Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 5th annual International TADF Workshop and the 3rd i3-opera Forum, a companion event aimed at industry researchers, will be held on December 78 by means of online live streaming.

In the Workshop, novel scientific concepts will be discussed, as well as the future direction of TADF-OLEDs, perovskite LEDs, radical-based LEDs, QD-based LEDs, novel materials-based LEDs and more. In the Forum, the scope will be extended even further, to include topics ranging from TADF frontier science to interdisciplinary technologies for future lifestyle.

Vizio started shipping its first OLED TVs, the OLED-H1 family. The TVs are available at Best Buy, for $1,199 (55") and $1,999 (65") - which makes these the lowest cost OLED TVs in the US.

The OLED-H1 TVs use either 55-inch or 65-inch 4K 120Hz WOLED panels. The TVs are based on the company's own IQ Ultra Processor and feature support for AMD's FreeSync, HDMI 2.1, an eARC port and a super sleek design.

US-based high-index material maker Pixelligent Technologies launched a new product line, the Pixclear Titana, which delivers a refractive index range of 1.85 to 2.0+, with transparencies in excess of 95%, at loadings greater than 80 percent.

Pixelligent PixClear Titania materials enables to simultaneously achieve record optical performance and robust mechanical properties an impossibility until now. These new materials can be used by OLED makers to improve device efficiency and performance. PixClear Titania is being offered in 10nm and 20nm capped nanocrystals configurations both in formulations and as dispersions and can be applied using industry standard nanoimprint lithography, inkjet and spin coating processes.

DSCC says that the first half of 2020 has seen lower production at OLED fabs, due to normal season-related weakness in combination with the COVID-10 pandemic. Utilization rates and production capacity, however, rebounded in Q3 and will continue to be higher in Q4 of 2020.

The main reason for the bounce of flexible OLED production in Q3 was due to new products by Apple, Samsung and other device makers. In fact flexible OLED production in 2020 was higher in all months of 2020, including the weak quarters. However rigid OLEDs have seen a large drop in 2020 which has risen slightly in Q3 and will continue to rise - but remain smaller than 2019.

When Samsung launched its original foldable smartphone, it used a polyimide-based cover, and the screen was fragile and not very durable. Later in 2020 Samsung Display launched its ultra-thin-glass (UTG) cover (produced by Schott and processed by Dowoo Insys) which the company said is more durable the the Polyimide.

Samsung Electronics continued to adopt the new foldable UTG cover and used it in its Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold2 5G (7.6" 1768x2208 HDR10+ 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED) smartphone. But the question remains - just how more durable is the UTG-protected OLED?

According to reports from Korea, LG Electronics is finally set to ship its rollable TV later this month. The price of the 65" Rollable 65RX OLED TV is set at $100,000 - which is quite higher than the earlier estimates of $60,000.

The first rollable TVs will ship in South Korea only, and given this price obviously LG does not expect to ship many of these TVs. The rollable OLED TV was first unveiled in early 2019, but LG did not manage to produce it until now as it faced several technology challenges, including low durability.

Researchers at Penn State University, with funding from the DOE, suggest a new way to improve the light extraction from OLED devices (EQE). The idea is to introduce electrically inert and low cost "dilution" molecules to the hole and electron transport layers, and so reduce the reflection of these layers which increases the outcoupling efficiency of these layers.

The added molecules do not degrade and actual performance - and should not increase production costs. The researchers are currently modeling and simulating molecules and device stacks. Eventually, the researchers aim to demonstrate multi-stack OLEDs with internal light extraction efficiency exceeding 75%.

According to reports from Japan, Sharp plans to split-off its display unit to a new company called Sharp Display Technology, or SDTC. According to the reports, SDTC will focus on MicroLED technology development.

SDTC will also, likely, take over Sharp's existing LCD factories (and OLED R&D lines). If this report is accurate, it is not clear what will be the future of Sharp's OLED projects.

Yole Développement (Yole) says that the microdisplay market is set for impressive growth in the next few years, with the CAGR from 2020 to 2025 at 100%. Microdisplay module revenues will reach $4.2 billion in 2025, $1.8 billion of which will be for AR headsets.

This optimistic forecast has a warning though - it all depends whether next-generation display technologies will deliver on their promises - and whether actual use-cases will be found and commercialized.

In early 2020 Lenovo announced the foldable ThinkPad Fold laptop, and the company is now starting to accept pre-orders for this innovative device which starts at $2,499.

The ThinkPad X1 Fold features a 13.3" 2048x1536 foldable OLED display that is produced by LG Display. LG's collaboration with Lenovo was announced in May 2019 - but interestingly in November 2019 BOE also said that it is collaborating with Lenovo and that it supplied Lenovo with the 13.3" foldable OLED it used in the prototype ThinkPad X1 foldable laptop it demonstrated in May 2019.