: AUO with Lextar and Innolux with AOT and other companies.
Epistar and Lextar announced a recent partnership to reduce overlapping investments and share production capacity for micro and miniLEDs. LED chip company Sanan is working with Samsung, while BOE has joint venture with Rohinni.
MiniLED supply chain companies such as BOE, China Star, AUO, Innolux, Epistar, Sanan, Lextar, Macroblock, ASM Pacific Technology, Nationstar, Refond, Yenrich, and many others are all working to develop better solutions. Consumer electronics companies are also joining in the collaboration and development.
According to published industry news, Apple is reportedly investing over $300 million to produce miniLED and microLED in Taiwan in conjunction with Epistar and AUO. The industry is buzzing with expectations about the possibility of a Apple 12.9” miniLED-based iPad Pro product introduction by end of 2020 or in 2021. Apple is reportedly planning to release six miniLED products by the end of 2021 including 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad and a 7.9-inch iPad mini, including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple’s adoption of miniLED technology will have a very positive impact on the supply chain and growth potential.


MiniLED: Cost Challenge

Cost is a big challenge for miniLED. Cost reduction can be realized through advance chip production and higher throughput for the transfer and assembly process and PCB and driver IC enhancements. Chip production can be improved through reductions in chip size, improvements in uniformity and boosting luminous efficiency.
Epistar is changing the beam angle of LED chips using proprietary reflectors leading to a reduction in the number of chips used. Upgrading transfer and assembly efficiency and accuracy can also improve manufacturing yield. Panel suppliers are switching backlight connection backplanes to use glass with active driving solutions to reduce costs.
Most of the suppliers in the miniLED backplane market are also paying attention to microLED. Some suggest that processes such as faster bonding, faster transfer, precise backplane that are being developed in next few years for microLED can also help miniLED to reduce costs. That could enable miniLEDs to shift from incremental cost reductions to substantial cost reductions. Panel suppliers and component suppliers are expected to focus more on cost reductions in 2021 to support brands’ product introduction of miniLED-based displays to drive growth and expansion plans.
According to the LEDinside research division of TrendForce,
“the manufacturing cost of Mini LED backlight displays is currently higher than that of traditional LCD and OLED displays. However, as manufacturers continue to make improvements in process technology and yield rate, the cost of Mini LED backlight displays is expected to undergo 15-20% YoY deceases and to potentially be lower than the cost of OLED displays by 2022, making Mini LED a cost competitive option in the market. “

MiniLED: Application Market

MiniLED-based products are already being shipped for high-end monitors and TV. Display panel suppliers have shown many prototypes of miniLED-based products at DisplayWeek 2019:
  • Tianma (HDR LTPS LCD smartphone)
  • CSOT (5.99” LTPS LCD smartphone)(15.6” LTPS notebook) (12.3” curved LTPS LCD auto display)(65”, TV 2000 nits, BT2020 color gamut)
  • AUO (17.3”, 4K, HDR, notebook) (12.3”, curved auto display) (2.9”, LTPS LCD, 1688PPI for VR)
  • BOE (15.6, oxide LCD, 240Hz, HDR notebook).
  • TCL was first to introduce miniLED backlight based QD TV in 65”(<$2000) and 75”(<$3000) in 2019.
  • At CES 2020 consumer brands showcased: Acer and Asus (QDLED 4K G-Sync gaming monitor BT 2020).
  • Vizio unveiled a miniLED backlight-based 8K LCD TV
  • MSI announced first 17” 4K laptop with miniLED display
  • TCL showcased Vidrian 8K TV by directly infusing miniLEDs into glass substrate greatly increasing performance.
​MiniLED costs have gone down recently due to increased efficiency and lower chip costs. It still faces cost challenges to become competitive. With Apple’s introduction in tablet and IT products more brands are expected to follow. In the near term, suppliers are focusing more on value-based applications such as high-end tablet, notebook, gaming monitor, TV, automotive and VR.
MiniLED-based products can open up new opportunities for the display market. It can enable LCDs with higher performance, thinner form factors and lower power consumption to compete with OLED and drive replacement demand with higher specs. MiniLED-based products are poised for expanded market presence. Success will depend on its ability to reduce cost to drive demand. (SD)

Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insights.com
0 Comments

MicroLED Display: An Emerging Application Market

6/1/2020

0 Comments

 
microLED is considered by some to be the fourth generation flat panel display technology after plasma, LCD and OLED. It combines the best features of LCD and OLED, with higher brightness, significant increases in power efficiency and reliability and the potential for lower cost. Many working prototypes have come to market but no volume production yet. microLED display is Progressing Towards Commercialization(my last Display Daily article). Can microLED compete with LCD and OLED in the display application market?

Super Size Display:  Video wall, Signage, Public display, TV..
Samsung showcased a modular 146-inch microLED TV called “The wall” at CES 2018, and followed it with a 219-inch version in 2019 and a 292-inch in 2020. These products were based on microLED chips where die sizes were larger than 50 microns, and products were based on a passive matrix mode. Very large size self-emissive displays with >50 microns die size are considered as miniLED display rather than microLED
  • At CES 2020 Konka showed a 236-inch microLED technology based large display and LGE showed a 145-inch screen.
  • Samsung’s 75-inch microLED TV with active matrix driver based on Playnitride <50microns chip, modular LTPS backplane, was first showcased at CES 2019.
    • Samsung plans to produce 75-inch and other size microLED TVs by 2021, in partnership with Epistar and Playnitride.
  • Sony first demonstrated a 55-inch FullHD microLED TV based on its crystal LED technology in 2012 but it was never commercialized.
    • Sony has started selling modular crystal LED super size displays targeting applications such as boardrooms, theme parks, museums, retail showrooms, corporate lobbies, studios, and other commercial markets.
    • Sony's display is based on active matrix driving technology integrating RGB microLEDs and micro ICs and provides true black with a high contrast ratio even in a bright environment.
    • The system has scalability: with no bezel they can be tiled up to a large-scale display system seamlessly with free size and free aspect ratio.
These super size commercial displays are very expensive and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The displays are targeted for commercial products and can compete directly with direct LED video-wall products. With very high brightness, true black, very high contrast, design flexibility, microLED super size displays can provide higher performance with low power consumption. But to increase adoption rates, cost has to come down: die size has to go down, but that will reduce efficiency and lifetime.
It will be extremely challenging for microLED TV to compete with LCD, QDLED, OLED and even miniLED TV in the near term. Industry experts believe die size for microLED TVs has to go down to <10microns for 4K TV and <5 microns for 8K TV to be more price competitive.
By the year 2021 and 2022 about eight to ten 10.5 Gen fabs with huge capacity are expected to be in production making LCDs and AMOLEDs. Samsung Display is also working on QDOLED TV products. It will be extremely hard for microLED display to be price-competitive in the 75” and below consumer TV market.

Small Size Display: Wearable, Smartwatch..
Wearable products such as smartwatch and activity tracker have a real need for thinner, lighter, lower powered, flexible displays. Their small size displays need high resolution and higher brightness for outdoor use with longer battery life. microLED can meet these requirements and outperform the currently dominant OLED display.
  • Apple is reportedly working on microLED after acquiring Luxvue and is said to be setting up MiniLED and microLED fab ($334 million investment) in Taiwan in partnership with AUO and Epistar.
  • RiTdisplay & PlayNitride have shown a 1.25" display with a glass substrate and 0.9-inch flexible display.
  • Glo has shown a 1.6" (JDI) and 1.8" (Kyocera) full color microLED wearable display (LTPS backplane).
  • Apple is currently using 1.57-inch and a 1.78-inch AMOLED display for Apple watch products. Apple may be introducing microLED wearable in 2021.
If Apple does shift to microLED from OLED for smartwatch it will have a significant impact on the display industry. Apple could also follow the strategy of using microLED only for premium models and OLED for others. To reduce costs,  a die size design of <20 microns is needed for microLED. Its high brightness and significantly lower power consumption ability can be a real benefit for battery-powered devices like smartwatches.

