TCL

TCL CSoT says that it will start producing OLED displays using an inkjet printing process in the second half of 2024. This is excellent news and good to know CSoT is still on track for initial production in 2024. The company says it will first target the IT and medical sector. 

TCL demonstrated a new 14" 2.8K printed OLED panel, which could be one of the products the company aims to produce in its new line. The company says that the cost of producing OLEDs using its inkjet printed panels will be lower compared to the currently-used FMM based method, and its OLEDs will offer superior performance (in lifetime, mostly) as its process enables higher aperture.

Inkjet printing pioneer JOLED has filed for bankruptcy, following many years of struggles to increase production capacity and revenues.  According to earlier reports from Japan, display maker Japan Display will take over JOLED technology and remaining operations.

There are now reports from Korea that suggest that TCL's CSoT is considering buying JOLED's OLED production equipment, and moving it to China to attempt OLED production in-house using inkjet printing. If this plan goes through, the plan is to initiate production in 2024. It's not clear whether CSoT is in talks with JDI, or whether JDI did not take over the equipment from JOLED.

TCL CSoT had several interesting new OLED demonstrations at SID DisplayWeek 2023, all of which were produced by inkjet printing, which shows the company's commitment to the new production process.

First up is the company latest inkjet-printed panel, this time CSoT showed a 8K (7680 × 4320) 65" TV panel that is foldable (with a bending radius of 25 mm). The panel offers a peak brightness of 800 nits, a response time of under 1 ms and a refresh rate of 120Hz.

Most analysts seem to agree that global demand for OLED displays is set to slow down in 2023. DSCC says that revenues will decrease 7% in 2023, led by a drop in demand for OLED smartphone and TV displays. Omdia also agrees, saying that OLED fab utilization remains low.

China-based Sigmaintaell, meanwhile, is optimistic on China's own OLED industry, expecting production to jump 40% in 2023. Sigmaintell says that Chinese phone makers are increasing their adoption of OLED displays in high-end and mid-range models. The company's analysts expect over 220 million Chinese OLED panels to ship in 2023, and China's OLED market share to rise to 38%, up from 28% in 2021.

Update: TCL says it issued that statement by mistake, and it has no current plans to ship a QD-OLED TV in 2023

TCL announced that it is set to launch its first QD-OLED TV in the coming months. If all goes according to plan, TCL will be the third company (following Samsung and Sony) to offer QD-OLED TVs.

That's the only information we have so far. The TV will likely be offered in 55-inch, 65-inch and/or 77-inch sizes (the available QD-OLED panels today) with a 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 144Hz. That's the current QD-OLED standard.

TCL CSoT says that it has developed a new hinged-pixel design that can enable uniform stretchable displays.

The idea is to connect adjacent pixels with flexible hinges, so that when the display is stretched, the hinges make sure the pixels retain a fixed distance between them. The company says that this design can remain uniform for up to 40% expansion.

DSCC says that spending on equipment for the production of large area OLED panels (used in TVs and monitors) have decreased from $3 billion in 2019 to $2.05 billion in 2020, $1.47 billion in 2021 and will drop further to $1.42 billion in 2022.

DSCC estimates that in 2023, the spending on such equipment will be zero. But OLED producers will resume buying large OLED equipment in 2024. Spending in 2024 will amount $2.01 billion, and in 2025 - $1.51 billion.

TCL's CSoT demonstrated a new prototype AMOLED display - a 17" IGZO foldable panel, that was produced using inkjet printing. The company says this kind of panel can be used in tablets, monitors and laptops.

CSoT is progressing with its inkjet printing technology, and aims to start production in 2023. Last year the company demonstrated a 65" 8K inkjet-printed OLED TV panel, in addition to a 14" rollable panel.

TCL (CSoT) announced that the company has finalized the development of several new OLED technologies, which has been deployed at the company's production lines.

The first technology is LTPO, or Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide, an OLED backplane technology developed originally by Apple. LTPO enables variable refresh rates, and TCL's technology can support a wide range of frequencies, from 1Hz to 144Hz.

According to reports from China, TCL's CSoT has finished developing its polarizer-free OLED technology (PLP) as it gets ready to adapt its T4 production line in Wuhan to produce PLP LTPO AMOLED displays.

At DisplayWeek 2022, TCL demonstrated 8" 360-degree foldable PLP-LTPO OLEDs prototypes. PLP technology is especially useful in foldable displays thanks to their thin form factor. The company says that it will soon have a capacity of 15,000 monthly 6-Gen PLP-LTPO substrates at the T4 line.