Digitimes reports that Chi Mei EL (CMEL) expects that its AMOLED TV panel technologies, which are being developed with help from Kodak and DuPont, will see a breakthrough next year, and volume production may start in 2010 or 2011, according to company vice chairman Peter Chen.

CMEL's yield for AMOLED panels has reached 70%, and is expected go up to 85% by the end of 2008, Chen said.

The company's second production line, which is under construction, will come online in October this year, and by then the company's monthly capacity will reach 800,000 units (2.8-inch equivalent), he added.

Read more here (Digitimes) 

At their yearly share holder meeting, UDC reviewed their company's and the OLED industry's progress. UDC also highlights continued adoption of its energy-efficient PHOLED technology in commercial displays and advances in its flexible OLED, white OLED lighting, and printable, phosphorescent P(2)OLED(TM) technologies.

Universal Display’s Chief Executive Officer, Steven V. Abramson, began the meeting by reviewing progress in the commercialization of the Company’s OLED technologies over the past year. Mr. Abramson followed this by highlighting advances in next generation technologies for display and lighting applications, and providing a vision of the future for the Company and the OLED industry.

The last year has seen a number of steps forward for both Universal Display and the OLED industry, Mr. Abramson stated. Our high efficiency, phosphorescent OLED technology is essential for the production of low-power consumption displays. Through commercial agreements with industry leaders, we have seen increasing numbers of active-matrix OLED displays that use our technology, in products that include KDDI, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba cell phones, as well as iRiver and Teclast multi-media players. As the market for smaller-area OLED displays solidifies, the next wave of product applications like laptops, computer monitors and TVs is taking shape. A number of announcements have also been made about an increasing demand for AMOLED displays and plans to expand production capacity to meet this demand. As the market continues to grow, we believe that we are well-positioned to participate in that growth.

Mr. Abramson also highlighted progress in the Company’s core OLED technologies. In addition to reviewing the Company’s 102 lm/W breakthrough in white OLEDs that was reported two days earlier, Mr. Abramson discussed key advances in PHOLED, P²OLED and flexible OLED technologies. He also reported a new blue PHOLED material system, at CIE(0.16, 0.25) with over 15,000 hours of operating lifetime (to 50% initial luminance) at 500 nits, which is nearly double the lifetime reported a year ago.

In addition, Mr. Abramson highlighted a number of exciting prototypes on exhibit at the meeting that demonstrate the Company’s core technologies. These included a flexible OLED display built in collaboration with LG Display and partially supported by the U.S. Department of Defense. Also on display were inkjet-printed samples built using the Company’s solution-processible P²OLED technology and materials, and examples of commercial products with OLED displays from CMEL, Pioneer and Samsung SDI. Other technical advances, including those in the Company’s infra-red OLED and organic vapor-jet printing technologies, were also described.

Mr. Abramson concluded, Today, OLED technology is commercial, offering its benefits to manufacturers and consumers alike. The near future will bring bigger and brighter displays, OLED TVs will become even more common, and our next-generation technologies will continue to be refined and advanced. Our phosphorescent OLED technology offers a real ‘green’ solution for display and lighting applications with its energy efficiency and environmental appeal. We believe that our UniversalPHOLED and other OLED technologies will be at the very core of this progress.

CMEL expects its yield for AMOLED panels rise to 85% by the end of 2008 from the present 70%, and the company is mulling installing a new production line (5G or 5.5G) for the segment sometime in the future, according to company president Douglas Park.

The company's second line will be operational in October, and CMEL expects about 800,000 units (2.8") per month from both lines. CMEL plans to make large-size segments in 2010.

Read more here (Digitimes) 

According to Digitimes, CMO invested 645$NT (~21M$) in CMEL, for a new AMOLED production line.

CMEL is introducing medium-sized AMOLED panels (4.3" and larger).

Read more here (Digitimes)

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.

Digitimes reports that CMEL is expected to move in equipment for the second AMOLED line in September.

CMO's board of directors on Tuesday announced a decision to increase its investment in Chi Mei Electroluminescence, investing a further NT$900 million to fund the subsidiary's second AMOLED panel line.

CMEL can produce AMOLED panels as large as 4.3 inches, and 4.3-inch panels will start shipping in the second quarter. Currently, its major product lines are 2.2-2.8-inch AMOLED panels, with an average yield of 70%.

Its existing production line has a monthly capacity of 150,000 units, with a goal to ramp it up to 250,000 units.

Read more here (digitimes)

DisplaySearch reports that Samsung SDI drove the market, pushing shipments to 20.2M, which was up 30% Q/Q but down 9% Y/Y. For the year, total revenues grew 6% to US$493.9M (see Table 1) and total shipments grew 8% to 74.7M, according to the DisplaySearch Quarterly OLED Shipment and Forecast Report. The report findings also show that the shipment mix is changing, as AMOLEDs had a 9.7% share of total revenues in Q3’07, which jumped to 41% in Q4’07.

Key findings in the DisplaySearch report include

• Samsung SDI was #1 in total revenue with US$79.4M, more than double the #2 supplier RiTdisplay at US$30.3M.


• RiTdisplay retained its lead in shipments at 6.6M units with Samsung SDI following at 4.9M units.
  
  Pioneer was #3 in units and #3 in shipments.


• Sony shipped 2K 11 displays for use in the XEL-1 in December and is expected to ship 6K panels in Q1’08.


• Chi Mei EL increased its production of AMOLED panels, shipping 60K units in Q4’07 up from 16K in Q3’07.


• LG Display, formerly LG. Philips LCD, took over LGE’s PMOLED fab and is expected to ship ~150K AMOLED panels in Q1’08 for use in the recently announced LG-SH150A.

AMOLEDs are beginning to hit their stride in the small/medium market with Nokia, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson all releasing products in Q4’07. We expect to see multiple product introductions in the next two quarters, and the panel size will jump to 2.6 and larger compared to previously announced 2.2-2.4 models, said Barry Young, a senior DisplaySearch advisor.

Read more here (DisplaySearch) 

Digitimes says that CMEL is likely to add a 3.5-inch panel to its AMOLED panel range. CMEL currently offers 2.2- and 2.8-inch AMOLED panels, and it is set to start shipping a 4.3-inch version in the second quarter.

He revealed that monthly shipments from CMEL's present production line amount to 150,000 units, and that its second production line will begin equipment installation in September and volume production by the end of the year.

While CMEL sources LTPS backplanes from CMO, the current shortages in the small-and-medium-size panel market has strained supply from the parent company, Chen said. To deal with the tight supply, CMEL is gearing up efforts to raise its yields, which currently stand at 60-70%, he added.

Read more here (digitimes)

CMEL recently was reported to have landed orders for 7.6-inch OLED panels from Kodak with shipments to kick off in the middle of this year, according to today's Chinese-language Commercial Times.

CMEL broke a record by delivering over 60,000 units of 2.4- and 2.8-inch AM OLED panels used in handsets in December, added the paper.

Read more here (Digitimes)