Last week we reported about LG Display's pilot 8-Gen OLED TV line, but we didn't have all the details (the original text was in Korean). Now we got a good translation and new info. According to the report, LGD has indeed begun to build the 8-Gen line and is currently installing equipment. Production is scheduled by the end of 2011. The OLED TV line is built in Paju in the same building as LG's 4.5-Gen fab that has started to manufacture AMOLEDs last month.
LG's 8-Gen line will produce 2,200 x 2,500 mm glass substrates which will be cut in two. The monthly capacity will be 24,000 substrates, or 72,000 55" OLED TV panels (although LG also plans to produce 31" panels later on). This of course assumes 100% yield - but the actual yield at first will be much lower.
It turns out that those OLED TVs will actually be white-OLED (phosphorescent based, by the way) with color filters - this is the WRGB technology developed at Kodak which is now owned by LG. This technology allows for high density displays (400 PPI) - although the TVs will probably use lower PPI.
Comments
Yes, this is a bit confusing, and indeed the older tech might be different. In the new article they say that the WOLED will be used as backlighting for an LCD...
It is a very confusing product. My best guess is that it is a white OLED display + TFT + color filter. I am not sure that OLEDs have the luminance to support LCD yet.
If this is the case then LG is simply leveraging its existing OLED lighting technology to make OLED TVs. Whether this will work out is questionable, since these TVs are not likely to have the vibrance of color or even the thinness of "real" OLED TVs.
A man after my own heart !
Let's have some clarification, some elucidation, some consistency, some accuracy, some confirmation,
some truth, some completeness, fullness, correct reporting… some REAL INFORMATION!
Considering the status of OLED technology as we know it it would be indeed likely takt an OLED backlit LCD is what we are talking about here. But considering the wording of your former report about the prototype from June some confusion arises.
The construction of a OLED backlit LCD is one thing. But with a white AMOLED (that is with active matrix) there would be no LCD needed, just a color filter in front of the AM-OLED. A white AM-OLED wolud be much more interesting. But of course it seems that TFT backplane technology is not mature enough for such configuration.
Nevertheless some more precise wording of your artilces would be in order. Either your report about June 2010 demos is inaccurate (it says abou active matrix OLED), or your link in this current article points to an example of a different technology. Why would they use an LCD if the white OLED had an active matrix for individual subpixel driving.