​In the year 2022, foldable smartphone shipments are expected to follow a growth path, while the total global smartphone market is expected to decline. The total market is impacted by inflation, continued geopolitical risks and supply chain constraints.  
New product introductions, innovative designs, increased reliability, better features, higher performances and competitive pricing are helping to drive foldable smartphones demand. The biggest potential advantage of foldable smartphone is that they can offer “thin, light, larger display in a smaller form factor”. In a market with slowing demand, foldable phones offer potentially higher growth, ASPs, revenue and profitability opportunities for panel and smartphone suppliers. Foldable smartphones can also offer new opportunities for OLED fabs utilization rates due to an increase in the number of displays, increases in display sizes and display area.
On August 10th this year Samsung announced its fourth generation foldables Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4 with enhanced productivity, customizable form factors and upgraded performance. The next day on August 11th, Xiaomi introduced its second generation thinner foldable, Mix Fold 2, in China. The same day Motorola launched a new clamshell smartphone with significantly upgraded specs, the Motorola, Razr 5G for the Chinese market. With more robust innovative form factors, better price performance and technology advancements, foldable phones are forecast to follow a growth path over the next five years, but they will occupy a small percentage share of the total global smartphone market. They are expected to have a stronger presence in the premium market.

Evolving Form-factors
​Royole was the first company to introduce foldable phones in Q4 2018, but the market really started in Q4 2019 with Samsung’s entrance. Foldable phones have come a long way from the first-generation phones from Samsung and Huawei which were introduced in 2019 with foldable OLEDs. In the beginning, the industry had in-fold, out-fold, clamshells and other designs. First generation products also had many issues with foldable hinges, flexible covers, increased thickness and bulkier designs. Prices were in $2000 range. Also, flagship phones with flexible OLEDs had better features with lower prices making foldable phones less competitive.
Starting from 2020, the industry mostly focused on in-fold and clam-shell designs. Many new suppliers also joined, such as Motorola and Xiaomi. The introduction of the Z-Flip from Samsung in 2020, with a new innovative flip design, a thinner form factor, higher robustness with UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass), and a lower price point, helped to increase interest and sales.
In the initial stages, higher prices were a big challenge for foldables. By 2H 2020, Samsung had its first LTPO display based Z fold2, with a 120Hz, 6.23” front display, 7.6” main display and UTG, powered by Samsung Display’s technology developments. The clamshell design was the first product to use UTG, resulting in a smaller seam, more protection for the display and the smartphone also had a lower price.

Better Price Performance
On March, 2020, Samsung announced 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. At a price of $1380, Z Flip was cheaper than Samsung’s first foldable with bigger screen size, Galaxy Fold ($1980), but was more expensive than the Galaxy S20($999,99).
According to Omdia press release in March 2022, “Due to the high price barrier, sales of early foldable smartphones were limited. However, from the second half of 2021, sales volume increased rapidly with annual foldable smartphone shipments reaching 9 million units in 2021, up 309% year-on-year. Of these, 8 million units were sold in the second half of 2021, accounting for 89% of the total shipment in 2021.Samsung is the largest original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the foldable smartphone market. To date, Samsung has shipped over 10 million units, accounting for more than 88% of the foldable smartphone market, which is also the only brand in the market with over 10 million foldable smartphones.” According to the company, in 2021, Samsung’s Z Flip3 5G became the word’s largest foldable smartphone model. Z Flip3 5G was released at $999, $380 cheaper than its predecessor. Through hardware upgrade and price cut Samsung was able to ship more Z Flip3 5G units in 2021 compared to the predecessors in 2020. The launch price of the Galaxy Z Fold3 was $1800, which was $200 cheaper than 2020 model of Z Fold2. Recently introduced Samsung Z Flip4 and Z Fold4 foldable smartphones launch prices were same as last year.

More Advanced Technology
The commercialization of foldable smartphones up to now has been based on foldable AMOLED (active-matrix organic light emitting diode) display technology. 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. That is why new components are needed for foldable OLEDs. Foldable requirements are as follows:

• Flexible Windows: Film/UTG. Cover windows need to have hybrid organic/inorganic coating with excellent mechanical and thermal properties (Polyimide (PI))/Resilient Flexible UTG (Chemical Strengthening)
• Thin Polarizer: Thin Flexible Polarizer/Polarizer Less to reduce thickness
• Flexible Touchscreen: Add On/On-cell Reduce thickness and improve flexibility (Needs non-ITO materials such as silver nanowire or metal mesh)
• Flexible Adhesive: OCA/OCR
• Reliability (to withstand more than 200K times bending/folding).

Bendability has a trade off with durability and robustness. Bending of a very thin film after a certain point can generate a crease or lead to deformation. The display industry has developed numerous materials and processing challenges to balance bendability with durability. The foldable design revolution is still facing high costs, high price, design complexity and a lack of standardization, limiting the ability to create consumer-acceptable mainstream solutions.
Samsung Display is the dominant supplier for the foldable OLED panel and will continue to dominate in next five years according to DSCC data shown at the SID/DSCC 2022 Business Conference. BOE is in the number 2 position and Visionox and CSOT are fighting for the number three position.

​Higher Adoption Rate
Foldable represents the most innovative segment of the market. Although they have not yet captured a significant share of the total smartphone market, they have a strong presence in the premium market.
According to a DSCC blog by David Naranjo, Senior Director in July, 2022:
“For 2022, we expect OLED smartphone panels to decrease 4% Y/Y to 612M panels. Flexible OLED smartphone panels are expected to increase 2% Y/Y and account for a 57%unit share, up from 54% in 2021. Rigid OLED smartphone panels are expected to decline 14% Y/Y and account for a 40%unit share, down from 44% in 2021. Foldable OLED smartphone panels are expected to increase 102% Y/Y for a 3%unit share, up from 2% in 2021”. 
The revenue share is expected to be even higher. As David Naranjo noted in his blog,
“On a smartphone device revenue basis, we expect rigid OLED smartphone device revenue to decline 10% Y/Y with a 23% revenue share, down from 26% in 2021. Flexible AMOLED smartphone device revenue is expected to decline 1% Y/Y and maintain a 71% revenue share. Foldable AMOLED smartphone device revenue is expected to increase 82% Y/Y with a 5% revenue share, up from 3% in 2021”.

Samsung has been the main driver for advancing the foldable market especially empowered by the technology development of Samsung Display and other partners.
According to Dr. TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics as presented in Samsung’s recent press release.  
“Through our unwavering focus and industry leadership, excitement for the foldables continues to grow. We’ve successfully transformed this category from a radical project to a mainstream device lineup enjoyed by millions worldwide.”
He also said in another recent write up,
“Last year, we saw almost 10 million foldable smartphones shipped worldwide. That’s an industry increase of more than 300% from 2020, and I predict this fast-paced growth will continue. We are reaching the moment where these foldable devices are becoming widespread and staking a bigger claim in the overall smartphone market”.
New foldable products, 5G capabilities, innovative designs and evolving form factors have created a strong growth path especially with early adaptors driving demands. However, long term success by gaining even significantly more share of smartphone market will require lower costs, lower prices, better standardization, and form factors that will be accepted by mainstream consumers.  Foldable OLED smartphones can offer potentially higher growth, ASP, revenue, and profitability opportunities for panel and smartphone suppliers. (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 [email protected] or visit www.dash-insights.com

Quantum Dot display technology is continuously evolving with new processes, new materials and new product offerings that havw enabled it to have higher market share in the TV market.
Macroeconomic uncertainties, war in the Ukraine and high inflation; all are impacting TV demand resulting in drastic panel price reductions, cut in fab utilization rates and higher inventories. At the same time the “Advanced TV” market is still expected to grow in 2022 and beyond. Consumers are buying bigger TVs and prioritizing picture quality. QD technology developments have resulted in higher picture quality, combined with lower panel prices which can open up new and higher demand opportunities for QD TV.
Advanced TV: Demand Growing ​According to a published blog by DSCC written by co-founder Yoshio Tamura in July,
“The fab utilization rates of FPD manufacturers have fallen to near record lows, and the average LCD fab utilization rate, which reached 90% last year, fell below 75% in June 2022. As of June, the prices for all sizes under 65” fell below cash cost. This has a great impact on the fab utilization rate.” 
A press release from Omdia in July also said,
“Global display makers’ capacity utilization is expected to drop to 73% in 3Q22; a record low for the sector since 2012 according to the latest forecast from Omdia”. 
The display industry periodically suffers from alternating supply/demand imbalances known as the crystal cycle. Historical data has shown that extreme panel price reductions due to oversupply can help in higher adoption of new technology in the long run. Drastic panel price declines for LCD can lead to lower prices for QD-based TVs in the holiday season this year and also in the beginning of 2023.
DSCC published blog written by cofounder Bob O’Brien in July said,
“Advanced TV shipments are expected to grow by a 19% CAGR through 2026 to 37.4M units generating $35.6 billion in revenue. For 2022, we expect Advanced TV shipments to increase by 19% Y/Y to 23.4 million units and expect Advanced TV revenues to increase by 11% to $30.2 billion”.
DSCC report defines an “Advanced TV” as any TV with an advanced display technology feature, including all OLED TVs, 8K LCD TVs and all LCD TVs with quantum dot technology.

