Direct emission

According to a report from Korea, Apple has sent an RFI for both Samsung Display and LG Display, seeking more information about the two companies capabilities regarding the production of OLED microdisplays. It is speculated that Apple is seeking to change its OLED supplier in a future, lower-cost VR headset.

Apple specifically mentions a white OLED with color filters architectures (i.e. not a direct-patterned device), a panel size of 2 to 2.1 inch and a display density of around 1,700 PPI (which is rather low, Sony's 4K microdisplays used in the Apple Vision Pro for example offer a density of almost 3,400 PPI).

Japan's Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) demonstrated its latest OLED microdisplay technology at Displayweek 2024. The 1.5" 3840x2880 (3207 PPI) display achieves a brightness of 15,000 by using a tandem architecture and a direct-emission design. The OLED deposition was performed using photo-lithography. 

This is an impressive display, with very high brightness. It surpasses LGD's 10,000 nits microdisplay also shown at Displayweek, which uses a white-OLED with color filter design, and a microlens array. It matches eMagin's 15,000 nits microdisplay, demonstrated back in 2023 - which is a single stack device.

BOE had a large demonstration at Displayweek 2024, showing several display technologies and many new panels and prototypes.

First up we have a slidable OLED display, one of the largest we've seen, at 31.6". The display offers a resolution of 5944x1672, a sliding distance of just over 260 mm (BOE says its the world's longest) and a sliding radius of 5 mm.

Samsung Display had a rather large booth at Displayweek 2024, showing its latest OLED displays and technologies. Samsung showed several displays - including foldable smartphone panels, laptop and tablet displays, two QD-OLED displays, its 9.4" round automotive AMOLED, and more.

One interesting display was a panel that combines a foldable and a rollable display, that can open up to an impressively large display. Samsung brands it as a Flex Note Extendable Display.

OLED microdisplay developer Seeya Information Technology has ordered OLED deposition (evaporation) equipment from Korea's Sunic System, in a deal worth $25.15 million.

Sunic Systems will provide Seeya with 12-inch (300 mm) OLED deposition tools. Sunic is developing direct-patterning deposition equipment, but it is not clear whether this order is for such tools or whether these will be the standard white OLED with color filter deposition.

eMagin announced that it developed (and demonstrated) a 15,000 nits WUXGA (1920x1200) full-color OLED microdisplay, setting a new world record (surpassing eMagin's own 10,000 nits record from 2021).

This new microdisplay was deposited using the company's direct-patterning (dPd) technology, which means that there are no color filters. This is a single-stack device, and eMagin says that in the future it could use a tandem architecture to improve the performance further.

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin reported its preliminary financial results for Q4 2022 - the company expects revenues to be in the range of $8.1-8.3 million, up from $7.2 million in Q4 2021. The company says this was a positive quarter with strong bookings. The company's open order backlog at the end of 2022 was $16.7 million.

eMagin says that this was its fifth consecutive quarter in which it achieved year-over-year growth in product revenue. The company was cashflow positive in the quarter and now has $4.2 million in cash and equivalents. eMagin expects the delivery of an advanced, production-capable, dPd organic deposition tool in the second quarter of 2023.

In 2021 The Korean government launched a new project that aims to develop technologies for the production of OLED microdisplays for AR applications. The project is led by AP Systems (APS Holdings), and aims to produce a direct emission OLED microdisplay with a resolution of 4,000 PPI by 2024. Earlier this year APS developed FMM masks that reached 1,000 PPI.

APS now announced that it has produced a 3,000 PPI direct-emission OLED microdisplay, based on its FMM technology. This is very impressive progress.

Reports from Korea suggest that Meta (Facebook) is in talks with both Samsung Display and LG Display, regarding the supply of OLED microdisplays and microLED microdisplays for its future AR and VR glasses.

According to the reports, dozens of executives from Meta have met with executives from LG Display and Samsung Display, and the discussions are still ongoing. According to other reports, Meta plans to use OLED displays in its upcoming VR glasses, and MicroLEDs in AR glasses that will hit the market at around 2026.

KT&T, established in 2020 as a spin-off from INT Tech with an investment of $143 million, has developed an OLED microdisplay that achieved a brightness of 12,000 nits, which is the highest brightness OLED microdisplay ever developed.

The new panel is based on KT&T's own uNEEDXR technology, which is a direct-emission (no color filters) design. The display achieves very high brightness and high efficiency.