OLED-Info: the OLED experts

According to Taiwan's Digitimes, LG Display is facing delays in flexible OLED production at its $900 million E5 line in Gumi that should have started producing panels last month, but now it is expected to start mass production in August.

In April 2017 it was reported that LG Display has secured a 5.5" flexible OLED supply deal to China-based Xiaomi, for the company's next-gen flagship phone. According to Digitimes, however, LGD now lost this supply deal and Xiaomi has ordered over 3 million flexible OLEDs (6" QHD ones) from Samsung, who will supply the displays in December 2017 and January 2018. Xiaomi will have to delay the launch of its flagship phone to early 2018.

Audi unveiled its flagship luxuries sedan, the new Audi A8 - which will go on sale towards the end of 2017 in Germany. This car includes several new technologies - including the first Level 3 assisted driving (which can drive completely autonomously in slow traffic jams).

The new A8's front lighting uses HD Matrix LED headlamps with Audi laser lighting, and the rear lights use OLED lighting. It's not clear whether the OLED lighting is optional as was the case with Audi's first OLED car, the 2016 TT RS. The new A8 also includes an OLED display for passengers in the back that can be used to control the car's infotainment systems.

Researchers from Korea's National University developed a new process based on high-pressure gas sprays that can be used to rapidly transfer OLED layers very quickly - which could reduce the manufacturing time of OLED panels by 90%.

The new process uses a new air jet technology that sprays desquamating gas such as nitrogen, argon and air at high pressures. The gas is sprayed at a speed of 300 m/s between the OLED and a substrate - which reduces the binding power of the OLED from the substrate, and increases the binding energy of the organic layers being transferred. This can be used to quickly transfer thin films without damage them.

A new video shows LG's large SID DisplayWeek 2017 booth. The video begins with some displays we have seen before - LG's latest wallpaper OLED TVs and its Crystal Sound OLED system, but then continues to show some new displays.

LG demonstrated two flexible OLEDs for mobile devices - a 5.5" QHD (1440,2560, 538 PPI) panel and a 5.7" FHD (388 PPI) panel. Both are plastic-based and are conformable (edge-type). The displays offer a brightness of 350 nits. LG says the 5.7" FHD is now in mass production, while the 5.5" QHD will be ready in Q2 2017 (which means it's should already be in production). The video also shows a glimpse of LG's "VR displays" - but no details are given (this was for some reason labeled as confidential).

SmartKem announced that it has finalized an industrial grade 2.5-Gen (400x500 mm) process for the mass production of OTFT backplanes on glass or plastic. SmartKem achieved this step at its pilot line in the UK CPI and its own synthesis and formulation Technology Centre based at Hexagon Tower in Manchester. The approved process is now being transferred to its production partners in Asia. The OTFT backplanes can be used for LCD or OLED displays.

SmartKem's customer will integrate the new process in a pilot line for the manufacture of product prototypes and scaled display production. It is anticipated that the first display products manufactured through this collaboration will hit the Asian market within 12-18 months.

Analysts from IHS say that as AMOLED displays continue to replace LCD displays and the AMOLED market is growing quickly - the market for fine metal mask (FMM) components will also experience fast growth in coming years.

IHS sees the FMM market in 2017 generate $234 in revenues. The market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38% until 2022 - to reach $1.2 billion. IHS says that FMM production is a challenge and FMM technology has become a bottleneck as display resolution is increasing and the number of FMM suppliers is limited. The leading producer is Dai Nippon Printing, and the company's FMM masks are using to produce the majority of AMOLED displays.