Very Small Size Display: AR, VR,..
The extremely high brightness capabilities of microLED can be a major advantage for devices such as AR, VR and HUDs (Heads Up Display) where waveguides are commonly used to place images in a headset or in glasses in front of the eyes (due to light loss issues). Even though microLED has many advantages for micro-display applications, there are also challenges such as efficiency, full color technology, and better control of defective pixels.
The VR/AR market is expected to grow in the next five years.
VR - Companies such as HTC and Oculus have developed more stand-alone, all-in-one devices for VR with lower prices. OLED display has been gaining higher acceptance in the VR market due to its high refresh rates, higher resolutions, and higher contrast for either direct view or micro display. microLED can match and exceed OLED performance. Its lower power consumption and lower battery size capability can transform bulky VR sets to lighter versions.
AR - microLED with high brightness, high resolutions and low power consumptions can enable flexible design and light weight AR glasses. Apple is expected to introduce AR smart glasses within a few years. AR adoption has been slow due to high prices and low consumer acceptance. Products such as Microsoft Hololens, Google’s Glass seem to be more accepted in the enterprise and vertical market rather than the consumer market.
  • Jade Bird Display - 0.31" monochrome green micro-display for AR/VR (3 million nits, 5,000 PPI) and a 0.3" monochrome blue micro-display (150K nits, 10K PPI)
  • VueReal - 30K PPI, 100K nits MicroLED microdisplay
  • Glo - full color microLED for AR/VR head set based on RGB LED
  • Plessey - 1080P microLED for AR/MR, 0.7inch blue monochrome MicroLED displays (using JDC’s silicon backplane)
  • Plessey and Compund Photonics - co-developed 0.26-incg integrated MicroLED display module for AR/MR application
  • Pleassey - GaN-on-Si technology. It recently announced its agreement with Facebook/Occulus for product development
As it can be seen from the above, monolithic microLED microdisplays can achieve very high brightness and resolution. Many consumer electronic companies are evaluating GaN-on-Si LED epiwafer (better cost than GaN-on-sapphire) for their microLED production. It can reduce cost and increase yield in manufacturing scalable to 200mm and even 300mm and also by using current CMOS facilities.
For a full color solution, sometimes QDot color conversion technology can be beneficial. Nanosys and DIC corporation have jointly demonstrated the possibility of inkjet-printed QD as the color conversion layer on microLED array. MicroLED has the potential to challenge OLED in the wearable and VR/AR market.

Medium Size Display: Automotive..
At CES 2020 many companies showed end-to-end design solutions for AR head-up displays (HUDs) including Altia, BMW and Futurus Technology. Futurus was showing MR (Mixed Reality) technology for safe and immersive experiences in next generation vehicles. Technology can move towards smart window-shielsd in future, combined with safety and entertainment info. MicroLED can provide higher brightness and higher reliability for HUD applications.
AUO and Playnitride have co-developed a 9.4-inch flexible microLED display, with a PI- backplane geared towards auto display market. The company used same technique as flexible OLED to remove PI from a substrate after transferring the display devices. AUO has also demonstrated 12-inch microLED display with LTPS glass backplane for auto applications. The auto display market with its long design cycles may take a few years before mass production.

Transparent Displays
VueReal has shown a MicroLED array with>60% transparency and 200 ppi resolution using a micro-printing process. Tianma exhibited a 7.56- inch transparent full color microLED with a LTPS glass backplane with Playnitride chips. China Star has shown a 3.5-inch transparent IGZO glass-based backplane. Application targets for these displays are still evolving. Some believe this can help microLED to provide product differentiation in the market to compete with traditional LCD and OLED.
Implications for the Application MarketThe LCD and OLED industries and products are moving targets, both still improving in performance and reducing their costs. Can microLED potentially match the price and performance of LCD and OLED? In theory, it can. But as history has shown, theoretical potential takes years to be realized and sometimes never gets there.microLED display has the potential to be successful in many different application markets. (SD)


Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
 
0 Comments

MicroLED Display:  Progressing Towards Commercialization

5/4/2020

0 Comments

 
microLED is considered to be a next generation display technology. It provides the best features of both LCD and OLED display. It has the potential to outperform both the technologies in terms of color reproducibility, brightness, reliability and low power consumption.
Many working prototypes have been introduced, but it is not in volume production yet due to manufacturing challenges, cost issues and the need for supply chain establishment. Technology developments and new solutions are coming, leading to steady progress towards commercialization.

Display Suppliers:  Increasing Activities
According to recent press release from Yole Development,
“..analysts estimated that cumulated effort in microLED to date reaches close to $4.8Billion, with Apple alone close to $1.8 billion, factoring in both the Luxvue acquisition and internal developments”.

They identified and selected about 5500 microLED related patents filed by more than 350 organizations. The press release reported that 40% of the patents were filed in 2019 alone. China and display makers are driving this exponential growth. BOE now leads in volume with close to 150 new patent families in 2019.

Currently the display industry is going through a great transition. Samsung Display and LG Display (Korea) have decided to stop LCD production due to low profitability. Suppliers from China are dominating the LCD market with their massive 10.5 Gen capacity. Samsung (the dominant OLED supplier) and LGD are focusing on OLED and next generation technology (Quantum dot, microLED). China suppliers are also starting to build OLED fab capacity. AUO and Innolux (Taiwan) are focusing more on microLED as they didn’t invest in OLED capacity. Major display suppliers -  Samsung, LGD, AUO, Innolux, BOE, Tianma, CEC Panda, Visionox and others are all increasing their activities in microLED display which will help to establish the supply chain for volume production.

microLED Suppliers:  Bringing in Prototypes
According to industry estimates, more than 130 companies are working in the microLED display supply chain. Besides panel suppliers, many startup companies and component suppliers as well as top brand manufacturers are exploring solutions for microLED products including Apple (LuxVue), Facebook/Oculus (mLED, InfiniLED), eLux (integrated with Foxconn group), Aledia (Intel), Lumens, Lumiode, Jade Bird Display, Mikro Mesa, Play Nitride, Plessey, Glo (Google), VueReal, X-celeprint (X-Display), Rohinni, Sony, Visionox and others.
Here are some of the microLED display prototypes announced in the 2019/2020 timeframe.
  • AUO & PlayNitride - announced a 9.4" (228PPI) flexible display (PI LTPS) for automobile application. AUO also introduced a 12.1" (169PPI) panel in 2019 (LTPS glass)
  • RiTdisplay & PlayNitrite - introduced a 1.25" display with glass substrate and 0.9-inch flexible display based on thin film (both 228ppi resolutions, scheduled mass production 2020). According to industry news sources, both companies may be in talks with Apple to produce a next generation watch/wearable display.
  • Samsung - showcased “The Wall” large format TV products at CES 2020 in 292", 150", 110", 93", and 88" using larger size chips. It also showed a 75" (4K) microLED TV based on smaller size chips from PlayNitride.
  • Glo - has a 1.6" (JDI) and 1.8" (Kyocera) full color microLED display (LTPS backplane) and showed a full color RGB LED display for AR/VR.
  • Plessey - demonstrated a 1080p microLED near eye display solution for AR/MR
  • Jade Bird Display - has shown a 0.31" monochrome green micro-display for AR/VR (3 million nits, 5,000 PPI) and a 0.3" monochrome blue micro-display (150,000 nits, 10,000 PPI)
  • PlayNitride & Tianma - have shown a 7.56" RGB full color transparent display with LTPS backplane (114PPI, >600nits, 60% transparent). The have also shown an extremely thin (28um) flexible display and a 1.25" 458dpi wearable display.
  • CSOT - showed a full color 3.5" transparent display (IGZO glass backplane).
  • X-Display - exhibited a 5.1" (70PPI) display
  • VueReal - announced a 30K PPI, 100K nits MicrolED microdisplay in May 2019
Technology development prototypes with lab scale productions are very different to commercialized products. To compete with TFT LCD and OLED in the consumer market microLED products need to have zero defects, high performance, high uniformity, high consistency, high volume scalability and cost competitive manufacturing. Products sometimes take years to shift from prototype to commercialization and some never even make it to the market.

Complex Manufacturing Issues
microLED is a self-emitting display technology consisting of arrays of microscopic LEDs each forming a pixel. It is simple in structure compared to OLED and LCD but has a complex manufacturing process. The microLED supply chain consists of the following steps.
  • GaN epiwafer preparation
  • Processing of thin film LEDs on the wafer
  • Mass transfer of the chips to the display backplane
  • Inspection and repair processes
Display integration of microLED can be generally of two types. One is heterogeneous integration, where microLED arrays use pick and place process, and chips are transferred from an epiwafer or carriers to the display backplane (LTPS or Oxide TFT in glass or flexible PI substrate). The other one is monolithic integration where process involves microLED arrays and backplane hybridization.

Mass transfer -  of microLED devices is a critical enabler for cost competitiveness with TFT-LCD and OLED. Companies such as eLux are offering technology that moves microLED from the wafer to a substrate in a fluidic process where the microLED get dispersed in liquid and wells built on the substrate create a self-assembly system. The target of the tool is to work on Gen 6 LTPS substrates in the future. Collaborations of PlayNitride, Unimicron Corp (PCB backplane), and Macroblock (driver ICs) have shown the use of mass transfer of microLEDs into printed circuit board backplanes, which can reduce production costs. Startup company VueReal has developed micro printing technology that can make different sizes and different resolutions high density microLED micro-display.

Yield - Manufacturing and yield problems can become an issue in epitaxy, chip, mass transfer, bonding, driving technology, backplane, inspection and repair. Integration of in-process testing, redundancy and repair are used to improve yield. The industry is working to resolve these issues.

