Samsung Display

Applied Materials announced a technology, branded as MAX OLED that enables OLED display production on large glass substrates, aiming to provide a cost-effective solution to produce TV and TV displays. Applied developed and patented a new OLED pixel architecture and a "dramatically different manufacturing approach" that the company says enables brighter, clearer, more energy-efficient and longer-lasting.

Applied's new MAX OLED systems can scale from 6-Gen substrates to 8-Gen substrates, supporting the new wave of IT OLED production lines. Applied says that its new solution has strong customer interest - and already achieved repeat orders from several leading display makers (see below). Specifically, Applied announced that it will supply an R&D system to Samsung Display that will test the new production technology for its AMOLED and QD-OLED production technologies.

Samsung Display and BOE are fighting a legal battle in the US, as Samsung wishes to halt the import of BOE OLED displays (such as the ones used by Apple in the upcoming iPhone 4 SE smartphone, according to reports) saying that BOE infringes upon Samsung's patents. BOE, meanwhile, together with other OLED makers in China, answered with a motion of their own, to dismiss an SDC AMOLED patent. 

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has now ruled that BOE indeed infringed upon Samsung's OLED patents. However the ITC rejected Samsung's request to ban the import of BOE's displays into the US. Samsung asked to re-examine the decision and the final verdict on issue will be given on March 2025.

Yesterday we reported that Samsung Display aims to increase its small-sized and mid-sized AMOLED panels production in 2025 by 10.25% to 475 million panels. It was understood that Samsung hopes to sell more foldable OLED panels and tablet OLED panels.

Today we hear another report that Samsung Display's capacity is totally booked, and the company cannot supply enough smartphone OLED to Samsung Electronics. It is said that Samsung Electronics will order some AMOLED smartphone displays from Tianma to be used in its low-end ranges, the Galaxy M and Galaxy F smartphones.

According to a report from Korea Samsung Display aims to increase its small-sized and mid-sized AMOLED panels production in 2025 by 10.25% compared to its 2024 production (or 475 million panels up from 432 million panels).

Of course SDC's production plans depend on market demand, but it seems as if the company believes the OLED market is set to grow or that the company aims to grab a larger share of the market. SDC mostly aims to increase production of IT panels (laptops and tablet displays) and foldable smartphone OLED panels.

According to reports, based on information found on a parts database, Samsung Electronics is getting ready to launch a 83-inch QD-OLED TV in 2025. The 83-inch panel will be introduced in the 2025 QD83S9F TV, and Samsung us likely to use both WOLED and QD-OLED panels in this TVs as was done in the 2024 S90D.

This is interesting news. Samsung's QD-OLED technology is under pressure and it is not clear whether Samsung intends to continue investing in it, and expanding production capacity. It seemed as if SDC is mostly focused on gaming monitors, but perhaps now it is also expanding its TV panel range, which is a welcome change.

Samsung Display is progressing as planned with its  8.6-Gen AMOLED production line. The company recently completed the installation of all major equipment in the new line, and mass production is still expected to begin in 2026.

Samsung Display is now focusing on testing, calibrating and improving all process steps, as the new fab includes new technologies that haven't been deployed before in OLED production.

According to industry reports, Apple recently established four display research labs in China, in Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Shanghai. 

Apple has reportedly formed an alliance with China's leading OLED makers, as the company gets ready to deploy OLED panels in its laptops and tablets. Apple is interested in diversifying its supply chain and not rely exclusively on Samsung Display and LG Display for its smartphone and IT AMOLED panels. The main goal of the new research labs is to test OLED panels produced by Chinese display makers, and evaluate and compare them to LG's and Samsung's OLEDs.

Researchers from Seoul National University (SNU), in collaboration from colleagues from Samsung's SAIT institute, have identified a critical mechanism behind the performance degradation of OLED devices, the interfacial exciton-polaron quenching mechanism.

The researches have theoretically proposed a mechanism where excitons in the light-emitting layer are quenched by the accumulated charges at the interface. They followed with with experiments that have independently observed this phenomenon, identifying three key factors: interfacial barrier, exciton-polaron distance, and exciton lifetime. 

The Elec reports that Korea's Chemtronics is constructing a new fab at Sejong City that will be able to etch 8-Gen OLED substrates. This fab is built specifically for Samsung Display's new 8-Gen IT AMOLED line. The Elec said that Chemtronics already spent almost $70 million on this new fab, with Samsung supporting it with an investment as well.

The new fab will receive finished 8-Gen IT TFE rigid AMOLED panels from Samsung Display's upcoming A6 line, on a glass substrate. The new etching fab will reduce the thickness of these OLEDs from 0.5 mm to 0.2 mm, to enable lighter and thinner tablet and laptop OLEDs.

Samsung Display announced that it has developed a new technology that can recover around 80% of the quantum dots ink used in its QD-OLED production process. The recovered inks is refined through advanced synthesis technology that revives its purity and optical properties. The company will apply this technology, to its process and it is expected to save around 10 billion Won (around $7.3 million USD) each year in QD materials cost.

It turns out that even though the QD layers are inkjet printed, there is still significant waste of materials, as around 20% of the total QD ink used in the process remains in the nozzles and cannot be used. This new technology will enable SDC to make its QD-OLED panels more competitive with other large-area panel technologies.