Bendable OLED TVs: introduction and market status - Page 3

In January 7 CES 2014 will begin, and it'll be very interesting to see what kind of new OLED products and prototypes will be launched during this exciting event. Highlights from CES 2013 included LG's OLED TV launch, Samsung's YOUM flexible OLED launch and 4.99" FHD mobile OLED (which was later adopted in the GS4) - and finally Sony's and Panasonic's 56" 4K OLED prototypes.

But what should we expect from CES 2014? So first, let's look at OLED TVs. LG and Samsung are bound to show their current flat and curved 55" OLED TV products at CES, and LG will most likely bring their 77" curved UHD OLED prototype, but we do not expect them to launch this as a product yet. The two Korean companies are quite likely though to unveil ready-to-market 4K OLED TVs, curved and flat. Samsung already showed a 55" 4K OLED prototype at IFA 2013.

Back in May, The US PTO granted a new patent to Samsung that describes a bendable OLED TV. The idea is that you can use a remote control to bend the television so you'll get a better viewing angle. The TV will include special software that adjusts the image so it is not distorted by the bending. Today the Korea Times reports that Samsung will unveil a prototype bendable OLED TV at CES 2014 (January 7). LG will also unveil a similar unit.

The report does not include more technical information, they only say that the the display size will be "huge". The OLED TV will have a plastic substrate and a back panel that can deform the display. It is possible that SDC will only unveil their prototype in closed meetings.

The US Patent Office granted Samsung a new patent (#537228) that describes a bendable TV. The idea is that you can use a remote control to bend the television so you'll get a better viewing angle:

Samsung says that this TV uses a flexible display panel (probably an OLED TV, but it is not mentioned in the patent) and a back panel that can deform the display. In addition, the whole TV sits on a unit that can be rotated. The TV will include special software that adjusts the image so it is not distorted by the bending.

The Korean government is funding a new program ("Future Flagship Program") that will develop transparent and flexible OLED technologies with an aim to produce ultra high-definition 60" flexible OLED displays by 2017. The project will be led by LG Display, and will also include equipment-maker Avaco.

Flexible OLED TV concept (Sony)

The Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy is spearheading the program, and they say that this technology may have a large impact on the Korean economy, creating 840,000 jobs and $56 billion in yearly exports. It will also help to widen the technological gap between Korea and China in the display sector. The Korean government chose several key technologies that will help to further develop the industry, and OLED is one of them.

Sony published an interesting interview with their display unit team about rollable OLED displays. Back in May (during SID 2010) Sony unveiled a new 4.1" rollable OLED display (with 423x240 resolution at 121ppi, 16.8 million colors - and the whole thing is just 80um thick). In the interview, Dr. Kazumasa Nomoto reveals that Sony's end target is a rollable large-screen OLED TV: "The time will come when the very idea that an enormous black box (TV) was ever placed in rooms will seem strange."

In the interview, the team discusses the new technologies that Sony created for this new display. First was a new Organic TFT based on a new material: a peri-
Xanthenoxanthene (PXX) derivative (this took Sony 5 years to develop!). Sony also developed a flexible gate driver circuit. Finally, an insulating layer for the O-TFT and OLED materials using flexible organic materials. Those three technologies enabled sony to create a rollable video display.