QDEF: Technology Evolving & ExpandingThe 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. Most of the top TV manufacturers such as Samsung, LGE, Sony, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, and Skyworth have already adopted QD display technology in their TVs. It has enabled LCD technology to reinvent itself and has created growth opportunities in the TV market especially when combined with miniLED backlights.

Nanosys introduced the aerobically stable xQDEF technology in 2021. The xQDEF diffuser plate brings together the color and brightness performance of QDEF with precise light diffusion necessary for perfect contrast levels in miniLED and full-array-local-dimming (FALD) LCDs. An xQDEF diffuser plate simplifies the display assembly process. It can be added to any FALD backlight TV enabling lower cost mainstream products with QD at <$500. It is already in mass production. According to Jeff Yurek, Nanosys VP of Marketing,
"xQDEF was used in over 1M TV sets last year and we are seeing increased traction this year with more brands deploying xQDEF in their TV lineups. We were also honored to win a display component of the year award for xQDEF at DisplayWeek 2022."

MiniLED Plus QD: Growth Accelerating
By the use of multi zone dimmable backlights, miniLED with QD has enabled LCD to have higher brightness, very high contrast, excellent HDR, thin form-factor, superior power efficiency and display performance close to OLED. According to Jeff, Yurek, from Nanosys,
”I have yet to find a miniLED TV set without Quantum Dot technology. Essentially seeing a 100% attach rate for miniLED and Quantum Dot display technologies”.  
TCL introduced high performance and ultra-slim TVs based on its third generation miniLED backlight technology “OD zero” in 2021. Samsung's introduction of “Neo QLED” miniLED backlight-based 8K and 4K TV models in various sizes helped to increase shipments. LGE also adopted QD miniLED technology with its QNED products (4K and 8K). Samsung and LGE introduced TVs with gaming features (especially 4K gaming at 120Hz): with low response times, auto low latency mode and variable refresh rates.
Jeff Yurek from Nanosys pointed out
“Quantum Dots can turn on and off in nanoseconds where other wide gamut phosphor materials can take milliseconds. It may sound trivial but this speed difference becomes critical when you have thousands of zones to control and especially when you start pushing frame rates up over 100hz as gamers want to do these days. Quantum dots let you optimize the backlight to the absolute bleeding edge of contrast and super high refresh rates – key features for premium monitors and TVs.”
MiniLED-based products with QDs with higher picture quality, more competitive prices, higher product availability and brands focus will drive shipment growth in 2022 and beyond. Cost has been a major challenge for miniLED TV sets. LCD panel price reductions combined with miniLED backlight cost reduction can help to reduce TV set costs and drive demand further.
According to NPD data in April,
“Over the last two years the average size of installed TVs increased a total of three inches to 47.5-inches. In the five years prior to the pandemic screens grew one inch per year. With home entertainment top of mind, consumers purchasing replacement TVs1 put more importance on screen size and picture quality than ever before.”
Paul Gagnon, VP, of NPD said,
“The strong gains in consumers reporting picture quality as a motivator for purchase are in part driving the sales growth we are seeing in premium and big screen TVs”.
DSCC published data in July showing that MiniLED TV sales are accelerating in 2021 and are expected to more than double in unit shipments in 2022. 

QD OLED: Bringing Higher Display Performance
Samsung Display introduced 65-inch and 55-inch TV and 34-inch monitor panels at CES this year based on QD-OLED (QD). Sony and Samsung Electronics are offering QD-OLED TVs and Samsung Electronics and Dell Alienware are offering gaming monitors. QD OLED technology of blue OLED display with a printed quantum dot layer color conversion and sub-pixel level dimming, display can achieve expanded color gamut, higher color volume, and color luminosity.

• Exceptional color performance (90% BT2020, 99% DCI-P3)
• The slim spectral cones help to achieve an exceptional degree of color purity. The display also provides higher color volume.
• The lowest measurable black level of 0.0005 cd/m², achieving a true black.
• Uses true RGB additive light to create 'perfect whites' and high luminosity, providing extended HDR experience with an infinite contrast ratio.
• No halo, as millions of self-emitting pixels can adjust over all luminance with pinpoint accuracy.
• Enables a wider viewing angle due to dome-shaped flux structure and it is also a top-layer emission display.
• Provides an almost instantaneous native (GtoG) response time of 0.1ms. Because of its faster response time, QD-Display is able to re-create motion with significantly less blur.

SDC‘s QD Display (QD OLED) received the Display Component of the Year award at DisplayWeek 2022. 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. 
UDC has announced that they expect to meet preliminary target specs with their phosphorescent blue by year-end, which should enable the introduction of their all-phosphorescent RGB stack into the commercial market in 2024. The use of phosphorescent blue can help to reduce multiple layers, increase efficiency and lifetime. Industry news reported that QD-OLED manufacturing yield rates are increasing. QD OLED products have received great reviews in the industry and prices are competitive. The growth will be limited by supply. DSCC expects 500K QD-OLED TVs in 2022, and shipments to increase to 1.5M in 2026, generally limited by SDC’s capacity. SDC is expected to add 77” TVs and 49” monitors in 2023 using MMG configuration.  
As Nanosys’s Yurek commented,
“We’ve been hard at work on a new generation of heavy metal free quantum dot color conversion materials that more efficiently absorb blue photons. These materials will improve both front-of-screen performance in terms of color purity and luminance as well as manufacturability.” 

QD NanoLED: Coming in Future
NanoLED (QD-LED, ELQD or QD-EL) is an emissive display, which is based on QD’s electroluminescence to directly produce the three primary colors from each pixel. It has the potential to deliver perfect black, better color, and wider viewing angle, true HDR luminance, and higher reliability (inorganic materials). However, the biggest attraction for this next generation display is the potential for ultra-thin flexible displays at low cost based on solution processed printed manufacturing. Solution-printed manufacturing can be done in a smaller factory with a small footprint that can still produce larger size displays. The equipment cost for factory for solution process vs. vacuum deposition will be way lower and does not need billions of dollars investments like 10.5 Gen LCD or 8.5 Gen OLED fabs.
An invited paper from Sharp at Display Week 2022 by Y. Nakanishi, stated that Sharp has been engaged in nanoLED development. There are still two main challenges to overcome.

• Materials: Cd-free QDs with high external quantum efficiency (EQE) and narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) emission are desired. The paper said that, “Recently, nanoLED composed by indium phosphide (InP) for red and green, and ZnTeSe for blue have been reported with reasonable high EQE”.
• Fabrication processes: the RGB color patterning process. The industry has been using 3 types of pattering methods: contact printing, inkjet printing and photolithography printing.

The paper reported that heavy metal-free QDs developed by Nanosys, Inc. have been used for Sharp’s display and patterned by photolithography process. The display shows excellent color reproducibility.
According to Nanosys, the native material EQE for nanoLED is already approaching OLED performance. Efficiency is now exceeding 20% for red and the high teens for blue and green, all heavy metal free. NanoLED prototypes are approaching production quality.  As Jeff Yurek said
"Timing for NanoLED is sooner than you might think. The technology is making rapid progress and efficiencies are awesome. We see no physics or science limitations on performance and there have been some compelling product-level demos.”
​
Quantum dot display technology is continuously evolving and expanding bringing in new products with higher performance and lower costs to the TV market. Combined with miniLED backlight and very low LCD panel price it can open up new opportunities and higher demand in the future. (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 [email protected] or visit www.dash-insights.com

Next Generation microLED displays were showcased and discussed at DisplayWeek 2022 through exhibitions, the Business Conference, symposiums and seminars.
MicroLED provides the best features of LCD and OLED display and has the potential to outperform both technologies in terms of color reproducibility, brightness, reliability and low power consumption. With the increased importance of the metaverse, there are greater requirements for next generation display products. Technology innovations are critical in enabling cost reductions and volume production.  
Next Gen Products Requirements:  Increasing
In a keynote speech, Joe O’Keeffe from Meta Reality lab outlined the technology requirements for AR and VR products in the metaverse era. AR glasses need a new generation of displays:

• Wide field of view with resolution to match reality
• Brightness to compete with a sunny day
• No artifacts for the user or neighbor (distortions, uniformity, rainbows, leakage)
• Manage vergence accommodation and eye movement
• Size, weight, style, eye-box with efficiency to enable all day use for all users
• Manufacturable (infrastructure available)
• See through

Looking at AR light sources:
 For microOLED 

• Pro - technology exists today
• Cons - pixel size, brightness and efficiency.

