AMOLED - introduction and market status - Page 11

In 2016, Researchers from Japan's Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) announced a new OLED device architecture, called ExTET ('exciplex triplet energy transfer'), that can increase the performance of OLED devices. The technology was applied for a patent in 2011.

The ExTET technology, which is a modification of the host material and the EML layer in phosphorescent OLED devices, have since been introduced to commercial AMOLED panels, increasing the efficiency and lifetime of the materials, while also lowering the drive voltage.

During the Mobile World Congress, many smartphones were announced (and some already released) that use AMOLED displays. Here's the current list of phones we added to the OLED phone database, although we're sure more phones will surface soon:

• Oppo Find X5 / X5 Lite / X5 Pro
• TCL 30/ 30+
• Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro / Poco X4 Pro
• ZTE Nubia Z40 Pro
• Honor Magic4 / Magic4 Pro
• Lenovo Legion Y90
• Oppo Reno7 Z 5G
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11E Pro

Some of these phones use very advanced displays, for example the Honor Magic4 with its 6.81" 120Hz 1,000 nits 1224x2664 LTPO AMOLED display and the Lenovo Legion Y90 Y90 with a 6.92" 144Hz 1,300 nits 1080x2460 AMOLED.

China-based Tianma announced that it has started producing flexible AMOLED displays at its 6-Gen production line in Xiamen. This is just the first production runs, it will probably take some time for Tianma to ramp up production.

Total investment in Tianma's new fab (TM18) is estimated at $6.8 billion USD and the monthly capacity will be 48,000 6-Gen substrates. The company says that this is the largest flexible AMOLED production line in China, and it is also the largest ever investment in Xiamen's history.

According to ETNews, BOE reduced its AMOLED production for Apple to about 2-3 months in February and March, down from around 9-10 million units it originally planned to produced, as the company failed to secure enough driver ICs.

ETNews says that LX Semicon (previously Silicon Works) cannot supply BOE with enough driver chips. Most of the company's chips will be supplied to LG's OLED panels.

Samsung launched a new range of mobile devices, most of which feature AMOLED displays. The new smartphone range starts with the Galaxy S22 which sports a 6.1" 120Hz 1300 nits 1080x2340 Dynamic AMOLED 2X, and the Galaxy S22+ which offers similar specifications but with a larger 6.6" AMOLED which is also brighter at 1,750 nits.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra features a 6.8" 120Hz 1750-nits 1440x3080 Dynamic AMOLED 2X, and also stronger specifications, including up to 1TB of storage, 12GB of RAM, a quad camera setup with a main 108MP sensor and an S Pen stylus.

TCL subsidiary CSoT is, according to report from Korea, interested in becoming an AMOLED panel supplier for Apple's iPhones.

CSoT has shipped sample panels to Apple, produced at its T4 OLED fab in Wuhan. If Apple's review is positive, CSoT will invest in a demo line for Apple, implementing new technologies required by Apple.

DSCC have released their 2021 and 2022 smartphone OLED shipment estimates. In 2021, DSCC says that 644 million smartphone AMOLED displays were shipped, up 28% from 2020. Our of these 644 million panels, 42% were rigid, 55% were flexible and about 2% were foldable.

DSCC says that it has downgraded its forecast for 2022, as both Honor and Huawei will no longer adopt rigid AMOLEDs in smartphones. Total shipments will reach almost 700 million panels, and all of the growth will come from flexible and foldable panels. In fact rigid smartphone OLED shipments are expected to decline in 2022.

Towards the end of 2021 we reported that Apple plans to launch its first AR headset in Q4 2022, powered by dual 4K OLED microdisplays, produced by Sony

According to Ross Young from DSSC, Apple first headset will actually be a VR headset, that uses a foveated display system. The headset will feature three displays - two 4K microLEDs (indeed produced by Sony) and one larger AMOLED display.

According to reports from China, Visionox has finalized its LTPO R&D project and is now starting to produce LTPO OLED displays. This will enable the company to compete with Samsung and other leading OLED producers for the high-end smartphone display segment.

Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide, or LTPO, is an OLED display backplane technology developed by Apple. LTPO combines both LTPS TFTs and Oxide TFTs (IGZO, Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) to enable variable refresh rate displays, and power savings of up to 15%. LTPO AMOLED displays are widely used today in high-end smartphones and other mobile devices.

OLED displays are rapidly gaining in popularity, and are already taking over various market segments like wearables and smartphones. However, for smaller scale projects it is often challenging to find the best OLED to suit the project's needs.

OLED producers usually only sell directly to very high volume customers, relying instead on distributors and suppliers for the rest of the market. This creates a fragmented market and makes it difficult to source the right display for your next device.

Luckily, our OLED Marketplace offers device developers a wide range of OLED displays, from wearable panels, through PMOLEDs and microdisplays to high-end flexible and foldable AMOLEDs. We believe this is the world's most comprehensive OLED catalog, which makes it easier to locate the perfect next-generation display.