UDC

Universal Display has announced their 4Q 2009 financial results: a net loss of $3.8 million with $4.8 in revenue. Commercial revenue (chemical sales and royalties) rose to $1.9 million from $1.4 million in 4Q 2008 (35%). This shows the fast growth of AMOLED production, mostly by Samsung, and also the fact that LG is gearing up towards a new 3.5G plant in a few month, and have bought more 'development chemicals'.

UDC also reports about AU Optronics efforts to build new production lines (they plan to start mass producing OLEDs again in 2011) - they say that AUO are using their PHOLED materials (which is not a big surprise since they used these back in 2006)

Pioneer announced that they have agreed to cooperate with Mitsubishi Chemical on OLED Lighting. Pioneer was the first company to actually make OLED panels, but have exited from the OLED display market in 2005 (and will stop making TVs alltogether in 2010). It's great to hear they are back into OLEDs.

Mitsubishi Chemical is already working with UDC towards Materials for use in Phosphorescent OLED Displays Fabricated Through Solution or "Wet" Processing Methods.

Yesterday we reported on the DOE's Recover Act Rewards, and today we have more details on two of the projects. UDC got $4 million (out of a $8.3 million project) to create a US phosphorescent OLED Lighting panel manufacturing Facility. UDC will design and setup two pilot lines, and will provide prototype lighting panels to U.S. luminaire manufacturers to incorporate into products, to facilitate testing of design, and to gauge customer acceptance.

Moser Baer Technologies will supply equipment for these lines. The first might become operation already in 2011 (the specific location isn't public yet). The second line is geared towards commercial volumes of panels. This could mean that UDC will become an OLED panel production company - and not just an IP one. This is an interesting move by UDC that is quite risky as they will compete with their licensees.

UDC will also work with PPG Industries on another project titled "Low-Cost Integrated Substrate for OLED Lighting". PPG plans to develop the OLED lighting integrated substrate using low-cost soda lime float glass plus transparent anode materials and light extraction layers.

Via Plus Plastic Electronics

Earlier today we reported that  The University of Rochester received a $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop host materials for white phosphorescent OLEDs. This funding is part of the DOE's Recovery Act Rewards, and now we have found the complete list, which contains several OLED Lighting projects:

• Cambrios got $1.2 million (out of $1.8 for the total project) for "Solution-Processable Transparent Conductive Hole Injection Electrode OLED SSL". This project seeks to develop a cost-effective replacement for indium tin oxide for use as an electrode in OLED lighting devices. Indium is both rare and very expensive. 
• The University of Rocherser got $1.2 million (out of $1.3 million) for "Development and Utilization of Host Materials for White Phosphorescent OLEDs". This project seeks to produce white OLEDs with > 100 lm/W efficiency after light extraction enhancement and > 10,000 hour operating time, by making a new class of emissive materials.
• PPG Industries got $1.6 million (out of $2.1 million) for "Low-Cost Integrated Substrate for OLED Lighting". PPG Industries plans to develop a new low-cost integrated substrate product that is suitable for OLED lighting manufacture and is compatible with PPG’s existing flat-glass and transparent-glass coating technologies and high-volume glass manufacturing methods.
• GE Global Research got $4 million (out of $8 million) for "Roll-to-Roll Solution-Processable Small-Molecule OLEDs". This project seeks to upgrade GE’s prepilot OLED roll-to-roll manufacturing line through improved high-performance phosphorescent small-molecule OLED materials, advanced OLED device architectures, plastic ultra-high barrier films, and an advanced encapsulation scheme.
• UDC got $4 million (out of $8.3 million) for "Creation of a U.S. Phosphorescent OLED Lighting Panel Manufacturing Facility". This project seeks to design and set up two pilot phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) manufacturing lines. The team will implement UDC's PHOLED technology and provide prototype lighting panels to U.S. luminaire manufacturers to incorporate into products, to facilitate testing of design, and to gauge customer acceptance.

Interestingly, two of these project (the GE and UDC ones) involves actual OLED Lighting panels pilot production lines - which could lead to actual OLED products being commercially available.

Showa Denko announced that it has signed a license agreement for OLED Lighting technology with Universal Display. Showa Denko will be able to integrate Universal Display’s proprietary UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent and other OLED technologies into Showa Denko’s white OLED lighting products fabricated by solution-processing methods. Under the agreement, UDC will get license fees and running royalties.

Showa Denko has been developing polymer-based white OLEDs for use with coating-type manufacturing equipment that may enable the cost-effective production of large-area lighting panels. Through their development of a new device structure and the use of phosphorescent OLED technology and materials, the company recently demonstrated a white OLED lighting device with 30 lumens per Watt.

Universal Display (FDC) and the Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University announced that they have strengthened their collaboration to extend to the joint fabrication of prototype active-matrix PHOLEDs on flexible plastic substrates for the U.S. Department of Army. In addition, Universal Display announced that the company has been awarded a $650,000 U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Enhancement contract to support this work.

UDC and the FDC believe that the enhanced relationship will accelerate the demonstration of the flexible AMOLEDs. Earlier in 2009, they have already demonstrated a 4.1" monochrome QVGA PHOLED display.

As part of this strategic relationship, Universal Display and the FDC will work to demonstrate flexible OLED display prototypes with enhanced performance for the U.S. Army. The FDC will fabricate a-Si:H thin-film transistor (TFT) arrays on flexible plastic substrates using their low-temperature backplane and proprietary bond-debond manufacturing technologies. Universal Display will then use its UniversalPHOLED materials and technology to build full-color AMOLED displays

For prototypes to be delivered under the U.S. Army SBIR Phase II Enhancement Program, Universal Display will also use its proprietary encapsulation film technology to create permeation barriers on the substrate and on top of the OLED to prevent harmful moisture and oxygen from reaching the OLED device.

Konica Minolta lays out its OLED Lighting plan:

• Launch OLED lighting equipment by March 2011
• Build a large-scale OLED lighting plant by march 2014
• Get over 100 billion yen (about $1 billion) in sales by 2017/18

The company will spend around 3.5 billion yen ($38 million) to build an initial production line by the end of 2010, in order to launch products by March 2011. The line will use roll-to-roll production method. The mass-production line planned for 2014 will require at least 10 billion yen ($110 million) to build.

Konica Minolta is working towards OLEDs together with GE and UDC.

Via Reuters