For microLED

• pros - pixel size and brightness,
• cons - efficiency, manufacturing capabilities and capacity

For microLED display, proof of concept projects are increasing but the supply chain doesn’t yet exist. He concluded by saying
“Without the right display technology, there is no Metaverse”.
(for more on O'Keeffe's talk see this article What Displays Have to Do to Bring AR Superpowers
Manufacturing Capabilities:  Improving The microLED supply chain consists of the following steps: GaN epiwafer LED creation, processing of thin film LEDs, mass transfer of the chips to the display backplane & inspection and repair processes. High-speed transfer, assembly technologies, yield and defect management all need to improve and supply chains need to be established before large volume commercialization in consumer products can be done.
According to the symposium paper and presentation from Eric Virey’s, Yole Development:
“Progress in mass transfer over the last 5 years has been spectacular, to the point that, as of early 2022, most industry players no longer see it as a fundamental roadblock for μLED. There is still a lot of work to get to mature, cost-effective, and robust processes fully ready for high volume manufacturing of consumer μLED displays, but there is now a clearer runway”. His paper stated that “As of early 2022, stamp and laser-based tools are available from half a dozen of reputable suppliers”.
An invited paper (50.4) from Y.T. Liu, PlayNitride Display, stated that to realize high performance microLED displays, his firm has established a solution including LED wafer epitaxy, microLED chip process, massive process technology, including PixeLED display and SMAR Tech repair technology. His paper stated that mass repair technology is as important as the mass transfer technology. PlayNitride has also developed a different technology to transfer all three RGB colors; they are transferred to a temporary carrier and then get transferred to a backplane. They can make the spacing less than 2 micron, at the same time, the transfer yield is higher than 99.9% and cost is very low.
Application Market:  Expanding

Companies such as PlayNitride, AUO and Innolux showed a variety of microLED display product demos at DisplayWeek 2022.
PlayNitride:

• 132-inch PixeLED Matrix tiling display banner with 2000nits brightness at the front of the booth.
• 38" transparent (65%–70% transparency) display for automotive application
• 6" 24:9 high resolution (2.5K) display for automotive application
• 58" Passive Matrix display
• 5-inch QD microLED display with touch function
• 39" circular and 1.56" square display for smartwatch
• 0.49" full-color FHD µ-PixeLED microLED micro-display 4,536 PPI, 50,000nits for AR glasses. (Awarded best new display technology @ DisplayWeek 2022)
  

AUO

• Stretchable 141 PPI display (developed with PlayNitride).
• Rollable 14.6" 2K (202 PPI) display with LTPS backplane
• 4" circular display 454x454 (326 PPI)
• Stretchable 6.45" display 900x450 (163 PPI)
• 3" 2000-nits 1280x720 transparent (60% transparency) display

Nanosys/Glo

• 7-inch, 480x270 microLED microdisplay 50,000 nits, auto HUD application

Innolux

• 3” tiled QD microLED display with LTPS backplane 480x 180, 700 nits

The display integration of microLED can use heterogeneous or monolithic integration. In the heterogeneous type, makers use pick and place process to make the microLED arrays, and chips are transferred from an epiwafer or carriers to the display backplane (LTPS or Oxide TFT on a glass or flexible PI substrate). The monolithic integration process involves microLED array and backplane hybridization.

​Technology Innovation:  Continuing

• In an invited paper from AUO by C.L Wang on “High Resolution Stretchable microLED” the company said the RGB microLED display has been demonstrated to withstand mechanical strain during out-of-plane periodically deformation. In this display the high pixel density (>139-PPI) and high strain tolerance of circuits were achieved by utilizing the novel design of the island-bridge structure under a compact pixel arrangement.
• AUO’s W.L Chen’s invited paper on microLED tiling technology discussed the challenges and solutions of different seamless tiling technology. For backplane conducting technologies the paper mentioned several active-matrix designs, structures and suggestions. It also pointed out that production stability, yield performance, cost and side effect are also need to be considered.
• Chen from Tianma presented a paper on “High Performance microLED Transparent Display”. They have developed a 9.38", transparent microLED display with 114ppi and 70% transmittance through an innovative pixel design layout and film layer stacking structure.
• Flemish from Lumileds presented an invited paper on “MicroLED Device Technology for Low Power Wearable Displays”. It discussed efficiencies for InGaN- R, G, B, and AlInGaP-R materials, as well as the dependence of performance on current density and emitter size. Lumileds blue, green, and red microLED devices are based on InGaN and AlInGaP materials systems.
• Paul Martin from Mojo Vision presented a paper on the firm's contact lens-embedded microLED display. According to the paper Mojo Vision’s Contact Lens embedded AR/VR solution will fundamentally alter the way people receive and share information enabling information to be available during activities that require full use of the human body, a concept Mojo Vision calls “Invisible Computing.” (Mojo Vision Developing NanoLEDs)
• Zhu from Applied Materials presented an invited paper on “Progress on Key Innovations in Direct View microLED Manufacturing”. The company has demonstrated a microLED direct view display using single wavelength UV-A microLED and CD free Quantum Dot technology in an innovative pixel architecture (reducing and simplifying mass transfer and repair). (Applied Materials Overcomes Some Challenges in MicroLED for VR)
• Product Commercialization:  ProgressingAccording to Leo Liu’s presentation from DSCC at the Business Conference, in 2021 there are only small volumes of microLED displays in the forecast for TV and AR/VR. He identified three main factors as microLED manufacturing challenges.
  
• Lack of reliable, cost-effective manufacturing equipment
• Materials are also not ready for high volume production
• Need to overcome challenges at low costs for high volume manufacturing.
  

Mathew Meiti from XDC presented at the Business Conference “mass transfer processes bring other kinds of semiconductors to the backplanes of advanced displays with a cost structure that can intercept the trajectory of mainstream consumer displays and, at the same time, set higher expectations for their picture quality, power efficiency, and integrated function”. XDC provides ultraminiature semiconductors for front planes and backplanes as well as mass transfer solutions for the display industry.A presentation from Ian Jenks, SmartKem focused on Organic TFT. SmartKem and Nanosys have announced a joint venture agreement to collaborate on a new generation of low-cost solution printed microLED printed display using SmartKem OTFT and Nanosys microLED and quantum dot nanoLED technologies.
Dr. Tongtong Zhu from Prorotech presented about Gallium Nitride for microLED applications at the Business Conference. The company launched its first set of native InGaN-based R/G/B mono-colour microLED displays with ultrahigh brightness (2 million nits) in April 2022. (Porotech Unlocks A World First In Micro-LED Dynamic Pixel Tuning) According to the company its DynamicPixelTuning with its PoroGaN paves the way to manufacturable integratable monololithic full color RGB display. Porotech received the Best Prototype I-Zone award at DisplayWeek 2022 for its innovative process for achieving color tuning in one monolithic InGaN layer.
According Nikhil Balaram’s presentation from Mojo Vision at the SID/DSCC Business Conference,
"Micro-LEDs will make the dream of the metaverse a reality by offering tiny display systems with the super-high brightness and dynamic range needed for digital to blend perfectly with real, and the energy efficiency, and integration of compute and sensing, to enable the slim and light form factor needed for all-day all-use AR Glasses”.
MicroLED display technology is still evolving and making steady progress towards commercialization. Technology innovations are critical in enabling cost reduction and volume production. (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 [email protected] or visit www.dash-insights.com

The display Industry showcased innovations for next generation displays at the 60th anniversary of the SID Display Week conference in May (San Jose, CA). It was really exciting to attend in-person after three years. The pandemic has changed the industry’s dynamics.
Display revenue surged to record levels due to strong demand from WFH and LFH (work and learn from home) and with the highest level of panel price increases ever seen. It created renewed interest in the IT market for notebooks, tablets and monitors.
Panel suppliers are continuing to add capacity especially in IT panela. Panel price reductions that started in the second half of 2021 are still continuing. Innovations for next generation displays are needed to drive future demand growth.

Changing Dynamics
According to Ross Young’s keynote presentation at the Business Conference, “Display revenue surged 31% YoY in 2021 reaching $164 billion with strong demand from WFH and LFH.

