Business Korea reports that Hyundai will adopt SDC's AMOLEDs in its upcoming EV, the Ioniq 5 (which will Hyundai's first car based on its Electric-Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP).
The Ioniq 5 will offer optional rear view cameras (similar to the system used by Audi in its e-tron EV) which will use SDC's AMOLED displays.
Towards the end of 2020, Ireland-based OLED IP company Solas OLED filed a complaint to the US International Trade Commission against Samsung Electronics and BOE, saying that the two companies infringe upon some of its AMOLED patents.
The US ITC apparently decided to launch a section 337 investigation aginst both BOE and Samsung. Solas OLED requested that the ITC to issue a limited exclusion order and cease orders.
The Elec reports that Samsung Display is planning to build a production line for notebook OLEDs, at its A4 factory in Asan, Korea. The Gen-6 production line will have a capacity of 30,000 monthly substrates.
SDC plans to start ordering production equipment in the summer of 2021, which means that the equipment will be installed within the year, or in early 2022. SDC is already producing laptop displays, so it expects the ramp up to be relatively quick.
LG Display reported its financial results for Q4 2020. Revenues reached $6 billion USD, up 11% from Q3 2020 and 16% from Q4 2019. Net profits jumped to $555 million, up from $10 million in Q3 2020 and a loss of $1.6 billion in Q4 2019.
LG Display says that demand for TV and IT products remained strong as the global work-from-home situation continued. Shipments of OLED TV panels and p-OLED smartphone panels increased meaningfully.
Germany-based trinamiX, a subsidiary of BASF, announced that it has developed an under-the-OLED 3D imaging sensor. This technology can enable high performance face authentication while working behind the display.
trinamiX's technology captures 2D images, 3D images and also performs what the company refers to as a "live skin" test that cannot be tricked by a full-face mask, a 2D image printout or even a 3D sculpture. The hardware consists of just a standard CMOS sensor and a near-infrared light projector.
Our very own OLED Marketplace is a popular service that enables device developers to screen a wide range of OLED displays, from wearable panels, through PMOLEDs and microdisplays to high-end flexible smartphone AMOLEDs. We believe this is the world's most comprehensive OLED catalog.
We are happy to announce that we have now added a new section to the marketplace, with ePaper (E Ink) displays. We have added over 15 displays, ranging from small 1-inch displays for wearables and small devices to 13.3" panels. Most of these displays are monochrome (Black/White) but some also support three colors (Red or Yellow). A few of these displays are flexible.
Samsung Display announced that it has employed new materials in its latest OLED stack that enables the display to be 16% more efficient compared to its currently OLEDs. The first phone to adopt the new OLED materials will be the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
SDC did not reveal much about the new materials beyond saying that the new architecture "speeds up electron flows in the display’s organic layers". SDC says it uses a new OLED material, which seems to have been developed in-house (although SDC also says it has been 'closely collaborating with global material companies' to increase its competitive edge). SDC holds over 5,000 OLED material patents.
UK-based SmartKem develops a new class of flexible high-mobility OTFT display backplane technologies. The company provides customized solutions involving molecular synthesis, electronic prototyping and on-site technology transfer support.
As Smartkem is developing new backplane materials for OLEDs, ePaper and mini-LED devices, we discuss its technology and business with the company's CEO and chairman, Ian Jenks.
US-based signage solution provider STRATACACHE is building a MicroLED production line in the US. This is an interesting development in the display industry, which has been almost exclusively centered in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China. MicroLED displays can be produced using some unique architectures and processes that enable production to be done in places where TFT-based production (of either LCD or OLED displays) has severe challenges.
The new factory will be used to produce a wide range of MicroLED displays, from tablet-sized panels to large-area signage displays, and will be able to produce both flexible and transparent panels. The yearly capacity of the E4 is expected to start at a 1 million square meters per year, and STRATACACHE will be able to supply both components level products and complete display products to third party customers (although it seems as if most production will be used for STRATACACHE's own projects).
According to a report from the Korea Herald, LG Electronics is considering the future of its Smartphone business, and the company's CEO sent a message to staff that says that several options are being considered, including the sale, withdrawal and downsizing the smartphone business.
LG Electronics has lost around $4.5 billion in its smartphone business over the past five years, as competition, especially from China, is strong. In Q3 2020 LG Electronics shipped 6.5 million phones, down from 7.2 million in Q3 2019. LG's global smartphone market share is around 2%.