Uniformity - microLED chips need wavelength uniformity and thickness uniformity for display applications. Solutions from MOCVD suppliers such as Aixtron, Veeco and others are helping to resolve such issues. For example Veeco is collaborating with Allos (provider of GaN epiwafer technology) to achieve extremely good emission wavelength uniformity. The Aixtron MOCVD solution AIX G5+C and Planetary® technology is enabling high volume manufacturing of products with high-level wavelength uniformity and low defects that can help to increase yield and lower costs.

Testing - microLED companies also need to use mass testing and repair methods to reduce the cost and time of assembly. Companies such as Toray are working on equipment for microLED wafer inspection, repair and transfer. Laser repair equipment can remove defective microLEDs and then selectively transfer good microLEDs to complete the repair process.

Color Conversion - The mass transfer process that performs the bonding of RGB (Red Green Blue) microLEDs to the display backplane accurately and efficiently is very challenging. Also different colors of LED need slightly different voltage and drive currents. Color conversion by quantum dots or by phosphor provides another alternative. Using single-color (blue) microLED chips and color converting them with quantum dot layers can help in the manufacturing process. Nanosys has demonstrated a photo lithography-patterned cadmium free color conversion layer for microLED.

Supply Chain Development
microLED still faces many challenges in terms of mass transfer, mass inspections/repair, and supply chain establishment.
  • There is no standard manufacturing solution for commercialization.
  • Startup companies are mostly fabless with licensing capabilities, but they need partnership for manufacturing. Large established companies are reluctant to depend on single startup for their supply.
  • Suppliers with LTPS-TFT capacity for backplane or other manufacturing capabilities need to invest capital for transfer, inspection/testing, and create path to mass market.
  • Panel suppliers and set suppliers need to be confident about profit margins for business. Current market condition makes it difficult for display suppliers to invest capital in this new technology.
  • Set makers are currently driving microLED chip decision strategy to improve product performance.
More partnership and collaborations among panel makers, set makers and microLED chip makers are required.

Application Market
microLED display have a strong potential to outperform TFTLCD and OLED as they offer high contrast, fast response time and wide viewing angles. The technology can also provide wider color gamut, very high brightness, higher readability, long lifetime, environment stability, high resolution, ultra low power consumption for mobile devices and options of using a flexible backplane. It also allows the integration of sensors and circuits, enabling thin displays with embedded sensing capabilities such as fingerprint identification and gesture control.
Companies are initially targeting wearable, AR/VR, digital signage, public display and automotive (HUD) applications. High-speed transfer, assembly technologies, yield and defect management need to improve before large volume commercialization in consumer products such as smartphones or TV.

Road to Commercialization
microLED display technology is making steady progress towards commercialization. However the technology faces several challenges, which will take more time to resolve. In the meantime, suppliers will test the market with higher priced, lower volume, value-based products. Samsung plans to commercialize a 75" microLED TV based on PlayNitride chips by 2021. Apple may be also introducing microLED based wearables by next year.
Success in commercialization and mass production will depend on the ability to scale up for volume production with competitive price performance - SD
Sweta Dash, President, Dash-Insights

Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
 ​
0 Comments

Quantum Dot Display:  Entering An Expansion Phase

4/6/2020

1 Comment

 

Quantum Dot Display is an evolving technology that has established itself as a formidable force in 2019 with lower prices, higher product availability and improved performance enabling strong growth in shipments.
This technology is expected to enter an expansion phase in next few years through high capital investments (from Samsung) and technology developments that will enhance other technologies such as LCD, OLED and MicroLED. Finally, it aspires to be a leader by offering the most cost effective, flexible emissive quantum dot display in future. QD technology still has many challenges and faces strong competition from other display technologies.

Strong growth: Driven by lower prices and a broader range of product availability
The presence of Quantum Dots technology in the market increased with Samsung’s introduction of QD cadmium free TV (technology licensed from Nanosys) in 2015. QD enhancement film contains trillions of red and green emitting quantum dots. QD film sheets can be dropped in front of a blue LED LCD backlight in place of a diffuser sheet, converting some of the blue light from the LEDs in the backlight to red and green, creating an RGB (white) light source that goes through the LCD and color filter.
The first generation QD enhancement film (QDEF) enabled LCDs to have better color purity, wider color gamut, and offer a brighter and more immersive HDR experience while maintaining power efficiency for TV applications. But challenges such as higher prices, reduced viewing angles, relatively slow switching speed, lower black level and environmental concern limited its growth rates. The technology has evolved during last few years to improve or eliminate most of these issues.  This has resulted in broader adoption of the technology.

Samsung is the dominant supplier of QDLED TV, based on its use of QDEF on LCD. The company is now offering products ranging from 43-inch to 98-inch with resolutions up to 8K at various price points. Its 43-inch QLED TV could be had at less than $500, during last Black Friday. According to industry estimates, Samsung shipped more than 5 million QDLED TV units in 2019.

Besides Samsung, Vizio, TCL, Hisense, Konka and Xiomi are already offering QDEF-based LCD TVs. Vizio’s M series 65-inch price also went below $500 during 2019 Black Friday.  TCL announced that their sales volume of QLED TV surged by 66% y-o-y in 2019. Hisense’s H9 Quantum and the brand overall experienced over 50% more sales in the US.

Nanosys, the dominant leader of quantum dot materials reported 50% y-o-y growth in shipments in fiscal 2019. According to Nanosys, 100 unique QD technology-based products were available in the 2H of 2019 up from about 50 in 2017.  


Monitors Adopt QDs
Nvidia developed a G-Sync HDR PC gaming 4K QD monitor with stunning wider color gamut, higher contrast, better color saturation and higher brightness in 2017.  HP, ASUS, Acer, Samsung, and others have now introduced 4K HDR gaming monitors with QD enhancement film. These high-end monitors were geared towards gamer, video editors, graphic designers, and professional photographers available in different sizes and at different price points.

QD empowering LCD products:  With MiniLED, Dual-Cell and New backlight solutions
At CES 2020, a series of QD products were introduced based on MiniLED backlights and a higher number of Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) zones. That enabled products with very high contrast, deeper black level, higher color accuracy, high efficiency, higher peak brightness, and greatly improved picture quality.

Acer and Asus showed the latest versions of their QD MiniLED 32-inch 4K G-Sync gaming monitor with 1152 dimming zones (nearly 100% increase from the previous version of 576 zones for HDR), 1400 nits peak brightness, improved contrast and 90% of BT 2020 color gamut vastly improving picture quality. Samsung introduced the G9 49-inch ultra wide, its first QD LCD gaming monitor (5120x 1440 resolution) with 240Hz rapid refresh rate, 1 ms response time, 32:9 aspect ratio, 1000R curve and 1000 nits peak brightness.

TCL introduced its first MiniLED backlight-based TV with >25K MiniLEDs. The LEDs are infused directly into a glass substrate enabling very high contrast, more even light distribution for enhanced uniformity, higher brightness, enhanced color and stable long life performance.
Samsung showcased a 8K QLED TV, with a bezel-less design, 99% screen to body ratio and very thin body design (15mm thin even with FALD). Samsung also introduced a QD notebook, with 600 nits of brightness and longer battery life.

Hisense showcased a dual cell LCD TV where two LCD (2K and 4K) panels are fused together for higher contrast and with FALD light control at close to pixel level. The company has already upgraded it to a 8K quantum Dot dual cell TV with a combination of two 4K panel, MiniLED backlights, 2500 nits peak brightness, wide color gamut, 80,000:1 static contrast, and deeper black like OLED.

LCD is a mature technology.  But innovation is continuing, with FALD capabilities, MiniLED, dual cell and QD technology contrast and black level increasing to get closer to the emissive OLED level. LCD is reinventing itself with the help of QD technology.

QD Entering the next generation expansion phase:  With QDOG, QDCC & Emissive Display
Quantum Dot display is continuously evolving with technology innovations and material developments. In the process it is empowering other display technologies such as LCD, OLED and MicroLED.

QDOG (Quantum Dot on Glass)
Here QD is applied to a glass light guide plate, enabling higher efficiency, higher yield rates and thinner display for monitor and TV. Nanosys has introduced QDOG materials that can be made on master glass sheet light guide plate (LGP) and then cut into panel sizes for higher efficiency and yield rates. A HP Pavilion 27 monitor uses the QDOG technology to have a very thin (6.5mm) screen.

QDCC (Quantum Dot Color Conversion)
QDCC layers can be applied to any display containing a blue light source including LCDs, OLEDs, and MicroLEDs, and can be fabricated using inkjet printing or photolithography, depending on features and size requirements.

LCD: In LCD there is leakage between different color channels due to the presence of the color filter. In the QDCC process, the color filter array is replaced with a layer of active QD emitter thereby increasing efficiency and brightness more than two times. QDCC moves the Quantum Dots to the front of the display giving a wider viewing angle. Three display companies are currently working on QDCC LCD. Still, making an in-cell polarizer can be a challenge. A demo of QDCC LCD is expected at SID 2020 for small and medium size.
(other challenges for QDCC include converting enough of the blue to red and green in those pixels and having to add some technology [such as a filter] to prevent stimulation of the quantum dots by ambient light).