• Notebook PC unit growth: 3% in 2019 followed by 20% and 28% respectively in 2020 and 2021
• Monitor: -2% unit growth in 2019 and then 14% and 5% in 2020 and 2021
• Tablet: -2% unit growth in 2019, jumped to 19% in 2020 and 0% in 2021.
• Mobile phones: -4% unit growth in 2019, -9% in 2020 and 1% in 2021
• TV: 0% unit growth in 2019, -3% in 2020 and -3% in 2021
• Notebook PC revenue growth was 1% in 2019 but jumped to 27% in 2020 and 81% in 2021
• For monitor revenue it was -9% in 2019, but jumped to 26% in 20, and 48% in 2021.

LCD revenues outgrew OLEDs in 2021 on price increases and strong demand in LCD dominated applications. MiniLED LCDs went from a 0% share in 2020 to a 2.2% share in 2021. LCD capacity forecast is 16% higher in 2022 due to Korean manufacturers delaying shutdowns and Chinese manufacturers adding and stretching capacity. In most cases, panel suppliers are adding IT capacity, believing the boom in IT markets will continue. Most of the new fab activity is around OLEDs for IT applications on G8.5-G8.7 glass which represents significant frontplane and backplane challenges.”.
According to DSCC forecasts, demand growth is expected to be flat or down for Q2-Q4 2022 on a Y/Y basis. Prices are expected to be under significant pressure for the rest of 2022.

OLED: Evolving to New Technology 
​Max McDaniel, from Applied Materials in his keynote presentation at the Business conference said
“Technology waves drive growth and investments. The large area OLED wave is coming, it will be in TV and IT in replacement of LCD”.
Technology developments, materials improvements and product innovations combined with capacity expansion and higher competition will help OLED display to gain higher share in future.  McDaniel pointed out that OLED still has three major challenges: brightness, lifetime and cost. Progress has been made in the past year in large area with QD-OLED from Samsung and WOLED from LGD.
In IT markets there will be more adoption in monitor, notebook, tablet and foldable notebook. He said, “Through lots of innovation OLED cost will come down”.
Mike Hack from UDC, in his Business Conference keynote, presented about UDC’s development of Phosphorescent Blue OLED materials. He pointed out some of the benefits of Phosphorescent Blue:

1. Higher efficiency or lower power consumption benefits: extends battery life
2. Higher brightness at same power level, improved HDR performance – makes OLED display peak brightness more comparable with LCDs
3. Lower panel temperature at same brightness. Extends lifetime

UDC has announced that they expect to meet preliminary target specs with their phosphorescent blue by year-end 2022, which should enable the introduction of their all-phosphorescent RGB stack into the commercial market in 2024.
OLED suppliers are investing in 8.5 or 8.7 Gen fabs and high mobility IGZO backplane with low mask count to improve cost. Higher cost saving is also expected by shifting to rigid+ TFE substrate that will have lower capex compared to flexible OLEDs. OLED suppliers are also shifting towards tandem stack structures to improve performance over single stack structures. For example, in a double stack brightness can be doubled at the same lifetime or you can have longer lifetime at the same brightness. As detailed by Oliver Haupt from Coherent’s presentation,
”Tandem OLED might be the game changer for IT OLED displays → higher brightness and lifetime ”.  
The 8.x new OLED fabs for IT are expected to start from 2024 with higher potential for performance, efficiency and cost improvements.

Invited Paper (4-3) at the symposium presented by J.S. Park from Samsung Display about “high mobility Oxide TFTs for AMOLED displays” discussed the technical hurdles that need to be overcome in order to successfully implement high performance oxide TFTs in AMOLED products. It said,
“While high performance devices do help the integration of gate driver circuits within constrained real estate and the reduction of power consumption, trade-off issues are inevitable between mobility and reliability.”
At Display Week both Nanosys and Samsung Display showcased the very impressive QD-OLED technology. According to  Jason Hartlove’s presentation (Nanosys) QD-OLED can deliver:

• Hyper-realistic color – 1.5X Richer Color
• Perfect viewing angles – 36% wider
• Brighter appearance vs WOLED – 30% brighter
• Lower materials BOM – up to 40% less (source: DSCC)

A presentation by Chirag Shah from Samsung Display noted that with their QD technology of Blue OLED display with the printed quantum dot layer color conversion and sub-pixel level dimming, the display can achieve expanded color gamut, class leading color volume, and color luminosity. Samsung Display has introduced 65-inch and 55-inch QD-OLED (QD)TV and 34-inch monitor panels. Sony and Samsung Electronics are offering QD-OLED TVs and Samsung Electronics and Dell Alienware are offering gaming monitors using a 34" curved QD-OLED display. (MSI is also adopting the panel - editor)


WOLED Also Progresses
LG Display (LGD) showcased a 97-inch OLED.EX for the first time to the public during DisplayWeek 2022. It represents the next generation WOLED TV technology with enhanced picture quality (boost brightness by 30%). It also exhibited a 42-inch bendable OLED gaming display which boasts a curvature range of up to 1000R, enabling a more immersive experience.
LGD introduced the largest 17-inch foldable OLED laptop which can transform from a tablet, to a laptop to  a portable monitor with ease.
Dr. Jang Jin YOO from LG Display presented on the ergonomics requirements of gaming display. Their study results showed that the core display parameters for gaming were derived from four major categories: Interactivity (response time, refresh rate, reaction time), Reality (field of View, Reflectance, Accurate picture (HDR, B/W brightness, contrast, color, viewing angle)), and Safety (Blue Light, Flicker). Kunjal Parikh and Vivek Paranjape from Intel presented on foldable PCs and Intel's Evo design foldable display specifications which can enable new form factors to adapt to new use cases and experiences (>16.x” >QHD foldable touch immersive display). One physical device can have many postures: laptop, table top, tablet and others.
Samsung Display also exhibited a foldable OLED gaming display that can be folded in half. SDC premiered a 12.4-inch slidable display that expands the screen horizontally from both ends and also increases portability by reducing the length to 8.1-inches offering multi-tasking ability as well as a more immersive experience.
BOE demonstrated a 95-inch 8K Oxide WOLED TV and 17.3-inch foldable OLED display as well as a slidable OLED besides many more new display products. TCL CSOT and JOLED showcased their jointly developed 65-inch 8K inkjet printed OLED display. TCL CSOT also demonstrated an 8” 360° foldable LTPO OLED with a polarizer less technology.

MiniLED: Higher Performance, Cost still a Challenge
MiniLED-based displays were introduced by top consumer brands such as Samsung, LGE, TCL, Apple and others in 2021 for TV, monitors, notebooks and tablets. By the use of multi zone blinking backlights, miniLED with QD has enabled LCD to have higher brightness, very high contrast, excellent HDR, thin form-factor, superior power efficiency and display performance close to OLED. According to David Naranjo’s presentation showing DSCC data:

• In 2021:
  • For advanced monitors, MiniLEDs outpaced OLEDs by almost a 10:1 margin.
  • For advanced notebook PCs, OLEDs outpaced MiniLEDs by a 2:1 margin.
  • For advanced tablets, MiniLEDs outpaced OLEDs by a 40% margin.

In 2022, triple digit Y/Y growth is expected

• Advanced IT displays are poised to grow as brands offer more options with competitive price points and strong value propositions.
  • OLED monitors are expected to increase 612% Y/Y while MiniLED monitors are expected to increase 202% Y/Y.
  • MiniLED notebook PCs are expected to increase 248% Y/Y while OLED notebook PCs increase 67% Y/Y.
  • MiniLED tablets are expected to grow 38% Y/Y while OLED tablets decrease 2% Y/Y.

A presentation from Yoshio Tamura from DSCC on advanced IT and TV display costs showed that
“Apple is said to be launching an OLED tablet in 2024 by using a hybrid RGB OLED display next to its current MiniLED product. Rigid and Hybrid OLED displays will have to compete with thinner/lighter LCDs, LTPS LCDs and QHD/UHD LCDs especially in the high end of the Notebook PC market to fill in their new G8.5 to 8.7G fabs from 2024.

• The MiniLEDs in Apple Macbook Pro are embedded with >10,000 LED dies and high dimming zones. The performance is better than entry level designs.
• Even in entry level MiniLED backlights, the optical performance is still much better than conventional backlights.
• LED modules (LED+ backplane + transfer) will dominate MiniLED backlight BOM cost until 2026.

In notebook PC, OLED total costs will be much less than MiniLED LCD costs in the new fabs. However, in monitor, OLED total costs will be much more than MiniLED LCD cost in the new fabs.”


