In January 2016 Samsung confirmed it is developing OLED TV panels, and a report from Korea stated that the company is discussing a large investment (around $3 billion US) into a new OLED TV panel fab.

Only last month did Samsung comment that OLED TV technology is not ready yet, and today we hear a new report from Korea that claims that SDC decided to make a substantial investment towards OLED TV production.

This is the second part of a guest-post by Organic Lights (here's the first part and the third part)

Light and Building 2016 showcased a great variety of new, innovative uses for OLED. Next to the classic lighting designs were a host of brand new OLED concepts demonstrating diverse applications spanning different areas of life.

An excellent example of this innovation is the WineOLED created by Italian manufacturer, DesLabs. The idea behind their OLED concept is a problem well known to wine lovers. In order to judge the quality of wine, the color is a pivotal criterion. Ideally, this is aided by good lighting against a light background, something not easily accomplished in a poorly lit wine cellar or restaurant. DesLabs therefore turned to OLED technology to create an application specific to this problem; uniform surface illumination with very low energy consumption. The WineOLED is already available in various versions with the hope in the near future of incorporating wireless charging for mobile devices.

In October 2015 the South Korean Minister of Trade and Energy said that the Korean government is planning to expand tax benefits, cut tariffs and offer administrative support to Korean companies (mainly LG, it seems) to make sure Korea's OLED leadership is maintained. The Korean government is worried from challenges by Chinese and Japanese OLED companies.

Today the Korea Times reported that Korea will offer more subsidies to business projects related to OLED technologies. The budget for such projects will be allocated next year, as the government reached a consensus to help OLED-related industries as part of a national strategy to expand Korea's long-time lead in the global display industry.

The newest developments in OLED technology were eagerly anticipated at this year’s Light and Building show in Frankfurt. Could the latest technical advances and changes to the cost of panel manufacture finally allow the predicated breakthrough into the market?

Light and Building 2016 was host to four OLED Technology manufacturers, all demonstrating the capabilities of their products to an impressed audience.

LG started shipping the 55" OLEDE6 OLED TV for $3,899. The OLEDE6 is a flat-panel 4K smart OLED TVs introduced in 2016 that features an ultra-slim on-glass design, a fixed soundbar, LG's webOS 3.0, Color Prime PRO technology and HDR.

A few days ago LG started shipping the 65" model for $5,999.

Researchers from Korea's Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have managed to create OLEDs that feature a 60% increase in light extraction efficiency and a 15% wider viewing angles.

To create these OLEDs, the scientists investigated the optical properties of the firefly's light-emitting cuticle which is patterned with tiny hierarchical structures. Out of all light-emitting animals, the firefly makes light in the most efficient way.

IDTechEx released a new report on OLED lighting, in which it is forecasted (this is the optimistic scenario, though) that the OLED lighting market will reach more than $1.8 billion in 2025 at the panel level. IDTechEx is optimistic about OLED lighting in the long term - because "OLED lighting exhibits key characteristics of a disruptive technology".

According to IDTechEx, OLED lighting, compared to LED lighting, is under performing and is over priced. But OLED lighting can create new markets that value large areas emission, light-weight and flexibility.

LG's flat OLED E6 were introduced in early 2016, and the price of the 65" model was set at $6,999. LG started shipping those new TVs, and the price is actually a $1,000 dollars cheaper. The 55" model is not shipping yet - and the official price is $3,999.

The OLEDE6 features an ultra-slim on-glass design, a fixed soundbar, LG's webOS 3.0, Color Prime PRO technology and HDR.

SAES Group co-authors the newly issued book Organic and Printed Electronics - Fundamentals and Applications, edited by G. Nisato, D. Lupo and S. Ganz. SAES is member of the Organic and Printed Electronics Association (OE-A) and its Dr Paolo Vacca, head of Materials Chemistry Lab at SAES Group R&D, co-authored chapter 9 of the book.

Passive encapsulation technologies for Organic Electronics do not guarantee full hermeticity across the sealing materials. A suitable combination of SAES Active Adhesives & Getters represents the most efficient way for the lifetime insurance in Organic Electronics.

Back in 2011 the University of Florida announced a new organic-TFT backplane technology called CN-VOLET, which is especially suited for OLED panels. Earlier in 2010, the University spun-off a company called nVerPix to commercialize this technology.

At the SID DisplayWeek 2016, researchers from the University of Florida and the University of Seoul will present the world's first AMOLED display panel that use nVerPix's CN-VOLET backplane. The 2.5" monochrome display prototypes features a QVGA (320x240) resolution.