PMOLED (Passive Matrix OLED): introduction and basics - Page 2

We are launching a new OLED-Info Pro premium article series, spotlights on OLED companies. Each article will look into one OLED industry company, detailing its past, present and future. In this first article, we are focused on Pioneer, the first company to produce OLED displays commercially. 

Pioneer corporation history

Pioneer Corporation was established in 1938, in Tokyo, by Nozomu Matsumoto. The company started out as a radio and speaker repair shop, under the name Fukuin Shokai Denki Seisakusho. Matsumoto developed a dynamic speaker, and named it the A-8 "Pioneer". In 1961, the company name was changed to Pioneer Electronic Corporation, inspired by the A-8 Pioneer speaker. This was a suitable name - the company was indeed a pioneer in the audio industry - it launched the first separate stereo system in 1962, the first component car stereo system in 1975 and the first car CD player in 1984.

The Passive Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (PMOLED) industry represents a compelling opportunity for supply chain companies seeking to enter the broader OLED ecosystem. The PMOLED sector offers a more accessible entry point compared to the highly competitive Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) market. 

This industry, while smaller than its AMOLED counterpart, provides unique advantages for suppliers including lower barriers to entry, faster development cycles, and opportunities to establish relationships that can scale to larger OLED markets. Article summary:

• The PMOLED Industry: A Strategic Entry Point for Supply Chain Companies
• Introduction to PMOLED Technology and Market History
• Why PMOLEDs Matter for Supply Chain Companies
• Industry Challenges and Market Entry Strategies
• PMOLED Manufacturer Profiles and Opportunities
• Conclusion and Strategic Recommendations

OLED technology has transformed the display industry, enabling thinner, lighter, efficient and flexible displays, with superb image quality than ever before. The journey from laboratory discovery to mass-market dominance is marked by a series of pivotal moments. Here, we explore five of the most significant milestones that shaped the OLED landscape, followed by a look at other critical achievements and what the future may hold for the OLED industry and market.

1. The original Kodak OLED moment (1987)

The story of OLED began in 1987 at Eastman Kodak, where Ching Tang and Steven Van Slyke built the first operational OLED device. Their breakthrough combined modern thin-film deposition techniques with suitable organic materials to create a double-layer OLED that could emit light efficiently at low voltages. This foundational work proved that organic materials could be used to make practical light-emitting devices and laid the groundwork for decades of innovation. Kodak continued to develop OLED technologies, until it sold its entire OLED IP to LG for $100 million in 2009.

2. The invention of PHOLEDs and the founding of Universal Display Corporation (UDC, 1994-1998)

While early OLEDs used fluorescent emitters, the next major leap was the development of phosphorescent OLEDs (PHOLEDs). PHOLEDs, pioneered by researchers at Princeton University and the University of Southern California (and commercialized by Universal Display Corporation, founded in 1994), dramatically improved efficiency by allowing nearly 100% internal quantum efficiency, compared to about 25% for fluorescent OLEDs. This efficiency gain was crucial for battery-powered devices and large-area displays.

UK-based OTFT display backplane developer Smartkem announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PMOLED maker RiTdisplay to evaluate the integration of Smartkem's OTFT process on RiTdisplay's 2.5-Gen pilot line for AMOLED production.

Smartkems announced a joint development agreement with RiTdisplay back in 2021, and in 2024 it signed a collaboration agreement with RiTDisplay for the production of OTFT-based AMOLED displays. This new MoU marks, according to Smartkem, a "significant progression in the collaboration work" between the two companies. Under the MoU, product prototyping capabilities will be transferred from ITRI's Gen2.5 line to a newly integrated Gen2.5 pilot line at RiTdisplay. The parties expect that the RiTdisplay line will be available for use in the second half of 2025.

SOAR Corporation announced that it has shipped 200 million PMOLED displays. SOAR produces a range of PMOLED displays, focusing on wearables, audio systems, communication equipment, home appliances and automotive applications. The company also offers custom transparent and flexible displays.

SOAR was spun-off from Pioneer Corporation in 2022 and handle's Pioneer's PMOLED production business. Pioneer was the first company produce OLED displays, back in 1997. It is also the first company to use PHOLED materials (back in 2004).

Researchers from Korea's KAIST, ETRI, and Dong-A University propose a new stretchable OLED display architecture, based on a 3D form that includes hidden sections that act both as active emitting areas and interconnectors. The idea is that as the OLED display is stretched, these areas pop into place and add to the emitting area of the OLED. The areas are basically hidden pixels that are only used when the display stretches.

To create this OLED device, the researchers attached ultrathin OLED films to a 3D rigid island array structure through quadaxial stretching, enabling precise, deformation-free alignment. The researchers explain that a portion of the ultrathin OLED is concealed by letting it ‘fold in’ between the adjacent islands in the initial, non-stretched condition and gradually surfaces to the top upon stretching. 

UK-based OTFT display backplane developer SmartKem announced that it signed a collaboration agreement with based PMOLED-maker RiTdisplay, for the production of OTFT-based AMOLED displays. SmartKem further said that Innovate UK and the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs will support this project with a grant of around $530,000.

Smartkem will provide its proprietary OTFT materials to RiTdisplay to integrate within its OLED displays. If successful, the project will create the world's first commercially ready AMOLED display made using organic transistors, which will outperform RiT's PMOLEDs with higher brightness, lower power consumption and higher resolutions. Both companies hope that the project will be completed in 2026. 

We are happy to launch The OLED Toolbox, a new information product for the OLED industry that provides an unprecedented depth of OLED content, data, analysis and insights, written and compiled by the industry's leading portal, OLED-Info.com.

The OLED Toolbox presents an unparalleled array of resources, including guides, projections, analyses, and profound insights into the world of OLED displays and lighting. Never before has it been so easy to gain access to a complete OLED industry resource!

What you'll find inside

• OLED Guide: an expert guide to OLED technologies, the OLED market and the OLED industry, covering everything you need to know about OLEDs
• OLED Insights: OLED analysis and insights, covering all the latest and future trends and developments in the OLED industry
• OLED Spreadsheets: excel files with detailed information on the OLED market and industry (including OLED devices, fabs, microdisplays, automotive solutions and more)
• OLED Leaders: In-depth articles by leading OLED professionals to discuss industry and market topics
• OLED Library: Over 160 content items by industry players - brochures, catalogs, roadmaps, presentations and more.

China-based PMOLED maker Qingyue (previously part of Visionox) demonstrated its latest OLED and ePaper displays at Display Week 2023. 

So first up Qingyue showed a large transparent segmented PMOLED display, this is the largest PMOLED ever demonstrated at 20.6" in size. It did not detail the transparent level, but this looked very good and was quite impressive.

Today we published a new edition of our PMOLED Market Report, with all the latest information. The new edition includes the latest changes from Pioneer (now called SOAR), Futaba, Wisechip and more.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• Applications of PMOLED displays
• Next generation PMOLED technologies
• Flexible and transparent PMOLEDs
• AMOLED vs PMOLED

The report package also provides:

• Information on all PMOLED producers
• Current and future PMOLED fabs
• Display catalogs and datasheets
• Free updates for a year

This PMOLED market report provides a detailed introduction to PMOLED technologies and covers everything you need to know PMOLED displays, now and in the future. This is a great guide for anyone who's thinking about adopting PMOLED displays in their products or wants to offer products and services to the OLED industry.