MicroLED: MicroLED is more reliable than OLED, produces brighter images and has a faster response time. But manufacturing is a challenge due to the difficulty of the mass transfer of MicroLEDs onto the backplane. With QDCC, display makers can start with a blue MicroLED array and then patterned quantum dots can convert blue light into both red and green at the sub-pixel level.
QDs can provide high color purity, fast response time, high efficiency and stability. It can be made compatible with the MicroLED manufacturing process and can reduce defect rates (from the pick and place process). This type of MicroLED display is expected to come in two or three years. It may still have challenges with full color conversion.

QDOLED: QDOLED could combine the best of OLED and quantum dot technology:  very high contrast (due to the OLED sub-pixel), perfect black, wider viewing angles with better color gamut and higher brightness. It uses solution-printed QD as the emitter material to make AM QLED displays. Printable, low cost QD materials with superior performance have the potential to directly compete with OLED displays even in the flexible segment. However there are still many challenges.
Blue emitting materials still have efficiency and lifetime issues. Multiple layers of blue OLED can be used to reduce the problem. Samsung Display has announced its plan to invest 13.1 trillion won (about $10.5 billion) up to the year 2025 in QD-OLED TV R&D and production line. It will convert LCD production line to QD-OLED. The new QD-OLED TV line (8.5 Gen) is expected to start production in 2021. Samsung Display has already had a launch ceremony.

QNED: Recent industry information is showing Samsung to be working on QNED technology, a QD nanorod based on GaN technology. GaN blue light-emitting nanorods can replace blue OLED providing even higher efficiency, improved brightness, longer lifetime no burn-in issue while using QDCC.

QD Emissive Display
Electro emissive QD display will have similar properties to OLED (perfect black and viewing angle), but with higher color gamut and higher brightness. The concept uses solution-printed QD as the emitter material to make AM QLED displays. Printable, low cost QD materials with superior performance have the potential to directly compete with OLED displays even in the flexible segment. But, again, there are still many challenges. Blue emitting materials still have efficiency and lifetime issues. Recent industry news reported that researchers in Samsung have succeeded in developing quantum dots that were 21.4% more efficient with a million hours increased lifetime without heavy metal use. The company is planning to integrate this technology into QD emissive display.

​Current Situation
The majority of the current quantum dot technology-based LCD TVs and monitors use QDEF. Lower prices, higher availability of products and increased performance have resulted in strong shipments growth in 2019. QD technology is evolving and new products are expected to come in next few years with QDCC entering expansion phase. There are still many challenges. Components, materials, process, products and costs are continuously improving. QD display technology is entering the expansion phase. - (SD)

Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
1 Comment

Foldable Smartphones - Can They Drive Demand?

3/17/2020

1 Comment

 
The mature smartphone market has been experiencing declining growth rates for the last three years. The year 2020 was previously expected to be a recovery year with positive growth rate. However, supply chain disruptions, lock-downs, and spread of coronavirus at the global level is now expected to have major impact throughout the world in the first half of 2020, leading to slow recovery.

Smartphone market growth expectation is now postponed to 2021. The introduction of new foldable phones with innovative designs and 5G capabilities can only bring some interest in promoting replacement demand this year. Market implications due to coronavirus, high prices, lack of standardization, still evolving form factors and capabilities of foldable smartphones will limit market demand in 2020.

Smartphone market: Declining growth forecast

Brands were hoping to drive replacement demand with introduction of 5G products in a wide range of prices. However, the coronavirus outbreak has now reached a global level. Market uncertainties have heightened, creating disruptions both in demand and supply side. According to the latest forecast from IDC, the worldwide smartphone market is expected to decline 2.3% in 2020 with shipment volumes of just over 1.3 billion. The company conveys that component shortages, factory shutdowns, quarantine mandates, logistics and travel restrictions will create hindrances for smartphone vendors in producing handsets and rolling out new devices. Overall scenarios are expected to stabilize from Q3 this year. Global smartphone shipments are expected to return to growth in 2021 driven by accelerated 5G efforts.

Foldable Flip Phones: An evolving form factor

On March 11, 2020 Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Flip, its second foldable smartphone, a newly designed foldable flip phone based on flexible AMOLED display but with an ultrathin glass cover rather than plastic. The Galaxy Z Flip features a 6.7-inch 1080 x 2636 HDR dynamic AMOLED display. It also has an external 1.1-inch 112 x 300 superAMOLED display. This in-fold device with a new form factor is priced at $1,380 in U.S. The product looks like a large square device when folded and opens to a full smartphone. Z Flip can have the bottom half flat and the top half at 90° for watching content, taking photos or making calls. At a price of $1380, it is cheaper than Samsung’s first foldable with bigger screen size, the Galaxy Fold ( $1980) and Motorola Razr ($1499), but more expensive than the Galaxy S20 ($999.99).

Foldable Z Flip: Ultra thin glass cover

For the commercialization of reliable foldable smartphones the development of cover windows with high hardness and superior scratch resistance is very important. Z flip uses an ultrathin glass cover solution from Samsung Display rather than  the flexible polyimide cover similar to what was used in Galaxy Fold. According to the company, ultrathin glass is more durable than polyimide for foldable OLEDs. The company has built the 30-micrometer thick glass to be both flexible and durable. Polymer is better at flexibility but it is less hard than glass, easier to scratch and has a higher potential to crease.

According to industry news sources, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip is using glass from Schott with special coating from Samsung Display. According to Schott, ultrathin glass is as thin as a strand of human hair yet extremely stable. It is the ideal solution for covering bendable displays. Ultrathin glass not only has to be reliably bendable, but it also has to be much thinner. Tough ultrathin glass can be scratch-resistant and bendable with a radius of just a few millimeters. In addition it can provide excellent barrier properties and protection from environmental elements.

Other glass companies such as Corning and AGC are also working on ultrathin bendable glass. Corning is targeting a 3 to 5 mm bend radius for its 0.1 mm thick glass, which could allow a foldable phone to be as thin as 6 mm to 10mm. The challenge is to keep tight 3 to 5 mm bend radius while increasing damage resistance of glass. That type of glass is expected to be ready in 1 to 2 years.

AGC developed an ultrathin chemically strengthened 0.07mm flexible glass, which makes it possible to use as a cover glass for foldable devices. Even though glass has the potential to provide ultimate foldable cover solution, it still needs development for a better ultra thin, durable, and optically advantage solutions that can bend at a tight radius hundreds of thousands times without damage.

Foldable Flip Phone: New design

Starting from 2020, foldable smartphones will be shifting more towards a new clamshell design away from the folding book type. Motorola has already launched its first foldable smartphone “Razr” in a clamshell form factor. After Samsung’s Z Flip, more brands are expected to join in.
For a foldable display, all the layers within the panel should be foldable, durable, and transparent with a total bending radius of less than 1.5 mm. Clamshell designs have smaller seams, hinges and foldable marks that can result in higher yield, lower cost, and longer usable life leading to a higher consumer acceptance rate. Clamshell designs with ultrathin glass like Samsung’s Z Flip can bring higher hardness, better scratch resistance compared to plastic cover film.

Samsung Display, BOE, Royole and AUO had dedicated foldable display capacity in 2019. LGD, CSOT and Visionox will join in 2020. Samsung, Royale and Huawei already have first generation foldable smartphones (in the $1300 to $2600 range). Higher prices, reliability and design issues had resulted in limited shipments in 2019. Xiaomi, TCL, Google and many others are also working on foldable phones.

Lower cost, higher reliability and longer life could help clamshell designs to gain higher acceptance in 2020 and drive demand especially in the second half of 2020. Component shortages, factory shut downs, implications due to coronavirus, and an uncertain economic outlook will create challenges for the smartphone market in 2020. New foldable products, 5G capabilities, innovative designs and evolving form factors can create interest from early adaptors driving demands. However, higher costs, high prices, a lack of standardization, and still evolving form factors and developing capabilities of foldable smartphones will limit market demand in 2020. (SD)
​
Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
1 Comment

Growth Opportunities for the Smartphone Display Market from 5G

2/13/2020

0 Comments

 

The smartphone market is expected to experience growth in shipments in 2020 after three years of decline. Brands are hoping to drive replacement demand with introduction of 5G products at a wide range of prices.
The push for 5G adoption in many different countries, and especially in China, is driving our growth forecast. The introduction of 5G products needing slimmer displays to accommodate 5G-enabling components will increase flexible OLED display demand. However, recent news of the coronavirus outbreak in China has created short-term disruptions both in the demand and supply sides, creating uncertainties. If the situation can be controlled and resolved in the near term, stronger growth can still happen.

