Toshiba - Page 3

Toshiba Mobile Display developed a 7" LTPS TFT LCD panel that has an integrated in-cell touch panel. The new LCD is only 1mm thick (about 57% thinner than a LCD with an external touch panel) and weights only 225 grams (48% less than an external-touch LCD). The integrated touch panel also reduces the surface reflection ratio by about 10%. This is basically the same technology that Samsung uses in their Super AMOLED displays.

We don't know when TMDisplay plans to actually produce such panels. They will show this technology next month at SID 2011.

Update: Toshiba denies the rumors about Apple's investment in the new plant

Toshiba Mobile Display plans to invest around $1.2 billion in a new LCD factory that will make small-sized LTPS LCD displays. Apple will invest some of the money too - this factory will mostly make "Retina" displays for iPhones. The production will start on the 2nd half of 2011.

Apple IPS-LCD vs Super-AMOLED

This is interesting, and probably means that Apple isn't looking to use OLED displays in their products any time soon. I guess earlier rumors of Apple buying all of Samsung's Super-AMOLED capacity for 2011 isn't true...

Update: Toshiba will still do OLED R&D for lighting equipment, see below

Toshiba Mobile Displays plans to scrap plans to produce OLED displays. They will focus on LCD panels. TMD's spokesman Mashahiro Kume said: "The plan (for mass-production) is currently frozen. We'll review the production plan again from scratch". Hopefully they'll be back into OLEDs in the future.

Toshiba 2.5-inch AMOLED prototype (2008)

Reportedly, TMD has invested $190 million in 2008 on an OLED production line back in 2008. They had plans to produce 1.5 million small OLED displays a month, with the first 3.x" panels coming 2010 and 4.3" panels in 2011. Back in 2009, Toshiba has unveiled a long-lifetime 4.15" AMOLED prototype. Toshiba and Panasonic were reported to collaborate on OLED TVs, but we haven't heard about that in a long time.

OLEDNet has published an OLED market forecast for 2010-2016. Basically the say that during 2010, Samsung will introduce 5" and 7" AMOLEDs, and LG Display will produce 2.7" AMOLED for digital cameras, 3.5" WVGA for mobile phones and 4.3" OLEDs for portable TVS. Toshiba Mobile Displays (TMD) will begin AMOLED small panel production during 2010 as well.

Toshiba, Matsushita and Hitachi are all expected to introduce 20"-40" OLED TV panels as early as 2011. AUO will begin mass production in 2011, too.

DisplaySearch has released a new report (small/medium TFT LCD and AMOLED product roadmap). They give an interesting chart showing AMOLED roadmap from all players:

 
 

There is a lot of interesting information in there:

CDT is one of the leaders in OLED research, focusing on Polymer-based OLEDs (PLEDs, also called P-OLEDs). While these OLEDs are lagging behind small-molecule OLEDs in current products (all AMOLEDs today are based on SM-OLEDs), some companies believe that PLEDs are actually the better tech for the future.

CDT's CEO, David Fyfe has agreed to answer a few questions we had on CDT's technology. David joined CDT in 2000 as Chairman and CEO. David saw CDT go public in 2004, and then negotiated the sale of CDT to Sumitomo for $285 million (in September 2007). David is also a director of Soligie, an electronics printing company, Acal Energy, a fuel cell technology developer and the Plastic Electronics Foundation.

Q: David - thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Since the Sumitomo acquisition, CDT has been rather quiet... can you give us an update on where's the company now, and where's it is headed?
Since the merger of CDT into Sumitomo Chemical in September 2007, CDT has grown substantially and received considerable capital investment to enable it to remain a leading developer of PLED technology. It works very closely with SCC laboratories in Japan and most recently has been transferring manufacturing process knowhow to SCC's own PLED manufacturing development line, recently commissioned at Ehime on Shikoku, Japan. CDT in partnership with SCC has made large strides in materials lifetimes and efficiencies. SCC prefers to take a lower profile in announcing these advances since its business model is to work with selected display maker partners in a collaborative, confidential relationship. We have also made big strides in the development of top emitting structures and in printing PLED displays. SCC's strategy is that CDT will continue to be its leading development center for PLED technology with Ehime scaling process technology to a yielding process status. CDT is also working very closely with Semprius of North Carolina, USA to develop single crystal silicon TFT structures on which PLED devices can be deposited and driven using Semprius’ proprietary stamping technology.

Q: It seems that OLED displays are finally entering the mainstream - we hear of new devices (mainly by Samsung, but also from Sony, Microsoft, LG and others) almost daily. What are your thoughts on this? what are the challenges that still exist for OLEDs?
Sony broke the logjam of resistance to the adoption of OLED in large displays by major display makers with the introduction of its XEL-1 11 OLED TV in 2007. Samsung SDI’s investment in small screen OLED production in 2007, based on LTPS backplanes was another major impetus. Since then, Chi Mei has brought on small OLED screen capacity, TMD (now wholly owned by Toshiba) has built an OLED line to manufacture small screens, LG Display will start up their Gen 3.5 line late this year and if press reports are to be believed, Toppoly will commission their capacity with Nokia as a lead customer and Panasonic have a major OLED development program for large OLED displays.

Toshiba Mobile Displays (TMD) shows a new 4.15" AMOLED display. The panel has a 60,000 hours at 200cd/M2. The display uses small molecule OLEDs with a top-emission structure. There's no word when such panels will be available...

We also hoped to hear more of TMDisplay's OLED TV program (TMDisplay are working towards HDTVs together with Panasonic), but I guess we'll have to wait some more...

According to Smarthouse, Panasonic has confirmed that they are working with Toshiba towards an HD OLED TV. It will be ready within 18 months to 2 years. Toshiba has confirmed this as well.

The last we heard about Panasonic is that they are still skeptical about OLED TVs. Also they have sold their stake in TMDisplay (who is focusing on OLEDs) to Toshiba. According to Smarthouse, Panasonic are concerned about the lifetime of OLEDs, but the technology has improved much in that respect

Smarthouse are also behind the Apple-LG-OLED rumors. Time will tell if they are right...

Toshiba announced today that it bought Panasonic's stake in TMDisplay, for 20.3M$. TMDisplay is expected to report a loss of 300M$, on sales of 2.7B$ in 2008.

Toshiba will change the name from Toshiba-Matsushita displays to Toshiba Mobile displays (still TMDisplay...). It will also focus on OLED displays.

Earlier in 2008, TMDisplay said they will spend 140M$ on new production lines for AMOLEDs, making 1M 2.5" panels a month. TMDisplay are working on high-efficiency and lifetime panels. 

It seems like Toshiba is going to buy Panasonic's 40% part of their TMDipslay JV. TMDisplay is making small LCDs for mobile devices. They are also working on OLED displays.

Apparantly Panasonic wants to focus on larger plasma and LCD panels.