At Display Week, BOE showcased an 86-inch 4K active matrix backlit MiniLED display based on glass substrates with 1500 nits brightness with >2000 zones. The active matrix addressing technique helped in achieving ultra low flicker.  
TCL CSOT showed its development of a 75-inch 8K 4 mask glass based miniLED backlight display. It also demonstrated its 34” curved miniLED display for e-sports.
AUO showcased 34” WQHD curved (1000R) miniLED gaming monitors for more immersive experience. It also showed a 16-inch 240Hz MiniLED (LTPS) gaming notebook with >1000nits brightness and 1000 diming zones.
Tianma demonstrated its development of zero border MiniLED displays and showed a 16-inch glass-based AM-TFT MiniLED LCD display.
Technology and process innovations for OLED and MiniLED based display for IT will open up new opportunities for demand growth. However costs will continue to be a challenge. (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 [email protected] or visit www.dash-insights.com

LCD TV panel prices have been declining since July 2021 and the trend is expected to continue throughout Q2 2022. With an improvement in the Covid19 situation and a shift away from STH (Stay-at-home) and WFH (Work-from-home) policies, market demand for TVs, monitors and notebooks are all forecast to be lower in 2022 compared to 2021.
At the same time, panel makers’ fab utilization rate cuts were very moderate in recent months according to industry data. Further price reductions for TV panels will push prices to below cash cost level; thereby forcing panel suppliers to intensify fab utilization rate cuts to reduce production. The recent lockdowns in China to control Covid are starting to impact factory and component production. If LCD TV set prices can reflect the cost savings for set makers from panel price reductions in the past quarters, it could help to improve demand for set. With lower production and better demand, TV panel prices could stop declining in 2H2022.

TV Panel Price Reduction continuing

According to a DSCC blog in April by Bob O’Brien,
“the potential for a negative impact on global TV demand from Russian war in Ukraine combined with high inventory levels suggest continued price pressure in Q2. Prices have declined dramatically from their peaks in mid-2021 but supply has continued to be robust throughout the first quarter and to start the second. Prices cannot fall much further before they are below cash costs, but there are no obvious drivers of demand, and demand uncertainty has been heightened by the war in Ukraine”.
The chart below highlights DSCC’s latest TV panel price update in April, showing both

• the biggest price increases in the history of the flat panel display industry, from mid-2020 to mid-2021 and then
• the fastest price decreases in the autumn of 2021. The fourth quarter of 2021 saw the biggest Q/Q price declines in the history of the flat panel display industry.

According to DSCC’s blog,
“Despite the signals of weak demand, panel maker utilization remained high in Q1’22 and appears to be continuing at a high level. The industry appears to be building inventory at a rate that is unsustainable, and past experience suggests that price declines will continue until prices fall below cash costs”.

 Uncertainty leads to lower TV demand
Large LCD panels saw dramatic increase in prices in the first half of 2021 due to unprecedented tight supply that was impacted by component shortages and strong demand both in TV and IT market. Tight supply and extremely high panel prices resulted in high LCD TV set prices. Softness in demand (due to higher set prices and improvements in the COVID 19 situation globally) combined with supply expansion lead to panel price reductions in 2H 2021. The Russia and Ukraine war, high oil price, inflation, higher interest rates in US, supply chain issues and uncertainties about second half of 2022 are all leading to further cuts in demand forecasts for 2022. LCD TV set prices are still at a higher level.

According to the April 2022 PriceWise publication by Omdia.
“Some major retailers and TV makers have been turning bearish and disappointed about TV sell-through results in recent months. They are concerned if they can smoothly clear their higher-than-normal inventories on hand during this challenging period. Therefore, they are pressured to either lower or delay TV shipments in the coming months, although they foresee logistic issues, such as port congestion, in-land transportation, and China’s zero-Covid policy, to continue disrupting their supply chain planning for this year”.
According to the publication,
“top TV makers Samsung and LG Electronics made another order cut in April, lowering purchasing plans for 2Q22; panel makers have to offer more price concessions in 2Q22. Expectations of price stabilization are diminishing for 32- and 43-inch panels, while 65-, 75-, and 85-inch panel prices are plummeting. After a drastic order cut in March and April, Samsung intends to strongly refill more panels from this June and 3Q22 onward to materialize its TV business plans for 2022”.
Traditionally, Q3 is the season for higher panel demand, as brands get ready for stronger sales in the holiday season. War, Inflation, global and macroeconomic uncertainties this year have impacted the large LCD panel market outlook.

Higher TV set price impacting demand
Higher TV set prices will impact demand. QLED- and MiniLED-based LCD TV compete with OLED TV in the premium market. With LCD panel price increases and set price increases the cost gap between LCD and OLED TV went down in 2021. LG Displays also implemented major capacity expansion of OLED TV panels with its Gen 8.5 fab in China. New product sizes, higher productions and cost reductions helped OLED TV to gain unit market share in the premium TV market. Also new QD OLED TVs from Samsung and Sony are now entering the market in 2022. If LCD TV panel price reductions can be reflected in set price reductions it will help to make QLED and MiniLED TV more competitive in the premium market. The major panel price reductions for LCD TV have not been reflected in set prices up to now.
According to a TrendForce publication in April, 2022,
“Due to issues in 2021 such as the shortage of cargo containers and port congestion, shipping costs spiked, indirectly inflating the production cost of TV sets. Before the pandemic, shipping costs on a 65-inch TV was US$9. Last year, this jumped to US$50-US$100, scaling with TV size. Even though current TV panel pricing has plunged by 30% to 40% compared to last year's peak, the fact that freight costs are not expected to improve in 2022 will inevitably affect TV brand promotions and scale of stocking during the peak season of overseas markets in 2H22”.
TrendForce has also revised its TV shipments forecast downward for 2022.

Supply Side Impact can Shift the Balance
Lockdowns in China to control Covid19 are starting to impact factory output and component supply. According to an Omdia publication in April,
 “HMO, the second polarizer supplier in China, has two lines located in Kunshan, mainly producing TV polarizers. However, because of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in nearby Shanghai, the entire city of Kunshan went into lockdown from April 6. HMO mainly supplies polarizers for large TV panels and provides polarizers to most Chinese panel makers, including CEC-Panda, CHOT, China Star, HKC, and SIO. Since most panel makers have about two weeks of polarizer inventory, the lockdown in the Kunshan area has not immediately impeded panel production. However, if the lockdown is longer than the original schedule, the HMO inventory held by panel makers could run out by mid-April. Moreover, HMO's inventory of subfilms is short as ports are closed. Assuming that the polarizer supply is stopped for April, the TV panel production area may decrease by over 5% in the second quarter of 2022”. 
Supply issues could also increase polarizer price. Further panel price reductions in Q2 2022 could push prices to below cash cost level forcing panel suppliers to cut LCD fab utilization rates. A supply side adjustment would shift LCD supply demand balance to be tighter.

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 in 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.
​
It seems that at the moment, the market has reached towards the end of the “down cycle”. In the “down cycle” when prices decline, panel buyers delay purchases and keep lower inventories to avoid holding higher cost inventory, resulting in a further reduction in demand.
If the supply side can be adjusted by production cuts and set prices can be reduced to reflect panel price reduction costs savings, LCD TV panel demand could improve in the second half of 2022 and stop panel price decline. (SD)

SmartKem and Nanosys announced on Feb 2nd their joint development agreement to work together on a new generation of low-cost solution printed MicroLED and quantum dot materials for advanced display. Both companies believe a “fully solution-printed display” using SmartKem Organic TFT  (OTFT) and Nanosys’s microLED and quantum dot nanoLED technologies should result in the creation of a new class of low power, robust, flexible, lightweight displays.
They are working on prototypes and hoping to show them this year. SmartKem has previously demonstrated miniLED backlight using OTFT and working with partners for OTFT-OLED. (You're Going to Hear About Smartkem Again and Smartkem On the Up with RiTdisplay JDA ) FlexEnable has shown example of OTFT-based flexible OLED displays. The company is working on glass-free flexible OTFT LCD (OLCD) and expects first production ramp up in 2H 2022. (Novares Integrates FlexEnable’s Conformable OLCDs into its New Demo Car: Nova Car #2 and Cambridge-Based Electronics Company Raises Up to $25m Series B Fund to Accelerate Production of Flexible Displays and Active Optics)
OTFT can offer truly flexible backplane technology (with a small bend radius), fewer masks (than a-Si or LTPS), low process temperatures, low current usage, wide substrate compatibility and low cost manufacturing processes. OTFT displays are not yet in mass production but if the potential for OTFT can be realized with joint technology developments, it can open up new opportunities for the display market.