Affordable 5G products: Driving growth

According to IDC’s press release in November 2019, the worldwide smartphone market is expected to grow 1.5% year over year in 2020 with shipment volumes of just over 1.4 billion. IDC expects 190 million 5G smartphones to ship in 2020, accounting for 14% of total smartphones shipped.
The company expects China to be a leader in terms of 5G volume but also conveyed that other important markets like the U.S, Korea, United Kingdom, and Canada are expected to help drive 2020 volume. The IDC press release noted that accelerated 5G adoption globally will depend a lot on factors like the arrival of 5G networks and operator support, as well as substantial price reductions to offer more affordable 5G devices.

Already there have been many introductions of affordable 5G smartphone devices. TCL announced 5G smartphones with Qualcomm’s 765G priced below $500 at CES 2020. Xiaomi recently introduced the 5G “Redmi K30” with the price reaching below $300. Many smartphone brands including Samsung, Sony, Oppo, Vivo and others are expected to showcase new 5G models at MWC 2020 at the end of February.

While flagship 5G products for many brands will be above $1000, the availability of lower cost sets in the below $500 price range is expected to drive replacement demand to increase. Smartphone manufacturers will also show new versions of foldable phones. Samsung is expected to show a new design foldable flip-phone based on an OLED display but with ultrathin glass rather than plastic. Apple is also expected to introduce 5G iPhones in the 2nd half of 2020. These trends will help to drive flexible OLED display demand.

The introduction of 5G-based products needing slimmer, lighter, lower power consumption displays to accommodate 5G-enabling components will increase flexible OLED demand. It will also support better designs and higher display performance. Support of dark modes and the availability of LTPO will further help shift to OLED. Integration of new technology such as fingerprints under display, in-cell touch display, and other features to reduce border & an increased screen to body ratio can open up new opportunities. Most brands are adopting flexible OLED for their high-end 5G flagship products. The need for affordable 5G products at less than $500 or even less than $300, is leading suppliers to LTPS LCD at lower costs. This will enable LCD to have a presence in the 5G market.

Higher costs, high prices, seasonal demand patterns, a slower smartphone market demand and an uncertain economic outlook created challenges for flexible OLED displays in 2019. Those factors led to lower fab utilization rates and surplus capacity. Flexible OLEDs met only high end product requirements in 2019.

Samsung Display dominates the flexible market but LGD and BOE are increasing production. More capacity will also come from companies such as Tianma, Visionox, China Star (CSOT) and others in 2020. This can help to reduce costs and improve adoption rates in 2020. More focus on cost reductions, new features, increased product differentiation, new form factors and the need for 5G-based models can bring new opportunities for flexible OLED.

Rigid OLED had a dominant share of the OLED smartphone market in 2019. Samsung and other Chinese brands found success in meeting mid-range price requirements by reducing the price gap with LTPS LCD models, with new designs and larger sizes. Rigid OLED fab utilization rates stayed higher than flexible in 2019. It led to some suggestions that flexible fabs should convert more displays to rigid format for lower cost production of thinner and lighter display. Eliminating polyimide coating and producing a rigid OLED with thin film encapsulation can lead to ultra thin rigid OLED with only one glass substrate and higher yield rates.

Coronavirus situation:  Creating short-term disruptions 
 
The recent news of the coronavirus outbreak in China has created short-term disruptions both in demand and supply side creating uncertainties. According to some industry reports smartphone sales in China were already weak in Q4 2019, due to trade issue with U.S and low availability of competitively priced 5G smartphones and services.

Chinese brands were planning to offer more of lower priced products and bigger push for 5G sales in Q1 2020, especially for Lunar holiday sales. Coronavirus situation has negatively impacted the demand in Q1. On the supply side, both IHS and DSCC reported that production in the CSOT, Tianma and BOE fabs in the Wuhan area have been impacted negatively. There has been labor shortage, components shortage, and transportation issues disrupting production and panel supply in Q1.

China Star has a Gen 6 LTPS LCD fab and Gen 6 flexible OLED fabs and Tianma has an older Gen 4.5 a-Si LCD fab and a Gen 6 OLED (Rigid/Flexible) fab in Wuhan focusing on mobile applications. Disruption in those fabs will impact the smartphone market. BOE has a Gen 10.5 a-Si LCD fab focusing on TV. According to DSCC,
“In 2020, Wuhan is expected to account for 6% of worldwide mobile OLED capacity, 3% of mobile LCD capacity and 2% of LCD TV capacity”.
Disruption may also delay ramp-up plans and future production. Disruptions in both the demand and supply sides are certainly creating uncertainties for the smartphone display market.

Smartphone display: Stronger growth can still happen

The Coronavirus situation is impacting the near term global panel supply and demand for smartphones in Q1 2020. Delayed or pent-up demand may lead to stronger demand in future quarters. Smartphone brands are introducing flagship high-end 5G models with flexible foldable OLED displays, better designs, foldable formats, better features and performance to drive demand. They are also announcing affordable 5G models at less than $500 and even down to $300 to drive replacement demand at the low- and mid- range. If Coronavirus situations can be controlled and resolved in the short term, the industry could experience stronger demand and supply in the second half bringing growth opportunities to the smartphone display market. (SD)

Sweta Dash, President, Dash-Insights
Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
0 Comments

MicroLED, QLED, OLED and MiniLED Displays Dazzle at CES 2020

1/13/2020

2 Comments

 
Technology breakthroughs in the display industry have been enabling innovative consumer products. This year’s CES conference showcased many examples of this as products based on MicroLED, QLED, OLED and MiniLED dazzled attendees with their image quality, performance and designs.

MicroLED:  Progressing in Size

Samsung impressed the attendees with their biggest TV ever with a 292-inch 8K TV based on MicroLED technology. The modular TV will be available in many different sizes (75, 88, 93, 110, 150) and the modules can be combined for different shapes, some with slim and bezel-less designs. LGE showed a 145-inch TV while Chinese brand, Konka, showcased a 236-inch 8K MicroLED TV. Samsung is planning to go into MicroLED TVs production soon. Still, at the moment, extremely high price and manufacturing challenges will lead to very limited shipments.

MicroLED is a self-emitting display, which consists of arrays of microscopic LEDs each forming a pixel. It is simple in structure but has a complex manufacturing process. It has the potential to create thinner, brighter, lighter, higher contrast and low power displays, but products are not yet commercialized or in mass production. MicroLED displays can be used for TV as well as for applications such as wearable devices, AR/VR headsets, automotive, smartphone and others.

In smaller sizes, AUO showed a 12-1-inch TFT driven full color MicroLED auto display; ITRI showed a display where the sensor functions are integrated into pixel; Plessey showed a monolithic 1080P MicroLED based near-eye display solution for AR/MR, and Jade Bird Display showed MicroLEDs for AR/VR with extremely high brightness (up to 3 million nits).

Many companies are working to resolve manufacturing, yield and costs issues to enable volume productions for consumer products. There are still many challenges to be solved which will take a few more years to overcome.

QLED: New Products, New Designs

Samsung unveiled its very impressive flagship Q950TS QLED 8K TV which has
  • an ultra thin form factor (only 15mm even with full array local dimming (FALD) backlight),
  • an “infinity screen” (very thin bezel that produced 99% body to screen ratio),
  • built in 8K AI up-scaling capabilities, and AI quantum processor.
Samsung is trying to position these TVs as the central hub for connected living with AI, voice assistance and many other features. The company is also trying to increase adoption of 8K by bringing it to many sizes and price points. Samsung also showed a unique design with its “Sero”, 43-inch 4KQLED TV that can shift from landscape to portrait mode like a smartphone.

Besides Samsung, Vizio (a new 85-inch FALD and a series of other models), Hisense (expanded QD TV line up), Konka (the company's QD TV for U.S) and others also demonstrated Quantum Dot TVs at CES, most coming in 2020. TCL pushed the quantum dot technology performance even further by combining it with a miniLED backlight. According to TCL, by infusing micro-metre class MiniLEDs directly into a glass substrate, its Vidrian 8K TV is able to achieve stunning contrast, brilliant luminance, enhanced color and stable long life performance.

Quantum dot saw expansion in the gaming monitor side with Acer and Asus showing the latest versions of their QD MiniLED display technology with 1152 local dimming zone on 4K G-Sync monitors significantly improving picture quality and reaching 90% BT 2020 color gamut with Nanosys' Quantum dot technology. QD displays will be entering an expansion phase in 2020 with lower prices, more brand availability of TVs in many sizes and price points and expansion into monitors and notebooks. During Black Friday sales, Samsung’s QLED TV reached $499 for 43-inch and $999 for the 55-inch size. TCL’s 65-inch QLED TV was available in Costco for $599. Lower retail prices for QD TVs will drive demand.

OLED-Flexible, Rollable, Foldable

At CES 2020 LGE showed 65 RX, its rollable OLED TV that can roll up from a box. It is expected to ship in 2020. The industry buzz is that it will be very expensive around $60K. LG Display showcased a concept of a very impressive rollable TV that can roll down from ceiling. Th flexibility of OLED display technology has enabled many innovative consumer products in recent years and more will be coming.

