E-Ink has a new display - based on Segmented-Display-Cell (SDC). It means that the new displays are 40% thinner, and are more flexible. The new displays can be formed in non-rectangular shapes, which allows for nice new designs. Delphi will be using the new display in their future keyfob products.

Read more here (Engadget)

Sumitomo Chemical said that in 2009, it plans to launch the production and sales of large-screen OLED display panels for use in televisions of 40 inches or larger. They are also considering forming alliances for the development of the panels.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $7.5 million core technology research (round 5) funding opportunity as part of its Solid State Lighting (SSL) program. The OLED 3 areas of interest are: High Efficiency OLED Materials and Structures,OLED Encapsulation and Substrates and OLED Fabrication.

The DOE anticipates making ~5-10 awards for specific advances in LED and OLED lighting under this round and says that awards will not exceed $600,000 per year for up to 3 years. The closing date for applications is June 19.

For the first quarter of 2008, the Company reported a net loss of $4,193,385, or $(0.12) per diluted share, versus a net loss of $4,583,801, or $(0.15) per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2007.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2008 were $2,716,819, compared to $3,014,630 for the first quarter of 2007. Commercial revenue, which includes commercial chemical revenue, license fees and royalty income, increased to $1,555,065 for the first quarter of 2008, from $1,440,900 for the first quarter of 2007. Developmental revenue, which includes contract research revenue, technology development revenue and development chemical sales, decreased for the first quarter of 2008 to $1,161,754, compared to $1,573,730 for the first quarter of 2007. Universal Display believes these revenue categories, which now combine accounts previously reported separately, better reflect the Company’s business strategies and activities.

Our licensee, Samsung SDI, has achieved volume production of AMOLED displays and reports that it will increase output in 2008 and again in 2009. This should drive a further increase in our commercial revenue, said Sidney D. Rosenblatt, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Universal Display. However, total revenues for the quarter decreased due to lower developmental revenue, but this is to be expected as AMOLED manufacturer’s transition from development to commercial activities.

Mr. Rosenblatt, continued, We expect our financial results to be impacted positively as an increasing number of AMOLED displays are sold and integrated into the marketplace through customers such as Chi Mei EL, LG Display and Samsung SDI. As the year progresses, we will look to maintain our operating expenses at current levels, while continuing to generate new innovations and commercial opportunities for our OLED technologies and materials, including in the areas of white OLED lighting and flexible OLED displays. In all, we believe that Universal Display is well positioned to benefit from the accelerated growth being forecast for the OLED market.

Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp said on Thursday it plans to ship small-to-medium size organic light-emitting diode displays for mobile devices in the autumn, adding that it had postponed its launch of larger OLED TVs (originally planned for 2009)

In a new report released Wednesday on the characterization of AMOLED display technology, DisplaySearch addressed the Sony XEL-1 TV and the technology’s sub-pixel architecture, micro cavity, and compensation circuits.

The report includes measurements of lifetime by color and image, power consumption differential aging, burn-in, contrast ratio and luminance. DisplaySearch also addresses the system architecture as well as the organic material, including thicknesses.

The RGB architecture is very sensitive to the image and has a 5,000 hour lifetime for white and a 17,000 hour lifetime for the typical video image, well below the published specifications of Sony, the report concludes. Moreover the panel suffers from differential aging: After 1,000 hours the blue luminance degraded by 12 percent, the red by 7 percent and the green by 8 percent.

Sony, for their part, claim the TV has 30K hours half lifetime.

DuPont and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. today announced their intention to form a strategic alliance to develop integrated manufacturing equipment for printed organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. The companies have also signed an agreement relating to their intention to bring together the elements needed--materials, technology and equipment--to mass produce OLED displays, delivering higher performance at a lower cost.

"The flat panel display market is about $100 billion annually and growing. DuPont is applying its science to make possible more vivid displays that are lower cost than current LCD displays," said David B. Miller, group vice president, DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies. "We are excited to combine our strengths with Dainippon Screen's unique printing technology to bring to market the core technology that will enable improved high definition televisions and other flat panel displays."

DisplayBank, a market research company for display, surveyed shipments of AM OLED in the first quarter. The result showed that SDI shipped about 2.56 million units, accounting for over 90% of entire market. LG Display produced about 120,000 units. If combining two companies, they accounted for 95% of world AMOLED market in the first quarter.

Sony that produced AMOLED panel for 11 inch TV from last November remained about 1000 units of shipment. It will focus on panel for TV for the time being.