October 2007

Universal Display Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the DOE’s solid-state lighting program.

Work under Phase II of the SBIR grant will focus on the demonstration of a simpler white OLED design that should reduce manufacturing costs, without compromising performance. This program is based on Universal Display’s proprietary PHOLED technology and materials - keys to achieving the energy efficiency targets for white lighting.

The new white OLED design will use two PHOLED emitters that will be specially designed to emit broadly so that the color spectrum can be optimally covered. The device is targeted to have a high color rendering index (CRI), an important metric for lighting applications, as well as excellent power efficiency.

Samsung has published their OLED roadmap for the coming years. In 2008 they want to have 3.5 to 7 inch displays - for ultra-mobile PCs or PDAs. In 2009 they will have 14"-21" panels, to be used in laptops and desktop monitors. In 2010 they expect to commercialize 40"/42", Full HD OLED TVs. 

Samsung also expects to have flexible displays out soon - they cannot commit to a date, but they say 2012 at the latest

Read more here (Engadget)

Saab Avitronics has chosen eMagin microdisplays for its news Multi-Purpose Virtual Image Display (VID). The unit comprises high-performance magnifying optics and the OLED, sealed in an aluminum casing.

Saab's compact VID is suitable for combat vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and naval vessels using a wide range of sensors such as electro-optical, infrared, low-light television, and radars. Its collimating lens provides a comfortable viewing distance even at very close range. Sealed in an aluminum casing, the VID offers a compact, lightweight, rugged alternative to legacy CRT-based systems.

As for OLED lighting systems, Chung said, "It won't be long before we commercialize them," because the OLED's light emitting efficiency is currently doubling every year. The company currently achieves 50lm/W luminance, a life of 20,000 hours till the initial luminance halves and a color rendering property of more than 80 colors.

"Our cost goal is 1 euro cent per lumen," said Chung.

Read more (Tech-On) 

IDTechEx are delighted to announce today that Printed Electronics USA conference and exhibition in San Francisco, November 14-15 is now the World’s largest event on the topic by many parameters. With 3 weeks to the show there over 45 confirmed exhibitors and more than 400 registered delegates. The targeted figure of 500 delegates on the day is likely to be smashed.

New for 2007 will be the Printed Electronics Products demonstration area, designed to show the huge range of products which are already in the market place. These will include everything from printed displays used already in commercial advertisement posters to commercial e-paper readers from Sony to cosmetic skin patches from Estee Lauder all powered today by printed electronics. Delegates will be able to see what products are already in the market and how developers have achieved success often by creating new markets.

The event is purposely held in San Francisco to ensure accessibility to many companies and universities working on the topic who delegates can meet through hosted tours.

Discolsure - OLED-Info is a media partner of the event.

During the FPD 2007 exhibition in Japan, CMEL showed a 25" AMOLED TV. CMEL said they will invest 30M$, building a 2nd OLED production line, to be operational in 3Q 2008 with a monthly capacity of 700,000 2" panels. They will also introduce 4.3" panels at 1Q 2008 and 7.6" ones at 2Q.

The new line will make 11" and 12" panels. They expect to offer 32" AMOLED panels during 2010.

Read more here (Digitimes) 

Vitex Systems announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Sunic System. The agreement includes a technology transfer package from Vitex to Sunic, and gives Sunic the non-exclusive rights to make and sell Guardian(TM) thin-film encapsulation systems, which can be used to encapsulate various electronic components and devices, including organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, thin film solar cells and thin film batteries. While the financial terms of agreement were not disclosed, the license includes an upfront fee and on-going royalty payments based on tool sales.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. was showing three prototype OLED TVs based on 14-inch panels. That's larger than the 11-inch screens that are in the new Sony TVs but a close look at the Samsung panels revealed some imperfections. In each of the three prototypes on display were pixels locked to a single color.

Japan's Seiko Epson Corp., which has been researching OLED technology for many years, was displaying five prototype 8-inch OLED panels. In contrast to the Samsung panels, the Epson ones didn't have any visible defects and offered a bright, smooth and crisp image. The screens, which are 3 millimeters thick, attracted a crowd at the show -- many more people than the company expected, a representative confided.

Neither Samsung nor Epson would say when their larger TV screens might be ready for mass production.

Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. was showing a bendable 4-inch OLED. The screen was fixed in a slightly curved position and delivered a good picture but again there were imperfections visible. The company was also showing what must be one of the thinnest OLED panels in the world. At just 0.37 millimeters the 2.4-inch QVGA panel is super thin and destined for use in cell phones.

• Leadis announced a strategic partnership with VP Dynamics on RGBW technology for small and medium mobile displays. Leadis will license VP Dynamics' VPW(TM) RGBW technology for use in LCD, AM-OLED and other display drivers, empowering products with lower power consumption, higher resolution, excellent brightness, and better contrast.
• Leadis announced the acquisition of intellectual property from Nuelight Corporation designed to correct image sticking issues that can occur with the display of static content and significantly improve manufacturing yields in AM-OLED displays. This technology has the potential to accelerate AM-OLED market share gains by making it more lack the visual experience and low-power advantages offered with AM-OLED displays. reliable and cost competitive with alternative display technologies that