ITRI

UK-based OTFT display backplane developer SmartKem announced that it signed a collaboration agreement with based PMOLED-maker RiTdisplay, for the production of OTFT-based AMOLED displays. SmartKem further said that Innovate UK and the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs will support this project with a grant of around $530,000.

Smartkem will provide its proprietary OTFT materials to RiTdisplay to integrate within its OLED displays. If successful, the project will create the world's first commercially ready AMOLED display made using organic transistors, which will outperform RiT's PMOLEDs with higher brightness, lower power consumption and higher resolutions. Both companies hope that the project will be completed in 2026. 

Notion Systems, a leading solution provider for industrial inkjet systems, announced that it had successfully installed an n.jet display system at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). The n.jet display system was developed in collaboration with MBRAUN/Germany and includes a fully integrated inert glove box solution that combines compact design with minimized nitrogen consumption.

ITRI is now using the new n.jet display system to research and develop novel OLED and QLED technologies. ITRI has developed many OLED technologies over the years, and it is now looking to replace vapor deposition and vacuum coating with inkjet printing which could reduce the number of steps, increase material utilization and increase display quality.

Taiwan's ITRI institute says that recent advances in OLED materials and production methods has enabled it to greatly reduce OLED lighting production costs. Recent technical achievements at ITRI include a new flexible substrate transfer, R2R production process integration, and soft light source system design.

In 2016 ITRI constructed a pilot roll-to-roll production line for flexible OLEDs. ITRI now says that these technical achievements will enable it to increase the production line capacity for 50,000 monthly panels. ITRI also developed a new flexible OLED that weighs only 10.7 grams and is less than 0.5 mm thick.

In September 2018 Taiwan's ITRI institute demonstrated a foldable AMOLED display prototype. The company now released this nice video showing the new display:

This AMOLED display, according to ITRI, is "rapidly approaching commercial standards". The panels are abrasion-resistant and folding resistant, and can be folded up to 200,000 times with a folding radius of 3 mm. The panels can also withstand being subjected to 1 kg of steel wool friction over 50,000 times.

Taiwan's ITRI (or more specifically its Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories or EOSRL) aim to establish a pilot line for Micro-LED displays that will start production in Q3 2018.

According to reports, the line will be used to produce small displays for VR applications - in addition to large-area indoor signage displays. The new line will obviously have a small capacity, but EOSRL believes that Micro-LED displays may grab up a sizable part of the display market.

Taiwan's ITRI institute demonstrated a new foldable AMOLED display prototype, saying that its technology is rapidly approaching "commercial standards". ITRI's new AMOLED panels offer excellent display quality, touch functionality.

ITRI says that its new AMOLED panels are also abrasion-resistant and folding resistant. In fact the panel can be folded up to 200,000 times with a folding radius of 3 mm. It can also withstand being subjected to 1kg of steel wool friction over 50,000 times.

In a recent tradeshow ITRI demonstrated a new OLED lighting driver that can control different types of OLED panels, including rigid and flexible OLEDs. ITRI says that different OLEDs require different currents, but this driver can support all of the panels on display.

ITRI also demonstrated a new flexible lighting panel, which I believe has not been on display before.

Two months ago Taiwan's ITRI institute demonstrated a foldable AMOLED display - which fold both inwardly and outwardly. Last week at Touch Taiwan, ITRI demonstrated a rollable AMOLED:

In addition to the foldable OLED, ITRI showed 36 different flexible display technologies - including new materials, substrates and patterning equipment.

Taiwan-based Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) is building a new 6-Gen fab in China, with an investment of about $1.85 billion. Digitimes reports that CPT plans to produce IGZO backplane OLED panels in its second phase.

The first phase production is scheduled to begin at around June 2017 (construction will be completed by the end of 2016 and equipment installation will begin in Jaunary 2017). The first phase will produce a-Si LCDs, with a monthly capacity of 30,000 substrates. Digitimes did not say when is the second phase planned, and what kind of capacity will be allocated to OLED displays.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced it will actively support the development of flexible AMOLED and PMOLED technologies in Taiwan, in a bid to boost Taiwanese display makers. According to the report Taiwan will invest NT$100 billion - about $3.2 billion USD, although this kind of investment seems unlikely.

The Taiwanese government will channel most of the investments through ITRI with an aim to vertically integrate the flexible OLED supply chain and get the Taiwanese makers to co-develop OLED materials, equipment and panels. Just a couple of months ago ITRI announced it developed a foldable AMOLED display, and the institute is also developing flexible OLED lighting technologies.