Phosphorescent

Researchers from Korea's Pusan National University have developed an efficient deep-blue phosphorescent OLED emitter. The researcher say that their new materials has an EQE of 24% while the color point is CIE (0.149, 0.085).

According to the Korean press, the main achievement in this research was the adjustment of the doping concentration of a novel dopant (mer ‐Ir1) to optimize the balance of electron and holes in the light emitting layer.

TCL subsidiary China Star Optoelectronics (CSoT) signed an OLED technology license agreement and material purchase agreement with Universal Display (UDC). UDC will supply phosphorescent OLED materials CSoT to be used in its display products.

CSoT is currently producing flexible OLEDs in its T4 line which has a monthly capacity of 45,000 6-Gen substrates. Last week it was reported that CSoT is planning to build a new flexible OLED production line in Wuhan, in a $1.4 billion investment.

Universal Display reported its Q4 2019 financial results - revenues were $102 million, an increase of 45% compared to Q4 2018. Net income in the fourth quarter was $26.4 million.

Looking at 2019, UDC had a record year - with revenues of $405 million and a net income of $138 million. 2019 was a year of significant capacity additions, and 2020 will see less significant growth due to "capacity digestion". Looking into 2020, UDC sees revenues in the range of $430 to $70 million. UDC estimates that the coronavirus outbreak in China could lower its 2020 revenues by $40 - 50 million.

TADF, or Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence, is a relatively new class of OLED emitter materials that promise efficient and long-lifetime performance without any heavy metals. TADF research started at around 2012, originally at Kyushu University in Japan and today many academic groups and several commercial companies are developing TADF materials.

The main reason companies are interested in TADF emission is that it could lead to an efficient and long-lasting blue OLED emitter - something that hasn't been yet achieved by other means (mainly - UDC's Phosphorescent OLED emitter technology). In recent years companies initiated commercial development of red, green and yellow TADF emitters as these can offer a lower cost alternative to UDC's PHOLEDs materials.

Idemitsu Kosan and Toray Industries announced that the companies have jointly developed a red OLED device that is the world's most efficient emitter at 46 cd/A. The device uses a TADF emitter combined with red fluorescent materials (which likely means this is a HyperFluorescence device).

Idemitsu and Toray has been collaborating on OLED material development since 2017. This new device uses Idemitsu's TADF material combined with Toray's new red fluorescent material. The two companies say that this new material provides the same results as currently used red phosphorescent devices, and the plan is now to "drive forward to secure adoption of their materials" in mobile and TV applications.

Researchers from RUDN University in Russia have synthesized new OLED emitter compounds. These compounds seem to be phosphorescent emitters, based on copper and silver atoms.

The researchers say that the compound platform they created can lead to efficient and cost-effective OLED emitters, and also offer a special molecular geometry that can enable freedom-of-design for developers.

Universal Display reported its Q3 2019 financial results - revenues were $97.5 million, and net income was $37 million. This was another strong quarter for the company, which increased its 2019 guidance to revenues of $400 - $410 million.

UDC believes that year-end 2019 will have an installed OLED square meter capacity that is 50% larger than year-end 2017. In 2020 the company sees continued revenue and earnings growth. By 2021, UDC sees OLED capacity to increase about 50% again over year-end 2019.

The 2019 OLED laptops are now shipping, all with the same display, an SDC 15.6" 4K (3840x2160) AMOLED.

Reviewers from Notebook Check tested the Dell XPS 15 7590 OLED laptop to see how the power consumption of the display changes with the content used.

Universal Display and Merck announced that the two companies will collaborate on OLED research and development. The two companies will join their know-how to accelerate the development of new products.

This joint development program brings together UDC's leading-edge phosphorescent OLED emitters with Merck's state-of-the-art transport materials. The objective is to develop higher performing OLED stacks for OLED manufacturers around the world.

Universal Display reported its financial results for Q2 2019. Revenues were $118.2 million, the operating profit reached $48.7 million and net income was $43.4 million. UDC increased its 2019 revenue guidance to be in the range of $370 million to $390 million. The company ended Q2 with $553 million in cash and equivalents.

The Q2 results include about $15-20 million of orders that UDC estimates were pulled-in from the second half of 2019 as Chinese customers build up inventory for trade-related reasons.