Automotive OLEDs: introduction and industry news - Page 20

Today we published new versions of our market reports - that cover the flexible, transparent, VR/AR, microdisplays, automotive and graphene OLED markets. OLED-Info provides comprehensive niche OLED market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the OLED industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry. The reports are now updated to April 2018.

The OLED for VR/AR Market Report:

• Why OLEDs are adopted in almost all VR HMDs
• What kind of displays are required for VR and AR applications
• What the future holds for the VR and AR markets
• Current and future VR and AR systems

The report package provides a great introduction to the emerging VR and AR market, and details the role that OLED displays will have. Read more here!

In 2016 it was reported that Mercedes signed an agreement with LG Display to supply its 12.3" FHD flexible P-OLED displays for a future E-Class automobile. A couple of months ago this was confirmed in a new report from Korea, that also said that Mercedes plans to launch cars with LGD's OLEDs in 2022.

A new report from Korea, now says that Mercedes-Benz is planning to adopt LGD's flexible OLED displays starting with some of the Mercedes E Class models it will release in H1 2020. Following that, Mercedes plans to use LGD's P-OLEDs in several cars - both in dashboards and in rear-seat monitors. The Mercedes will use LGD's OLEDs in the form of a wide screen, combining the dashboard and the central infotainment display.

A few months ago Audi launched its 2018 A8 high-end car, with its OLED lighting rear lights (designed and produced by Hella). Now Audi informs us that the new car also include a rear-seat remote with a 5.7" FHD AMOLED display (produced by SDC).

This is actually the world's first automotive AMOLED displays. We've seen many automobiles with PMOLED displays (in instrument clusters and other controls) but this is the first adoption of an AMOLED display. Depending on the rear equipment specification, the control unit is supplied as standard or an option.

Volkswagen unveiled a new concept car, the I.D. Vizzion, which is an autonomous electric car. VW actually aims to release this car by 2022 at the latest, although the released model will have a steering wheel, unlike the concept one which does not.

The concept I.D. Vizzion, at any case, includes transparent OLED lighting strips embedded into the back windshield that are used as brake indicators. This same idea was demonstrated by Pioneer in early 2016.

We're happy to announce a new market report: the PMOLED Market Report. This report, brought to you by the world's leading OLED experts, is a comprehensive guide to passive matrix OLED displays (PMOLEDs). The PMOLED market is projected to grow rapidly, fueled by demand from wearables and by flexible and transparent displays, but is overlooked by most analysts focused on the (much larger) AMOLED market.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• Applications of PMOLED displays
• Next generation PMOLED technologies
• Flexible and transparent PMOLEDs
• AMOLED vs PMOLED

The report also includes:

• Information on all PMOLED producers
• Current and future PMOLED fabs
• Automotive PMOLEDs
• Display catalogs and datasheets
• Free updates for a year

Lighting and electronics developer Hella says that it provided a comprehensive lighting package for the Audi A8, developed in collaboration with Audi - including the OLED rear lights.

The Audi A8 2018 (which is now available) uses four small vertical OLED modules on each side, each with what seems to be 6 different structured panels, a large red one and five yellow ones which form the turn indicators.

Germany launched a new project led by Merck to develop quantum materials as light emissive sources. The three-year project is called "Exploration of quantum materials New paths to realizing innovative optoelectronic components" (ELQ-LED) and it is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and led by Merck with an aim to conduct basic research on quantum materials as light emitting sources. ELQ-LED is a three-year project that will end on the summer of 2020.

Merck hopes that ELQ-LED materials will enable ultra-pure colors, higher energy efficiency and lower production costs compared to current OLED emitters. The focus of this project will be on cadmium-free quantum materials but the partners will also develop supporting components, processes, transport materials and ink. All components developed in this project will be printable, and the project will test its developments in display prototypes and automotive tail light demonstrators.

Samsung Electronics reported its results for Q4 2017, with a record quarterly profit of $11.2 billion driven by strong demand for memory chips and high-end displays. Samsung Display reports increased OLED shipments for premium smartphones.

Looking at Q1 2018, SDC says that its OLED business is likely to be affected be declining demand due to seasonality and increased competition from LTPS LCD. For the the whole of 2018, SDC expects OLED to increase its penetration in the smartphone industry, and the company aims to introduce new premium applications such as foldable displays and OLEDs for the automotive market.

In 2016 it was reported that Mercedes signed an agreement with LG Display to supply its 12.3" FHD flexible P-OLED displays for a future E-Class automobile. Business Korea now claims that LGD is indeed jointly developing specific OLEDs for future Mercedes cars, and the plan is to launch these in 2022.

LGD is already supplying Mercedes with displays for its cars - but these are LCDs and not OLEDs (it also supplies these LCDs to other car makers, including Toyota, GM and Hyundai). LG Display is also supplying Mercedes with OLED lighting panels for its 2018 S-Class Coupe and Convertible.

Automotive component maker Harman (owned by Samsung) is demonstrating new automotive display prototypes and designs that make use of Samsung's latest displays - both OLEDs and QLEDs.

The new automotive designs includes Samsung's latest flexible and transparent OLED displays, and Harman hopes that these new designs will bring more choice and flexibility to auto makers. Harman displayed two different car concepts which you can see above and below. In these concepts the OLEDs are used for the instrument cluster and other parts of the car, while the QLED panels are used for the infotainment system.