VR - Page 13

Oculus developed a new way to improve extended focus depth issues with VR HMDs. The so-called focal surface display augments a regular HMD setup by using a spatially programmable focusing element placed between the eyepiece and the underlying color display.

Oculus's prototype unit uses an eMagin WUXGA (1920×1200) 60 Hz color microOLED display. Oculus is currently using SDC's AMOLED displays in its commercial HMDs. It is great to see the company experimenting with microOLED displays as well, even if these are just prototypes at this stage.

According to an industry insider in Taiwan, Samsung is set to acquire Taiwan's PlayNitride for the company's micro-LED technology for around $150 million. Our inside says that Samsung aims to develop micro-LED based displays for VR applications, but may also look into micro-LED based TVs using PlayNitride's technology.

Micro-LED is a promising display technology as it has the potential to enable brighter and more efficient displays compared to OLEDs. It also may be cheaper, but there are still technical challenges to overcome and analysts estimate that micro-LEDs will not be commercialized before 2020.

In January 2017 Kopin unveiled its first OLED microdisplay, the 1-inch 120 Hz 2k x 2k Lightning panel, and later reported on an "overwhelming" reaction and a first design win. Kopin now announced that it reached agreements with both OLiGHTEK and BOE Technology to meet its production needs.

In the near-term, Kopin's Lightning OLED microdisplays will be produced at OLiGHTEK's Kumnin (Yunnan) fab. Kopin and OLiGHTEK will jointly purchase an advanced production OLED deposition line to be installed within OLiGHTEK’s facility as it will need to expand its production capacity. The new line will be ready for production by the end of 2017. Kopin will be entitled to 50% of the new line output.

BOE Technology and OLED Microdisplay maker OLiGHTEK announced a new joint-venture to produce OLED microdisplays for the consumer VR and AR markets. The new company will be established in Kunming, Yunnan, and will have an annual production capacity of a million OLED microdisplays.

Total investment in the new venture will total $167 million USD. BOE will invest 76.5% of the capital and OLiGHTEK will invest 20%. There is a third partner, Gao Ping Technology from Shenzhen, that will invest 3.5% of the capital. BOE will also apparently invest around $7.2 million in OLiGHTEK. The new company will base its production on OLiGHTEK's technology.

According to the Korea Herald, Samsung Electronics demonstrated several new display technologies in a private room during the Mobile World Congress last month. All of these technologies are expected to enter production within the next year or two, according to the source quoted by the report.

1,200 PPI AMOLED for VR

The report claims that Samsung demonstrated a high-resolution AMOLED panel for VR applications. The AMOLED on display featured a 1,200 PPI - much higher than Samsung's current highest density displays which are 577 PPI. Samsung's aim is to reach 1,500 PPI which will greatly enhance the VR experience.

In November 2016 Sunic Systems announced that it developed an plane-source evaporation-FMM based AMOLED production process that can reach very high densities. The 100um mask announced in November can achieve a PPI of 1,500. This may be the system that Samsung is now testing. Sunic says that eventually this technology will enable even 2,250 PPI.

In January 2017 Kopin unveiled its first OLED microdisplay, the 1-inch 120 Hz 2k x 2k Lightning panel. Kopin now announced that the reaction to the Lightning OLED micro display was "overwhelming", with many experts in the VR space commenting that it was the most beautiful VR image they had seen.

Kopin also revealed that it is developing a VR headset in collaboration with Goertek - a mobile VR headset that uses the Lightning OLED microdisplay.

Today we published new versions of our market reports - that cover the transparent, automotive, microdisplay, VR/AR, graphene and flexible 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 March 2017.

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!

LG announced that it is developing a new VR headset that is powered by Valve's StreamVR tracking. LG demonstrated a prototype at the Game Developers Conference and revealed the specification of the device.

LG's VR headset uses dual 3.64" 1440x1280 (529 PPI) 90Hz OLED displays, produced by LG Display (which means that these are probably flexible OLEDs produced on plastic substrates). The headset provides a 110-degrees field of view, and LG is ready to make development kits later this month and will ship them to select partners.

In October 2016 Sony launched its PlayStation VR HMD in Japan, and early reports said that the company sold 90% of available stock within a week. Sony later launched the headset globally, and now says that it sold 915,000 units within four months, on the way to surpass the company's expectations of 1 million units within six months.

Sony's PlayStation VR uses a 5.7" FHD (1920x1080) AMOLED display (produced by Samsung Display), 360-degree tracking and 3D audio. It is now shipping globally for $399 (headset only).

The OLED display market is now an established market with over $10 billion in annual revenue. OLEDs are mostly used in mobile devices - over 300 million AMOLED panels were produced in 2016, most of them used in smartphones. OLED panels are also used in TVs, tablets, smartwatches, laptops and VR headsets.

Back in 2001, eMagin started offering OLED microdisplays, which are tiny displays fabricated directly on the silicon control circuitry (on the CMOS). Since 2001, the OLED microdisplay market is growing slowly and these high-end microdisplays are mostly used in defense, medical and industrial applications due to their high cost. Many high-end digital cameras also use OLED microdisplays for their electronic viewfinder (EVF).