To showcase its newest processor ‘Tiger Lake”, Intel unveiled the largest foldable PC, codenamed “Horseshoe Bend”. It is a 17.3-inch OLED device that folds like a laptop but opens up to be a 17.3-inch desktop monitor. Lenovo launched its foldable PC Thinkpad X1 fold (only 2.2 pounds) with a 13.3-inch OLED display. The display can be seen in full screen, one-screen plus keyboard mode or dual screen mode and folds into an ultraportable size. Dell showed ‘ORI” a large folding tablet that can close like a book (availability mid 2020). Samsung demonstrated a Galaxy Chrome 2-in-1 laptop with a high performance 4K OLED.

Foldable smartphones, enabled by flexible foldable OLEDs, started entering the market at the end of 2018 with Royole’s Flexpai. Samsung, Royole and Huawei already have first generation foldable smartphones on the market in the $1300 to $2600 range. Higher prices along with reliability and design issues have resulted in limited shipments in 2019. Starting from 2020, foldable smartphones will be shifting more towards a new clamshell design away from the folding book type. Most of the smartphone announcements will happen at MWC (mobile world conference in February). TCL showcased a working prototype of a foldable phone with 5G at CES 2020 and announced a 5G smartphone at "less than $500" this year.

LG Display showed a first class airplane cabin concept using a transparent OLED, that can also works as a privacy screen, and a 65-inch bendable OLED TV for an immersive experience. LGD also showed a flexible rollable plastic OLED for passenger seat entertainment that can roll up and down and disappear behind the seat.

Many companies showcased autonomous car concepts where they used bended curved display extensively. Royole showed an Amazon Alexa-enabled speaker with its 8-inch fully flexible wrap around OLED.

OLED TV has secured a strong presence in the premium TV market. The introduction of 48-inch OLED TV will help the technology meet lower price-point needs. Brands such as LGE (48-inch to 88-inch, 4K, 8K, wall TV, gaming TV G-SYNC capable), Sony (>=48, 4K,8K), Panasonic (brighter higher performance display), Vizio (first time OLED TV), Hisense and Konka all showcased various sizes and types of OLED TV. LG Display is the only supplier for OLED TV panel, leading to limited supply. LGD is converting LCD TV capacity to OLED and is also investing an additional 3 trillion KRW into a Gen 10.5 OLED production line, mainly producing >=65-inch TV panels. It is planning to almost double the TV panel production in 2020.

LCD: Reinvention with MiniLED, Dual-cell, QD
​
Hisense showcased a dual-cell LCD TV scheduled to arrive in the second half of 2020 (the concept was first introduced in 2019). Hisense XD9G TV uses two LCD modules for better viewing angles, higher contrast ratiso and deeper black levels than traditional LCD TV. Interestingly AUO showed a 12.3-inch Auto dual cell LCD pixel dimming curved display with true black level and a contrast ratio of over 100,000:1.

AUO also showed an 85-inch 8K bezel-less ALCD TV with advanced HDR, 1000 dimming zones. It also had a MiniLED based gaming display with 144Hz refresh rates and 2500 cd/m² peak brightness. Sharp showed the largest class 120-inch 4K and 8K LCD TVs.  Vizio unveiled a MiniLED backlight-based 8K LCD TV.  On the cover of 13.3-inch Thinkbook Plus, Lenovo used a secondary 10.8-inch E Ink display for notification and note taking. Many suppliers showed products based on MiniLED backlight that can enable LCD re-invention.

MiniLED backlight displays can offer higher contrast ratio, higher brightness, deeper black, and better power consumption. TCL was the first to introduce a MiniLED backlight-based QD TV in 65-inch (<$2000) and 75-inch( <$3000) in 2019. The products have received very positive reviews. MiniLED-based products are already being shipped for high-end monitor and notebook applications. MiniLED costs have gone down recently due to increased efficiency and lower chip costs. It still faces cost challenges to become competitive. In the near term, suppliers are focusing more on value-based applications such as TV, gaming, automotive and VR. 
​
Technology breakthroughs in MicroLED, Quantum Dot, OLED and MiniLED backlight technology have enabled consumer products with larger screen sizes, higher brightness, better contrast, higher color gamut, lower weight and many unique designs which were showcased at CES 2020 pushing the envelope of next generation display products. (SD)

Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
 
2 Comments

Display Technology – Top Trends for 2020

12/18/2019

0 Comments

 
It is that time of the year again - the time to review the outlook for display industry trends in 2020.

Foldable AMOLED:  Shifting to new clamshell designs

Starting from 2020, foldable smartphones will be shifting more towards a new clamshell design away from the folding book type. Motorola has already launched its first foldable smartphone “razr” in a clamshell form factor with expected availability in January 2020. More brands are expected to join in.
For a foldable display, all the layers within the panel should be foldable, durable, and transparent with a total bending radius of less than 1.5 mm. Clamshell designs have smaller seams, hinges and foldable marks that can result in higher yield, lower cost, and longer usable life leading to higher consumer acceptance rate.

Clamshell designs with ultrathin glass can bring higher hardness, better scratch resistance compared to cover film. Samsung is expected to bring a clamshell design foldable smartphone with ultrathin cover glass to the market in the first half of 2020.

Samsung Display, BOE, Royole and AUO had dedicated foldable display capacity in 2019. LGD, CSOT and Visionox will join in 2020. Samsung, Royale and Huawei already have first generation foldable smartphones (in the $1300 to $2600 range). Higher prices, reliability and design issues have resulted in limited shipments in 2019. Xiaomi, TCL, Google and many others are also working on foldable phones. Lower cost, higher reliability and longer life could help clamshell design to gain higher acceptance in 2020 and drive demand.

Flexible OLED:  Higher market share driven by 5G

The introduction of 5G-based products needing slimmer displays to accommodate 5G enabling components will increase flexible OLED demand. Integration of new technology such as fingerprints under display, in-cell touch display, and other features to reduce border & increased screen to body ratio can open up new opportunities.

Higher costs, lower yield rates, high prices, and lack of product differentiation, seasonal demand patterns, slower smart phone market demand and an uncertain economic outlook created challenges for flexible OLED displays in 2019 leading to lower fab utilization rates and surplus capacity. Flexible OLED met only high end product requirements in 2019. Samsung Display dominates the flexible market but LGD and BOE are increasing production. More capacity will also come from companies such as Tianma, Visionox, China Star (CSOT) and others in 2020. This can help to reduce costs and improve adoption rates in 2020. More focus on cost reductions, new features, increased product differentiation, new form factors and the need for 5G-based models can bring new opportunities.

Rigid OLED had a dominant share of the OLED smartphone market in 2019. Samsung and other Chinese brands found success in meeting mid-range price requirements by reducing the price gap with LTPS LCD models, with new designs and larger sizes. Rigid OLED fab utilization rates stayed higher than flexible in 2019 leading to some suggestions that flexible fabs should convert more display to rigid format for lower costs production of thinner and lighter display that is needed for 5G applications in smartphone, notebook and tablets.  Eliminating polyimide coating and producing a rigid OLED with thin film encapsulation can lead to ultra thin rigid OLED with only one glass substrate and higher yield rates.
 
OLED:  Increased shares in TV market

OLED TV has secured a strong presence in the premium TV market. LG Electronics is the most successful brand using LG Display’s OLED TV panels. Sony, Panasonic, Skyworth, TPV, Hisense, Konka and others have joined in using LG Display’s panels. LGD is converting LCD TV capacity to OLED and is also investing an additional 3 trillion KRW into a Gen 10.5 OLED production line, mainly producing >=65-inch TV panels. The company will use the MMG method combining different sizes on one mother glass to improve efficiency and production costs. It is planning to almost double TV panel production in 2020.

BOE, and CSOT are planning to bring in OLED capacity in future years. LG Display is also working on RGB IJP (ink jet printing) technology and presented a paper at Displayweek 2019 with Nanosys about emissive QD display technology.

Samsung Display is building a pilot production facility for QD OLED (with QD Color Convertor) - see the notes later in this article.

New OLED TV technology solutions (RGB OLED, QD OLED,..) combined with printed manufacturing capabilities have the potential to enable lower-cost solutions and higher adoption rate. This year many panel suppliers (JOLED, BOE, CSOT, SDC, AUO) were able to demonstrate inkjet printed (IJP) OLED displays in various conferences and some will start mass production in 2020. First commercialization of soluble OLED panel is expected to be from JOLED’s new 5.5 Gen fab with mass production in 2020. IJP can enable higher display performance by enabling top emission large panels; this will facilitate the 8K revolution in OLED TV and increase optical performance.