Organic TFT: an alternative to a-Si, LTPS or Oxide backplane
Organic thin-film transistors (OTFT) technology platform allows electronics to be manufactured on flexible films up to sub-mm (0.5mm) bend radius. It can be integrated with frontplanes such as LCD, EPD (e-paper), OLED, MiniLED, MicroLCD and NanoLED. It has better mobility than amorphous silicon but lower mobility than oxide or LTPS. According to the OTFT suppliers, the mobility is enough for most application segments. It enables manufacturing like other substrates but can use a lower cost flexible substrate (TAC film/plastic) compared to LTPS or Oxide (Polyimide). Its processing temperature (<100 degrees) is low compared to a-Si, Oxide, or LTPS (300 to 350 degree). It has long operating lifetimes and very high uniformity for large area manufacturing. Its manufacturing process cost is low as display makers can repurpose existing LCD lines with minimal investment. It can be scaled up to any generation fab and has the potential to create truly flexible and cost effective display solutions.

Quantum Dot: Enabling LCD, OLED, MicroLED and NanoLED
Quantum Dot technology enhances LCD, OLED and MicroLED displays and is progressing towards self-emissive NanoLED (ELQD). The technology has evolved during the last few years to improve or eliminate many challenges, resulting in broader adoption of QDs. Nanosys’s new aerobically stable xQDEF is lowering costs and helping to increase manufacturability. QD enhancement film (QDEF) enabled LCDs to get to market.
QDOLED displays from Samsung Display has entered the market in 2022 with product demos at CES. QDOLED combines the best of OLED and QD technology: it provides very high contrast (due to the OLED sub-pixel), perfect black, wider viewing angles with better color gamut and higher brightness. 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.

OTFT enabling: QD-MicroLED
The mass transfer process that requires bonding RGB (Red Green Blue) MicroLED to the display backplane accurately and efficiently is very challenging. Using single-color (blue) MicroLED chips and color converting them with QD layers can help in the manufacturing process. There have been many announcements and prototypes but no mass production yet. Nanosys has acquired “glō” a company specialized in MicroLED technologies, including epitaxy as well as device and transfer technology.
SmartKem, is the developer of materials and processes used to make OTFTs for the manufacture of flexible electronics. The truFlex semiconductor technology from the firm deposits organic ink on a substrate at a temperature as low as 80°C, enabling manufacturers to use a range of low-cost flexible plastic substrates with existing industry standard equipment and infrastructure. The joint development agreement with Nanosys announced that the initial validation work on the equipment, process and materials readiness has already occurred.
There is already mass production partnership with display suppliers. The joint development agreement contemplates that through the application of its unique truFlex technology, SmartKem will provide OTFT backplanes to enable the manufacture of microLED displays using Nanosys’ microLED and ELQD technologies. truFlex materials have been developed for standard process equipment sets and have the benefit of both lower material and equipment costs than traditional alternatives such as LTPS. According to Sri Peruvemba, CMO at SmartKem, “Now that two companies SmartKem and Nanosys are working together, their synergies may revolutionize the display industry”. They are already working with MicroLED companies’ partners, and hoping to show prototypes this year. (for more about this deal see last week's Display Daily Smartkem & Nanosys Expand on Joint Development)

OTFT enabling: QD NanoLED
Nanosys has been actively developing electroluminescent quantum dot (EL-QD) technology which it calls “NanoLED”. It uses solution-printed QDs as the emitter material to make AM emissive displays. Printable, low cost QD materials with superior performance have the potential to directly compete with OLED displays even in the flexible segment. SmartKem OTFT is a printed technology. The firm has built products on its pilot line and is transferring technology to display suppliers.
The most important factor is the potential for lower cost. Nanosys has the experience of taking QD technology from lab to fab in the display industry. This unique combination of two technologies OTFT and QD has the potential to allow lower cost products. Russell Kempt, Nanosys VP of marketing said “Development of OTFT backplane for MicroLED and NanoLED can be potentially a game changer for the display industry”.

OTFT backplane: For MiniLED
OTFT can be used for miniLED backlight with full array local dimming (FALD). SmartKem has demonstrated miniLED backlight for HDR LCD with over 100,000 cd/m² of brightness. FALD is a process of locally controlling LED light levels in a segmented backlight unit to enhance contrast in images while decreasing the “halo” effect around bright areas on black backgrounds. It requires thousands of miniLEDs to deliver the intended picture quality and this increases the manufacturing cost of the backlight unit. According to SmartKem: by the use of an OTFT backplane approach, miniLED runs much more efficiently and delivers improved quality at a much lower cost.

OTFT substrate:  For OLED
As OTFT is already a fundamentally flexible substrate; when combined with flexible frontplanes like OLED displays displays can be truly foldable. OTFT uses low processing temperature that allows it to be manufactured on a lower cost plastic substrates bringing in cost and manufacturing benefits to OLED. FlexEnable has demonstrated flexible OLEDs with OTFT backplanes with Novaled (OLED material supplier). In 2021, SmartKem announced a joint development agreement with PMOLED maker RiT display for the production of OTFT-based AMOLED display. This could enable RiT display to use its PMOLED production line to produce AMOLED display without a large investment.

OTFT enabling:  Flexible OLCD
FlexEnable arranged to be able to raise $11 millon -$25 million in February this year to take flexible displays and active optics to mass production. (Cambridge-Based Electronics Company Raises Up to $25m Series B Fund to Accelerate Production of Flexible Displays and Active Optics) It is expected to finance the company for its mass production ramp up of flexible displays and LC optical modules at Asian display manufacturing partners. Coretronic, a major LCD backlight module manufacturer has made strategic investment in the company. FlexEnable has a complete set of manufacturing process and FlexiOM organic semiconductor materials.
Together it enables manufacturing of glass-free flexible OLCD and LC Optics in existing fabs allowing ultrathin, light, flexible and even 3D confirmable products. The company already has four active technology transfer programs underway with several leading display manufacturers in Asia with first volume production ramp starting in the second half of 2022. It has the potential to go into multiple mainstream applications and display segments where flexible displays are absent today.
There are many different applications: flexible cylindrical for smart speakers, curved displays for automotive, thin light bezel less notebooks and tablets, or for dual cell TVs with true pixel-level dimming and higher transmission than glass-based dual cells. OTFT LCD cost will be very similar to glass a-Si LCD as many components are the same such as polarizers and backlights.  
According to Paul Cain, Strategy Director for FlexEnable
“OLCD is by far the lowest cost flexible display, because of the simple low temperature process and substrate handling, and re-use of many of the cost-optimized existing LC supply chain components”.
He also added that OLCD is better in terms of sustainability because of low manufacturing temp with no CVD steps and the production process uses 25% less energy than a-Si fabs. Also they are designed to use existing a-Si LCD fabs and can achieve the same PPI and resolution. OTFT LC cells can be combined with many different types of backlights (e.g. miniLED, edge-lit) which can be flexible. Setting up the process, technology transfer, and display suppliers deciding to adopt the technology in their fabs takes time.

Implications: OTFT & QD will open new opportunities
​The new joint technology development agreements and higher investments can open up new opportunities for the display industry.

• Availability of low cost flexible display due to low temp processes, reuse of cost optimized fabs and using the existing supply chain
• Flexible organic LCD products that don’t exist today
• Potential for lower cost OLED and MiniLED backlights
• Commercialization of low cost QD MicroLED displays
• Fully solution-printed emissive display ELQDs without multibillion capital investment or massive fabs

Technology innovations and supply chain collaborations are really critical for the next generation of OTFT based displays to transform them from prototypes to successful commercial products with volume production that can compete effectively with OLED and LCD in future. (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 [email protected] or visit www.dash-insights.com

New display technology QD-OLED, combination of Quantum Dot and OLED was demonstrated for the first time at CES 2022 by Samsung Display. This technology and the products have received the most attention including innovation awards.
It has also started the beginning of the use of QD-OLED display for TVs and monitors and will contribute to the growth and expanded presence of Quantum Dot (QD) technology. QD is enhancing LCD, OLED and MicroLED displays and is progressing towards next generation self-emissive display.
Sony announced the launch of the first QD-OLED consumer TV in 55” and 65” sizes. Samsung is also expected to bring in a QD-OLED TV this year. Dell Alienware and Samsung are also adopting 34" QD-OLED for monitors. At CES, Samsung, LG, TCL and other brands showcased products that are continuing to push the envelope in terms of screen size and performance for TV, monitor, notebooks and other applications based on OLED, MiniLED, MicroLED and LCD technology.

