Colnatec say that they have developed the world's first ultra-high flux OLED deposition sensor for high-speed, continuous run manufacturing. Colnatec already demonstrated this new sensor at a respected research lab. This system registers milligram-per-second rates over one million times the current quartz crystal microbalance limit.

Colnatec Tempe sensor system

Colnatec says that this new sensor promises to dramatically change the economics of OLED thin film manufacturing - as OLED makers will be able to maintain continuous runs over extended periods of time - which will result in higher yields and decreased operating costs. Without this new sensor, manufacturers had to contend with reading fast at slow deposition rates or coating fast with no deposition measurement, resulting in lower total yield.

Update: new reports from Korea suggest that Samsung decided to stick with OLED technology for upcoming Full-HD displays...

ZDNet in Korea reports that Samsung will abandon AMOLED technology in favor of LCD for their next generation flagship phone (which will probably be called the S4). The reason given is that Samsung will have to use Full-HD resolution (to compete with Full-HD phones from LG and HTC) - and 4-5 inch AMOLED panels cannot achieve this resolution yet. ZDNet claims that Samsung is interested in buying these panels from Japan Display.

Hopefully this is not a correct report. Last month it was actually reported that Samsung did manage to achieve 400 ppi in their AMOLED displays, and that they will be able to produce Full-HD AMOLED mobile phone panels. In any case, it's not clear whether such a resolution is actually necessary in such small screens.

Heraeus is introducing new polymer OLED materials. The HIL-E grades is a combination of Hole Injection Layer and a high conductive electrode - and so provide an economic ITO alternative. These are PEDOT formulations designed for the OLED lighting industry.

The HIL-E materials feature excellent planarization properties and a refractive index that matches glass and plastic substrates. The formulations are also pH neutral. Regular and high work function grades are available. These polymer-based materials are suitable for slot-die coating, ink-jet printing and other deposition processes.

LG Chem are currently producing OLED lighting panels in an Gen-2 fab (370x470mm) that can produce 7,000 substrates a month. They are producing the LG-OLED-041 is a 100x100 mm square panel that features 4,000K, CRI>80, 45 lm/W and 10,000 hours lifetime (LT70) at 3,000 nits. Now we hear that the company has plans to build a Gen-5 fab by 2014. They actually planned a Gen-4 line but decided to go for a larger fab to achieve higher volume and lower cost (and because Gen-5 tools are now available).

LG Chem will also optimize their current Gen-2 fab so it can produce more larger (150x150 mm) and more efficient panels (80 lm/W). They will do so by 2013 and so the price per lm will drop by 50%. The Gen-5 fab will be able to produce 135 lm/W 300x300 mm panels - and so price per lm will drop 95% when compared to 2012.

eMagin reported their Q3 2012 financial results today. Revenues were $7.5 million (Q3 2011 revenues were $8.3, the decrease is because of lower R&D contract revenue). Net income was $340,000. eMagin has $16.6 million in cash and the company maintains their 2012 revenue guidance of $30-$34 million.

Regarding the camera electronic viewfinder project, eMagin says that they shipped some first prototypes, and are implementing further improvements - mainly a 67% increase in color gamut. This means that the current crop of digital cameras with OLED XGA viewfinders (the Fujifilm X-E1, the panasonic GH3 and Sony's A99, NEX-6 and the RX-1.) do not use eMagin's microdisplays (we actually assumed thus back when the cameras were announced). In fact eMagin says that they hope to ship the microdisplays during Q1 2013, and the product will probably ship in Q2. This is a high-end camera, but eMagin says these kinds of cameras can sell about 100,000 units a year.

Last month during the Plastic Electronics 2012 conference Fraunhofer's COMEDD showed some interesting new OLED lighting prototypes. The most interesting prototype was an LCD display with OLED as a backlight unit (BLU).

This system is modular (made from small OLED panels tiled together), and because OLEDs do not require reflector and fiber optics it is much simple than LED or CCFL based LCDs. The OLED lighting panels also create a very comfortable and homogeneous light. OLED BLU units were discussed a few years ago, but they don't actually make a lot of sense. Currently OLED lighting panels are very expensive, but when prices drop, so will the prices of OLED displays...

Samsung first unveiled their 55" OLED TVs at CES 2012. They still haven't released those yet (hopefully they will release them soon), and now SmartHouse claims that Samsung is set to unveil new OLED TVs at CES 2013 (January 8, in Las Vegas).

According to SmartPhone, Philip Newton, the Director of AV for Samsung Australia, said that those new OLED TVs to be launched in CES will be "stunning". I saw Samsung's current OLED TVs at SID 2012, and I have to say they are pretty Stunning as it is.

ITRI announced it has developed a full roll-to-roll process on 100um flexible glass substrates - they say they're the first in the world to do so. ITRI has been collaborating with Corning on this technology, and they are using Corning's flexible Willow glass, unveiled at SID 2012.

ITRI and Corning developed specially designed R2R machines that produce touch panel modules on Corning Willow Glass, a flexible display-grade glass substrate. ITRI are now looking for companies that sell this technology - which can be used for OLED display and lighting panels, solar panels and more applications.

Update: the winners of this contest has been announced...

Konica Minolta launched a new flexible OLED lighting design contest titled "Lighting of the Future Award". All concepts will use up to three flexible OLED panels (60 x 150 x 0.5 mm in size with a radius of Curvature of no more than 100 mm). Konica Minolta will give 7 cash prizes (the winner will get ¥500,000, about $6,200).

The top prizes will be given to the designs that will showcase the features of OLED lighting, that can actually be converted to a prototype and that "evoke future possibilities". You have to submit your design by December 3rd, 2012.

Sumitomo Chemical is showing PLED lighting panels at the FPDI 2012 conference. Some of these panels are color tunable, I think it's the first time we see those kinds of panels from Sumitomo:

Back in March 2012 we posted an update on Sumitomo's OLED program. According to the company's roadmap, by 2015 they plan to produce PLEDs on plastic substraces which will feature between 20,000 and 30,000 hours of lifetime and 60-80 lm/W. These plastic based OLEDs will also be flexible.