Quantum Dot:  Entering expansion phase

Quantum dot display will be entering an expansion phase in 2020 with lower prices, availability of TV in many sizes, and more expansions into other applications such as monitors and notebooks. Samsung Display has announced its plan to invest 13.1 trillion won (about $10.5 billion) up to the year 2025 in QD-OLED TV R&D and production line. It will convert LCD production line to QD-OLED. The new QD-OLED TV line (8.5 Gen) is expected to start production in 2021.

QD technology has been already driving gaming monitors. Samsung has also announced recently QD-enabled notebooks with higher brightness and lower power consumption. Besides Samsung, Vizio, TCL, Hisense and Xiaomi have joined in for QD TV. During Black Friday, Samsung’s QLED TV reached $499 for 43-inch and $999 for the 55-inch size. TCL’s 65-inch QLED TV was available in Costco for $599. Lower retail prices for QD TV will drive demand.

Nanosys, the dominant leader of quantum dot materials reported 50% year over year growth in shipments in fiscal 2019. The company expects the trend to accelerate in 2020 with expanding LCD TV adoption and the introduction of QD color conversion products. QD has enabled LCD to reinvent itself with better display performance.

MiniLED:  Expanded presence

MiniLED backlight displays can offer higher contrast ratio, higher brightness, deeper black, and better power consumption. It can enhance luminance and HDR in a LCD TV by increasing the number of LEDs and improving the picture performance.

TCL was first to introduce miniLED backlight-based QD TV in 65-inch (<$2000) and 75-inch (<$3000) in 2019 with more than 25,000 miniLEDs and 900 local dimming zones. The products have received very positive reviews. MiniLED-based products are already being shipped for high end monitors and notebooks.

The industry is now buzzing with rumors that Apple is planning to use miniLED backlight for its iPad and MacBook in 2020. Apple's impact could drive miniLED demand higher. MiniLED backlights can also empower LTPS LCD in smartphones or IT products by offering higher contrast, higher brightness, faster response time, an increase in color gamut and lower power consumption.
MiniLED-based products still face cost challenges to make them competitive. In the near term, suppliers are focusing more on value-based applications such as TV, gaming, automotive and VR.

MicroLED:  Steady progress

More than 130 companies are working in the MicroLED display supply chain including Apple (LuxVue), Oculus (InfiniLED), Samsung, LG Display, AUO, Sony, eLux (integrated with Foxconn group), Aledia (Intel), Lumens, Lumiode, Jade Bird, Mikro Mesa, Play Nitride, Plessey, Glo (Google), X-celeprint, Rohinni, Sony, Visionox and others.

MicroLED display has many advantages such as high brightness, ultra low power consumption, fast response time, very high contrast rate, wide color gamut, long lifetime, environmental stability, high resolution, the option of flexible backplanes and integration of sensors in the display. Its main challenges are manufacturing complexity and yield issues. Manufacturing and yield issues can become an issue in the areas of epitaxy, chip, and mass transfer, bonding, driving technology, backplane, inspection and repair. The industry is working towards resolving each of these issues.
2019 was the year of microLED prototypes where many companies showcased products at CES and DisplayWeek.

Recently JDI showcased a 1.6-inch 300x300 ( 256PPI) display based on an LTPS backplane and microLED chips developed by Glo. RiT display from Taiwan announced that it would launch its first MicroLED wearable display in 2020. RiT has a strategic partnership with MicroLED developer Playnitride. Companies are initially targeting wearable, AR/VR, digital signage, public display and automotive (HUD) applications before large volume commercialization in consumer products. Industry suppliers are all working to bring MicroLED potential to reality, but it will take time. Success will depend on its ability to scale up for volume production with competitive price performance.

LCD:  Continued dominance in TV

LCD TV panel capacity has increased substantially in 2019 mostly due to the expansion in the number of Gen 10.5 fabs. Capacity expansion and higher production combined with weaker demand have resulted in considerable oversupply leading to drastic panel price reductions. Lower panel prices have helped TV set holiday sales by allowing reduced retail prices.

Panel makers are cautious in increasing capacity and that will help to stabilize panel prices. TV vendors are ready to introduce new models. The Tokyo Olympic in 2020 may pull panel demand to be earlier in the year.

Extreme over-supply has led some suppliers such as BOE and CSOT to announce no further investment in LCD capacity. With more aggressive price reductions, 65-inch and above size TVs are expected to take a larger share of the TV market. TV brands are also developing 8K TV +5G ecosystems aggressively with 5G high speed and low latency in transmission. The new 65-inch and higher size TVs will have strong growth in 2020 due to cost reduction. - SD

Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com

0 Comments

Can LCD Panel Oversupply Drive TV Demand?

11/18/2019

0 Comments

 

LCD TV panel capacity has increased substantially in 2019 mostly due to the expansion of Gen 10.5 fabs. After growth in 2018, LCD TV demand weakened this year caused by slower economic growth, concerns about a trade war and tariff rate increases. Capacity expansion and higher production combined with weaker demand have resulted in considerable oversupply of LCD TV panels in 2019 leading to drastic panel price reductions.

Some panel prices went below cash cost by the end of Q3, forcing suppliers to cut production and delay expansion plans to reduce losses. What will be the implications for the industry in the holiday season and 2020? Can these very low panel prices help to drive TV demand?

Intense expansion of LCD TV panel capacity
Massive 10.5 Gen capacity that can produce 8-up 65" and 6-up 75" panels from a single mother glass substrate are coming to display market in the next three years. The trend already started in 2018 as BOE started its a-Si TFT LCD Gen 10.5 fab from the first quarter. It ramped up to its full capacity in the first half of 2019. China Star (CSOT) also started its a-SI TFT-LCD Gen 10.5 fab also in the first half of this year, focusing on 65" and 75" TV panels. There were also increases in capacity from other gen 8.5 fabs. Foxconn/Sharp's Gen 10.5 fab was also expected to start in 2019, with full production ramp up in 2020, but it has been delayed now.

By the year 2021 and 2022 about eight to ten 10.5 Gen fabs with huge capacity are expected to be in production. Fear of panel oversupply is looming even larger for future years. With considerable growth in capacity and the entrance of new panel suppliers and TV brands, competition has accelerated with intense price pressure. Capacity expansion in 2019 combined with low TV demand has pushed the market in severe oversupply situation in the second half of 2019.

Fear & Uncertainty lead to slower TV demand
Fear and uncertainties due to the rade war between the US and China and an expected tariff increase in Q3 2019 pushed TV brands to move panel orders to earlier in the first half of the year. Weaker TV set sales led to an inventory build-up by the end of Q2. Also fear of TV price increases due to tariffs, reduced the second half outlook suggesting reduced panel demand and increasing inventories also on the panel side. Panel prices also started to decline.

By Q3 2019, too much capacity was chasing too little demand pushing the market to oversupply. Fierce competition has led to drastic panel price reductions, pushing prices below even cash cost for some products. Panel suppliers’ financial results suffered in Q3 as many lost money. Suppliers from China, Korea and Taiwan all started lowering utilization rates by the end of Q3 to reduce oversupply and in the hope of stabilizing panel price. Very low prices combined with lower utilization rates is making the revenue and profitability outlook for panel suppliers difficult in Q4 2019.

Suppliers forced to cut production as price dipped below cost
BOE and China Star have cut utilization rates of Gen 10.5 fabs. Sharp has delayed the start of production at its 10.5 Gen fab by six months and plans to start in 2020. LGD and Samsung display already decided to shift away from LCD more towards OLED and QDOLED respectively. Both companies are cutting utilization rates in their 7, 7.5 and 8.5 Gen fabs. Taiwanes suppliers are also cutting 8.5 Gen fab utilization rates.

According to industry data some panel suppliers are already cutting utilization rates below 50 to 60% for their Gen 8.5 fabs. And Chinese suppliers are cutting their fab capacity by 20% to 25%. Some have shifted capacity away from TV to other applications. In summary, drastic price reduction has resulted in cut in utilization rates, delay in fab construction and ramp ups and closing down of older fabs, or conversion to OLED or QDOLED fabs. This can help to reduce oversupply. Still there is a need for an increase in demand especially for larger size TV to absorb the massive LCD capacity.

The Suppliers' pain is consumer’s gain; lowered price TV
There were real concerns about TV set price rises in 2019 due to a fear of a trade war and tariff increases. Drastic reductions of panel price could help to reduce TV set price. Some indications have already been seen in early version Black Friday sales offerings in the U.S. market. Walmart started its deals early. For example, Walmart is offering a Vizio 55" class M series quantum dot 4KUHD HDR TV for a super low price of $398 pushing it below the $400 threshold.

Target is offering a Philips 55" UHD smart TV for less than $250. Best Buy is offering an LG 65-inch 4K UHD TV for less than $500. These are super low prices mostly as 'door busters' or in limited quantities. In general, black Friday TV prices seem aggressive. High inventories, oversupply and low panel prices have led to these low prices. Due to competitive pressure LG has also reduced its OLED TV price aggressively - LG 55" 4 K Smart TVs are at below $1300. Sony’s 65" UHD OLED is being offered at $2000. As it can be seen OLED is still three times higher in price compared to quantum dot TVs. Going forward, aggressive TV set retail prices enabled by low panel price could help to drive demand.