QD-OLED: Bringing in Higher Display Performance
According to Samsung Display, QD-Display (QD-OLED) combines the best in material engineering, quantum physics and vision science to create stunning color, dazzling details and a thrilling experience. This is the world’s first display to integrate printed Quantum Dots with blue self-emitting pixels. The company is introducing QD-Display for the home entertainment market in two TV sizes, 55” and 65”, along with a 34” curved gaming monitor. It has red and green QD material printed on each pixel. QD-Display can provide superior color performance as it does not rely on color filters like WOLED or LCD.

• Exceptional color performance (narrow band primary color emission provides, 90% BT2020, 99% DCI-P3)
• Full width at half maximum (FWHM) is 20 to 40 nanometers (nm) wide, about 10 to 20 nanometer narrower than that of other self-emitting displays. The slim spectral cones help to achieve an exceptional degree of color purity. The display also provides higher color volume.
• Lowest measurable black level of 0.0005 cd/m², achieving a true black.
• Uses true RGB additive light to create 'perfect whites' and high luminosity, providing extended HDR experience with an infinite contrast ratio.
• Superior XCR (experienced color range) almost 1.6x wider than contemporary displays
• Perfect black level as it can individually turn off each pixel, but controls local dimming at a sub-pixel level, enabling deeper blacks
• No halo, as millions of self-emitting pixels can adjust over all luminance with pinpoint accuracy. A brightly lit pixel can be next to a black pixel, thereby producing sharp character edges for images as well as subtitles
• One of the lowest levels of potentially harmful blue light, typically 40 to 50% less than LCD. The blue light of the QD-Display’s self–emitted light layer is fine-tuned to minimize the wavelengths in the harmful blue-light zone.
• Enables a wider viewing angle due to dome-shaped flux structure and it is also a top-layer emission display. Display also has low reflection.
• Provides an almost instantaneous native (GtoG) response time of 0.1ms. Because of its faster response time, QD-Display is able to re-create motion with significantly less blur.

Both Samsung Electronics and Dell Alienware have announced new gaming monitor using a 34" curved QD-OLED display. Alienware's 34" gaming monitor comes in ultra wide format, 3440 x 1440 with 0.1ms GtoG response time and 175Hz refresh rates. It supports Nvidia G-Sync and is DisplayHDR 400 true black certified. Both Samsung and Dell Alienware gaming monitors received CES innovation awards. With higher display performance QD-Display (QD-OLED) curved gaming monitor expects to provide more immersive experience.
Sony announced the master series XR A95K TV, the first TV using Samsung Display’s QD-OLED panel, with Cognitive Processor XR and XR Triluminous. The 4K TV will come in 65” and 55”. Samsung Display is the only company so far to manufacture QD-OLED display panel and it can sell to multiple brands. 

OLED- Pushing the Envelope in Size and Form factors
LG Display(LGD) showcased OLED.EX, the next generation OLED TV technology intended to provide an upgraded viewing experience; it also virtually showed transparent and flexible OLED solutions, gaming OLED display and 17-inch foldable OLED for laptops. OLED.EX display implements LGD’s Deuterium and personalized algorithm-based “EX technology”. Compared to conventional OLED display, brightness is boosted by 3% while bezel width is reduced by 30% from 6mm to 4mm based on a 65" OLED display. LGD will integrate OLED.EX technology into OLED TV display starting from 2Q 2022 and will bring 42 and 48-inch OLED gaming displays to market in 2022.
OLED TVs have achieved leadership position in the premium TV market due to display performance and thinner form factors. According to LG Electronics, their OLED TVs have been CES innovation awards honoree for 8 consecutive years. The company highlighted these OLED TV display performance parameters and features.

• OLED TV employs self lighting pixels that turn on and off individually to deliver perfect blacks, incredibly natural colors and infinite contrast
• Backlight free, OLED is thinner, lighter than other display technology, enabling unprecedented form factors such as bendable and rollable TV.
• A new G2 model from LGE features LGD’s advanced OLED panel. OLED EVO technology (both in C1 and G1 series) delivers higher brightness for 'ultra realistic' images with superior clarity and details
• Powered by LG’s new a (Alpha)9 Gen5 intelligent processor, its brightness booster technology is said to deliver even more brightness through improved heat dissipation and more advanced algorithm.
• A new 83-inch model was introduced to the G2 series and the world’s first 97" OLED model to complement the 55”, 65” and 77” TV line-up.
• LGD introduced the world’s first 42" OLED TV, ideal for console or PC gaming
• Panels in the 2022 line-up have been certified for 100% color fidelity and 100% color volume. All 2022 LG OLEDs are certified as 'flicker free'
• LG’s OLED panels have been recognized for their low blue light performance and meet Eyesafe low blue emission requirements
• Supports Nvidia G-Sync and its 8K OLED TV demonstrated 8K gaming with Nvidia GeForce (1ms response time)

Sony, Panasonic and many others are already selling a full range of OLED TVs.
Asus introduced the world’s first 17.3" foldable OLED laptop at CES. In clamshell format it can be opened like a hard book to form a single 17.3” 4:3 aspect ratio (2560 x 1920) display like a tablet.  The second option is to open like a laptop with two 12.5” 3:2 aspect ratio (1920 x 1280).

MiniLED: Getting Thinner and Better in Performance
TCL won the CES innovation award for its QD zero MiniLED 8K TV. It introduced the world’s first miniLED TV in North America. This third generation miniLED XL 85” 8K QLED TV featuring OD zero has an ultrathin profile of less than 3.4 mm. TCL is also focusing on wide color standard, more contrast with Contrast Control Zones, and more clarity with new HDR standards. It is also partnering with Pixelworks and others to define and deploy new motion ecosystem called TrueCut Motion. TCL also announced its 98” QLED TV priced at under $8K.
Sony introduced its first miniLED models including 8K resolution and powered by Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR, and XR Backlight Master drive for 'more dazzling lights and deeper black with precise control' by the miniLED backlight.
LG Electronics also unveiled its expanded QNED miniLED TV lineup with its own QD Nanocell technology with 100% color volume and 'great contrast' with dimming technology. Samsung showcased all its new technology that will be appearing on its Neo QLED miniLED TVs: Neo Quantum Processor (advance contrast mapping), shape adaptive light control (better control of blooming and an upgrade to a 14 bit backlight). The 2022 NeoQLED models will use a new Eye Comfort mode (automatically adjust the screen brightness, and tone based on built-in light sensor to reduce blue light levels).
MiniLED based displays have been introduced by top consumer brands such as Samsung, LGE, TCL, Apple and others for TV, monitor, notebooks and tablets. By the use of multi zone blinking backlights, miniLED with QD can enable LCD to have higher brightness, very high contrast, excellent HDR, thin form-factor, superior power efficiency and display performance close to OLED.

MicroLED: Focusing on Super Size TVs and Wearables
Samsung Electronics announced the latest versions of its microLED TVs at CES in 110”, 101” and in 89”. According to the company it offers best in class picture quality due to 25 million micrometer sized LEDs that individually produce light and colors and heightened level of clarity and contrast. The 2022 MicroLED TVs support 20 bit greyscale depth, delivering a 'true HDR experience', 100% of DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB color gamut and immersive design with 99.99% screen to body ratio.
TCL announced Leiniao AR, industry’s first binocular full color Micro-LED display powered by holographic optical waveguide technology in a pair of thin and light smart glasses.

Implication: Display Technology Innovations drive Product InnovationsDisplay Technology innovations are contributing to design and product innovations in the consumer market. It is leading to a broader spectrum of product availability for each application market with different features at different price points. This will also enable the co-existence of multiple display technologies. The introduction of a new display technology in QD-OLED will compete with OLED and MiniLED QD products in the premium market. With limited production capacity and higher costs it will serve initially in the premium niche 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 [email protected] or visit www.dash-insights.com

It is that time of the year to review the display industry trend for next year. The outlook for 2022 is uncertain because of the new Covid variant, a slower global economy, fear of inflation, and the post-Covid impact on demand. In such times, product differentiation, newer technologies, higher performance and lower prices all help drive demand.

MiniLED Display: Strong Shipments Growth
MiniLED-based displays were introduced by top consumer brands such as Samsung, LGE, TCL, Apple and others in 2021 for TV, monitors, notebooks and tablets. By the use of multi zone blinking backlights, miniLED with QD (Quantum Dots) has enabled LCD to have higher brightness, very high contrast, excellent HDR, thin form-factor, superior power efficiency and display performance close to OLED.

• More suppliers are expected to enter in 2022, increasing competition, improving the supply chain, increasing volumes, improving yield and reducing cost.
• MiniLED-based products with QDs with higher picture quality, more competitive prices, higher product availability and brands focus (for product differentiation) will drive shipment growth in 2022.

 MiniLED QD TVs
TCL introduced high performance and ultra-slim TVs based on its third generation miniLED backlight technology “OD zero” in 2021. Samsung's introduction of  “Neo QLED” miniLED backlight-based 8K and 4K TV models in various sizes helped to increase shipments. LGE also adopted QD miniLED technology with its QNED products (4K and 8K).

 MiniLED QD Gaming Monitors
Samsung and LGE introduced TVs with gaming features (especially 4K gaming at 120Hz): with low response time, auto low latency mode and variable refresh rates. Asus and Acer have been shipping gaming monitors with miniLED and QDs.

MiniLED Notebooks and Tablets
High-end notebooks are increasing market share with Oxide, LTPS and OLED display technologies. Apple introduced 14.2" and 16.2" MacBook Pros, with miniLED backlight technology, after its first 12.9-inch miniLED iPad Pro in 2021. This will increase demand further. Apple's adoption of MiniLED backlight technology in IT products will give a big boost to demand.
The adoption of miniLED technology by Samsung, LGE, TCL, Apple and others will have a very positive impact on the supply chain leading to strong growth in 2022. Success will depend on suppliers’ ability to reduce cost to drive demand.

Quantum Dot: Growth with Expanded Presence
Quantum Dot display technology is continuously evolving with new materials and new processes. It is enhancing LCD, OLED and MicroLED displays and is progressing towards next generation self-emissive display. The technology has evolved during the last few years to improve or eliminate many challenges, resulting in broader adoption of the technology. Nanosys’s new aerobically stable xQDEF is expected to lower costs and increase manufacturability enabling lower cost mainstream products at <$500 with QD.

Reinventing LCD
The first generation QD enhancement film (QDEF) enabled LCDs to have better color purity, wider color gamut, and offer a brighter and a more immersive HDR experience while maintaining power efficiency for TV applications. Samsung, Vizio, TCL, Hisense, Konka and Xiaomi were already offering QDEF-based LCD TVs with very competitive price that has helped to increase market shares and adoption rates.

QD-OLED: Entering the market
QD-OLED displays from Samsung Display are expected by the end of 2021 or early 2022. The industry is buzzing with news that Samsung Electronics is expected to show QD-OLED TVs at CES 2022. Sony is also expected to adopt it for TVs. QDOLED could combine the best of OLED and QD: very high contrast, perfect black, wider viewing angles with better color gamut and higher brightness.
Companies are still developing solution-printed QDs as the emitter material intending to make AM QLED displays. 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.

QD-MicroLED: Coming in Future
The mass transfer process that requires bonding RGB (Red Green Blue) MicroLED to the display backplane accurately and efficiently is very challenging. Using single-color (blue) MicroLED chips and color converting them with QD layers can help in the manufacturing process. There have been many announcements and prototypes but no mass production yet. MicroLED display needs a mature supply chain for high volume production. Nanosys has acquired the microLED company “glō” to improve the supply chain and accelerate product development and adoption. QD microLED is expected to be available in 2023/24.

OLED: Growth with Higher Performance and New Form Factors
Technology developments, improvements in materials, advances in inkjet printing combined with capacity expansion and higher competition will help OLED displays to gain a higher share in 2022. New form factors (foldable, rollable, stretchable) combined with better materials, process and designs will create new application opportunities for OLED in future. At CES this year suppliers such as LG Electronics and TCL/CSOT showcased rollable screens that can roll from smartphone to tablet.

WOLED TV: Higher Performance & Higher Supply
LG Display introduced a new material to improve efficiency by 20% enabling higher brightness. LG Electronics used a special panel for its premium TV: it's called OLED ”evo” and has higher brightness and better picture quality. LGD also used higher efficiency MMG (multi model glass) to produce 83" and 48" OLED TV panels in its 8.5 Gen fab in China. WOLED TV increased its share in 2021 with expanded production and a narrower price premium gap with LCD. LGD is planning more sizes of WOLED TV panels and higher production in 2022. (and there are strong rumours that Samsung Electronics may adopt WOLED with supply of panels by LGD - editor)

 OLED IT: growth with new product and capacity
OLED displays can compete with miniLED in the high-end notebook market and in tablets. RGB OLED capacity is expected to increase for IT applications. Samsung Display is reported to be planning an 8.5 Gen AMOLED fab for notebook and tablet market. (Real Decisions Over OLED To Guide Industry to 2026)

OLED: Flexible - Increasing Shares
Flexible OLED form factors are likely to shift from foldable to rollable and scrollable. The introduction of 5G-based products needing slimmer displays to accommodate 5G-enabling components will increase flexible OLED demand. The integration of new technology such as under panel camera (UPC), fingerprint under display, touch display, power saving, variable refresh rates, and other features to reduce border & increased screen-to-body-ratio will make flexible OLED more critical for 2022 products. Flexible AMOLEDs will continue to gain significant share in the smartphone market with new features and faster 5G adoptions by handset makers.

Samsung Display is focusing on LTPO (LTPS + Oxide TFT) that enables variable refresh rates and lower power consumption (LTPO is a Hot Technology - but What Is It?). The Galaxy S21 Ultra is already using LTPO-based flexible OLED panel. Apple has adopted LTPO in its iPhone 13. Samsung Display has developed new material whose luminous efficiency has improved dramatically. Samsung Display has also developed on-cell touch Y-OCTA (Youm On-Cell Touch AMOLED) for flexible OLED technology enabling thinner flexible OLED displays. Apple and Samsung are both using it in their products. LG Display, BOE, Tianma, and Visionox are all developing their own processes for on-cell touch integration to reduce the layers and increase performance.

OLED: Foldable - Growing
Samsung’s aggressive pricing for its Zflip3 ($999) and Zfold3 ($1799) and better features have helped the growth of foldable phones in 2021. According to industry news Samsung Display is planning to more than double its foldable OLED panel production capacity in 2022. The company is also increasing its UTG (ultra thin glass) processing capacity. Companies such as Honor, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are also expected to introduce new foldable device in 2022 (although Google's plans seem to be on hold - editor). Higher capacity, lower price and more products with differentiated features and form factors will drive growth in 2022.

MicroLED:  Progressing Towards Commercialization
MicroLED display technology is making steady progress towards commercialization. The technology still faces several complex-manufacturing challenges, which will take time to resolve. The success of commercialization and mass production will depend on the ability to scale up for volume production with competitive price performance.

• There are many different options and processes to resolve microLED manufacturing issues for commercialization.
• 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 supply chains for volume production.
• There are already many microLED demonstrations in different applications, such as large-size TV, automotive transparent display, flexible display, wearable devices and as AR/HUD display source.

 MicroLED’s very high brightness, high reliability (inorganic LED display) and ability to create ultra compact form factors will have major advantages for the see-through AR market. Many companies including Vuzix, Snap, Xiomi, TCL and Meta are introducing microLED display-based AR/VR headsets. Vuzix’s next gen smart glass uses Jade Bird Display's (JBD) microLED. Waveoptics (Snap) announced a developmental kit and projector using a JBD display and Kopin has announced collaboration with JBD to develop monochrome microLED displays. Xiaomi and TCL both introduced microLED-based smartglass prototypes in 2021. More product introductions are expected in 2022. High-speed mass transfer, assembly technologies, yield and defect management need to improve and supply chains need to be established before large volume commercialization in consumer products can be successful. In the meantime, suppliers will focus on markets with higher priced, lower volume, and value-based products.

LCD: Losing Share, Still the Dominant Technology
Large LCD panels saw dramatic increases in prices in the first half of 2021 due to unprecedentedly tight supply that was impacted by component shortages. Tight supply and extremely high prices have resulted in LCD TV set price increases. Softness in demand (due to higher set prices and changes in the COVID 19 situation globally) combined with supply expansion lead to sharp panel price reductions in the second half of 2021. BOE, CSOT (China Star) and HKC have been expanding their production capacity and increasing market share.
The LCD panel market has reached a “down-cycle”. With prices declining, panel buyers are delaying purchases and are already holding higher cost inventory, resulting in a further reduction in demand. The market is expected to come back to balance in the first quarter of 2022. Panel price reductions in the second half of 2021 can help to offer more aggressively priced TV products in the first half of 2022 with increasing demand.  Very low panel price will also force suppliers to adjust utilization rates and delay expansion plans. LCD has been losing share to OLED. MiniLED backlight with Quantum Dot has enabled LCD to bring higher performance differentiated products to compete with OLED.
In the year 2022, when market outlook is uncertain product differentiation, newer technology, higher performance and high value products will help to drive demand. (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 [email protected] or visit www.dash-insights.com