LTPS - Page 14

Toppoly has introduced the 2.5 AMOLED and the 1.8 System-On-Panel. The 2.5 full color AMOLED module is based on an LTPS backplane and features integrated driving circuitry, producing a light, thin and compact display module. The product integrates scan and data driver ICs onto the panel. The module supports a resolution of 640x240 in 262K colors with a 130-pixel pitch and is suitable for DSC, DVC and portable multimedia devices.

The 1.8 System-On-Panel LTPS TFT-LCD supports 65K/262K colors at a resolution of 128xRGBx160, and integrates the scanning circuitry (both horizontally and vertically), Level Shifter, and DC-DC Converter onto the panel.

Both area color and full color OLED products from RiTdisplay use passive-matrix (PM) driving technology at present. However, Wang indicated that the company will start to deliver its active-matrix (AM) OLED product in small volume within this year, and will focus on a 2.2-inch full color product.

As did Samsung, RiTdisplay adopted a-Si TFT technology to develop its AMOLED product. The company believes a-Si technology offers better performance than LTPS; the size of the substrate is another consideration. "When FPD TV happens to be one of the applications of AMOLED, the size of LTPS substrate will become a great limitation in product development. Since the largest LTPS panel available nowadays is only around 20-inch," said Yih Chang, general manager of RiTdisplay.

OLED-Info.com recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Alan Tsai, Deputy Director of AMOLED Technology Development Division of Toppoly. Dr. Alan Tsai has 9-year experiences in the development of a-Si, LTPS and AMOLED technology and is also involved in the mass production of display products. He obtained his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from University of Cincinnati (USA) in 1996. He joined Toppoly in 2000.

Q: Hello Alan, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Before we begin, can you tell us a little bit about Toppoly?

Established on December 24, 1999, Toppoly is a dedicated TFT-LCD volume manufacturer pioneering LTPS technology, based in Taiwan. Toppoly provides Flat Panel Displays with the latest display technology and has been developing AMOLED technology for next generation display. It plans to deliver AMOLED products in 2005.

LG.Philips unveiled a new 20.1" OLED panel that features 1280x800 resolution and 500 cd/m2 brightness (1000 nits). LG.Philips says that this is the largest OLED panel ever produced. The panel uses an LTPS backplane.

The panel will be on public display for the first time at the FPD International 2004 exhibition at Yokohama, Japan, which starts today.

Digitimes says that Japanese OLED makers (such as SK Displays, TM Display and Hitachi) have already begain mass production of AMOLED displays, while Taiwanese companies are postponing their schedules and will not start volume production until 2005.

There are 15 AMOLED production line planned in Taiwan, Japan and Korea for 2005 according to Digitimes. Nine of these lines belong to Japanese makers. In Taiwan, the leading player seems to be RiTDisplay. The company have been showing AMOLED samples in June 2004 but they will not start mass production in 2004 as originally planned - they postponed it to 1Q 2005 due to low yields.

Agilent Technologies has announced a new product line aimed towarsd OLED testing - the Agilent 88000 series FPD array test systems. These new systems provide full TFT array testing of LTPS LCDs and AMOLED panels.

Agilent says that the new 88000 series is ultra-precise and very fast.