Capacity Expansion - Price reduction - Demand creation
The history of LCD industry has shown that the industry follows a strategy of capacity expansion, price reduction and demand creation to drive application market growth. This strategy has resulted in periodic cycles of oversupply (some call it the Crystal Cycle) that pushes price to below cost level. Then production cuts, investment delays and increases demand due to low prices push the industry back to tight supply and increased prices. There is a time lag between each stage and between oversupply and tight supply. That creates heavy collateral damage for suppliers leading to loss of revenue and profitability.

In extreme over-supply situation, only a few companies with strong financial strength and commitment to LCD can survive. Others have to move away to other new technologies or shift to specialty type applications away from the commodity markets. In the last 20 years, there are plenty of examples in the LCD industry of this change. This capital-intensive industry requires billions of dollar-investments with uncertain outlook.
​

Implications for the Industry
Panel over-supply (by bringing down panel prices to way lower level than what is possible through cost improvement) can help to drive demand in many different ways.
  • Drive holiday sales with very aggressive black Friday deals, Cyber Monday and other holiday deals with low TV set prices
  • Low price trend can continue in Q1 for the US Super Bowl and for the Chinese New Year sales
  • Increased panel demand in the first half of 2020 due to preparation for the 2020 Olympics
  • Increased shares for Quantum dot TVs during the holidays and 2020 by bringing prices down to the mainstream consumer level
  • Increased sales for OLED TV due to lower prices
  • Increase LED LCD TV sales due to low prices
  • Shift to larger size (above 50-inch especially to 65-inch) and higher resolution (4K and 8K) and better performance (HDR, WCG) due to lower costs.​
For the industry there can be many implications.
  • Industry restructuring with change in market shares of top leaders
  • Shift in regional shares (China share increasing)
  • Suppliers moving away from TV applications more towards value-based specialty applications
  • Suppliers shifting faster to new technology - Samsung QD-OLED or QD LCD, LG shifting more to OLED, China suppliers also focusing more on OLED and quantum dots
  • Cancellations, delays in investment, and utilization rate adjustments
Lower panel prices can help TV set holiday sales demand by reducing retail prices. a trend that could even spill over to 2020. If panel capacity comes back too soon, it may reduce the opportunity to drive TV demand. Panel suppliers have to navigate a delicate balance of capacity management to capture the opportunity for higher TV demand. - Sweta Dash

Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
​
0 Comments

A Sense of Maturity at the OLED World Summit

11/1/2019

0 Comments

 
There was a sense of maturity at OLEDs world Summit this year, which I attended in October 2019.  The exuberance that was prevalent few years back when the iPhone X was first introduced, has been replaced by a sense of maturity as iPhone X sales and demand growth for the industry didn’t meet expectations.
Equipment, material, component and panel suppliers as well as researchers are now focusing more on industry challenges, emerging developments, competition from alternative display technologies and are working on new solutions to drive future growth.

Inkjet Printing is coming soon
The OLED industry has been discussing the potential for inkjet printing for years. This year many panel suppliers were able to demonstrate inkjet printed (IJP) OLED displays in various conferences and some will start mass production in 2020. First commercialization of soluble OLED panel is expected to be from JOLED’s new 5.5 Gen fab with mass production in 2020. Sumitomo Chemical, which presented at the OLED Summit about its latest development of soluble OLED materials, will supply OLED material to JOLED. According to the Sumitomo Chemical presentation:
  • JOLED showed 21/27" 4K (LTPS backplane, 4.5Gen fab),
  • BOE demonstrated 55" 4K (Oxide backplane, 8.5 Gen fab),
  • CSOT exhibited 31" 4K (Oxide backplane, 4.5G fab),
  • AUO showcased 17.3" 4K (LTPS backplane, 3.5G fab) and
  • SDC presented an 18.2" 4K (LTPS backplane, Gen 2.0 fab) ink jet printed OLED in 2019.
Ink jet printing can potentially have several advantages over the vacuum evaporation fabrication process for OLED.
  • Production of a wide range of panel sizes and resolutions for various applications (Auto, Monitors, Medical, TVs and others)
  • Helps with flexible panel design
  • Enable effective material (ink) utilization (no waste)
  • Provides a cost effective solution due to the simple process and stack
  • Large size and Top emission OLEDs are possible
  • Enhance OLED performance
  • Enable new form factors
Kateeva, the leading suppliers of inkjet equipment for OLED, with 80% market shares in thin film encapsulation, is focusing on QD OLED and RGB OLED pixel printing for the next generation of mass production products. The company’s Yieldjet Flex product has produced more than 400 million mobile displays for smartphones. Kateeva’s presentation, quoting IHS data, showed that in the case of IJP 95% of solution material is used whereas, in VTE only 10% of source material is used. IJP can enable higher display performance by enabling top emission large panels; facilitate the 8K revolutions in OLED TV and increase optical performance.
Universal Display Corporation, the leader and provider of phosphorescent technology for OLED, proposed a new manufacturing process called Organic Vapor Jet Printing (OVJP) at the conference. They see “OVJP as the most cost effective patterning approach, a solvent-less, mask-less printing technology for depositing patterned small molecule organic materials to manufacture large area side by side RGB OLED TV using same proven material set as VTE”. Nanosys also presented that printed QDEL is one of the strongest candidates for next generation displays. The lifetime of CdSe QDEL is close to commercial requirements today and progress to commercialization will be rapid from this point on.
Suppliers are recognizing that there is a real need to reduce fixed and operating costs to make products more price-competitive to drive demand growth. Some are looking at inkjet printing as possible solutions. However, Inkjet printing process for OLED fabrication still faces many challenges such as material lifetime, efficiency issues, and limited resolutions.

Still working to improve blue materials
The current inefficient blue is still a big problem for OLED display makers. OLED uses three emitters in red, green and blue. While red and green are efficient, blue is lagging behind. According to Cynora’s presentation, low efficiency blue results in higher power consumptions and shorter battery lifetime especially in smartphones. A higher efficiency blue could reduce the organic layers in an OLED TV resulting in lower voltage being needed. For the next generation QD OLED TV (by Samsung) a high efficiency blue is essential as QD OLED devices only use blue. Cynora, is focusing on TADF solutions and created sky blue in April 2017. The company reported a display blue in 2018, and is now working as fast as it can to progress blue development.
Kyulux is focusing on TADF/Hyperfluorescence OLED emitting technology. The company presented that their materials can enable higher resolution, brighter image and less power consumption for smartphones. It can also reduce the emissive layers in OLED TV leading to lower costs (material and process) and lower power consumption. The company expects commercialization of blue in two to three years.
The industry is still working to improve blue materials. Currently none of the technologies have been able to deliver a high efficiency blue emitter with long lifetime.

Foldable form factors evolving
New designs for foldable smartphones still have many issues with foldable hinges, flexible covers, increased thickness and bulkier designs.
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is an in-fold design while Royole’s is out-fold. Most of the foldable smartphones are currently 'book type' with Samsung’s in-folding design expected to have a dominant share in 2019. According to the DSCC presentation, starting from 2020, clamshell design could be the dominant form factor for foldable due to it having the smallest seam, hinge and foldable mark and that can translate to higher yields, lower costs, longer usable life and higher volumes. DSCC explained that “clamshells with ultra thin glass have higher hardness and better scratch resistance than cover film solutions and should also reduce risk and extend lifetime”.
The company is expecting clamshells to be the most popular type of foldable device for the next few years. Royole, the supplier of the first foldable smartphone, presented that foldable needs total solutions as module material innovations are needed at each level including cover film, touch, support layer, adhesive, polarizer and display. Strong partnerships and collaborations are needed between the display panel and system suppliers for success.
Google’s presentation focused on reliability guidelines for flexible displays to allow the evaluation of new failure modes such as crease, delamination, bucking, surface durability and mechanical impact. Intel's presentation conveyed that laptops could have two foldable form factors based on usage: 2:1 detachable for 12 to 15" size or foldable laptop for larger size (>=17") display.

New solutions for OLED TV
LG Display, the sole suppliers for OLED TV panels presented that investment, capacity and number of brands adopting OLED TVs are increasing. LG is doing a lot of promotion in conjunction with retailers to increase consumer awareness and acceptance. Several different strategies and architectures are now being considered for the production of OLED TV. Inkjet printed OLED TV is expected in the near future. Inkjet printed OLED and QLED displays were shown at various conferences in 2019.
According to DSCC's forecast, OLED panel are expected to gain share in most display application categories especially on a dollar basis with significant room for growth in most applications. If a sense of maturity will lead suppliers to focus more on new solutions and cost reductions, it could drive demand growth and increase shares in the next few years. SD 
Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Sweta Dash, Founder/President, Dash-Insights

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    June 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly