Researchers from the Korea-based ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) produced the largest OLED panel to date (370 x 470 mm) that use graphene electrodes.
From the photo above (and image below) it seems that this panel is actually made from 12 small OLEDs - but it seems that the graphene deposition itself was done on the whole substrate.
Researchers from the Technical University in Dresden have developed a method to produce polymer TADF emitting molecules. Up until now most TADF materials are based on small molecules or chromophores linked to a polymer network.
This research focused on actual polymer TADF, and using a controlled extension of the conjugation of the monomers HOMO wavefunction, the researchers were able to to increase thephotoluminescence quantum yield from about 3% to about 71%. The reseachers say that this is an encouraging first step towards polymer TADF emitters.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of East Anglia and the University of Eastern Finland developed soluble carbene-metal-amides light emitting materials that were found to be very efficient and reach an internal quantum efficiency of nearly 100% at high brightness.
The new materials look like propellers and the rotation of the molecules changes the light emitting efficiency. Those materials are made from copper or gold, but the researchers aim to find similarly-shaped materials that are free from rare elements.
According to the Korea Herald, Samsung Electronics demonstrated several new display technologies in a private room during the Mobile World Congress last month. All of these technologies are expected to enter production within the next year or two, according to the source quoted by the report.
The report claims that Samsung demonstrated a high-resolution AMOLED panel for VR applications. The AMOLED on display featured a 1,200 PPI - much higher than Samsung's current highest density displays which are 577 PPI. Samsung's aim is to reach 1,500 PPI which will greatly enhance the VR experience.
In November 2016 Sunic Systems announced that it developed an plane-source evaporation-FMM based AMOLED production process that can reach very high densities. The 100um mask announced in November can achieve a PPI of 1,500. This may be the system that Samsung is now testing. Sunic says that eventually this technology will enable even 2,250 PPI.
Researchers from Osaka University managed to create multi-color Mechanochromic Luminescent (MCL) materials. The materials were found to exhibit efficient TADF emission, and the researchers developed an efficient OLED device based on these new materials.
MCL materials change their color in response to a change in their environment - for example pressure or temperature. Most MCL materials can only change between two colors, but the new materials can switch between yellow, red and orange. The color shift occurs in response to heating, fuming, and grinding.
Researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology developed new electron injection layer and electron transport layer materials suitable for OLED displays produced on IGZO backplanes. The new materials, based on transparent amorphous oxides, were found to increase the stability of the OLED device.
The new materials are transparent, and chemically stable. The can be adopted for use in web processes - which means that low-cost production processes are possible.
Researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) developed a stretchable circuit that includes an OLED display, produced entirely using an ink-jet printer.
The researchers used special developed inks to produce both the circuits and the organic elements - and they say that the ink was also used to produce the substrate, but that seems rather unlikely.
Researchers from South China University of Technology developed a new OLED structure that promises to enable low-cost efficient fluorescent OLED devices. The so-called pn-OLED structure is inspired by p-n junction theory and inorganic LED design.
The pn-OLED uses a highly-efficient emission-layer-free OLED, in which the p-type and n-type organic semiconductors are sandwiched vertically between an ITO anode and a lithium fluoride/aluminum cathode. The luminescent center of the pn-OLED is located in the pn junction region. The light-emission behavior of this device is a result of the synergetic energy release from both the p-type and n-type materials. This is in contrast to conventional OLEDs, where the light generation occurs from single-molecule emitters.
CSEM and Sefar developed low cost flexible, transparent, highly conductive electrodes made of fabric substrates comprising flexible metallic wires and polymeric fibers woven together in a highly transparent and flexible polymer. CSEM and Sefar produced an OLED lighting prototype that uses a backplane based on these new electrodes.
Sefar calls this new backplane a fabric SEFAR TCS Planar backplane. These backplanes are manufactured using low-cost, high-throughput processes under standard ambient clean room conditions. The OLED lighting device prototype was deposited using a coating technology and is made from polymer solution materials.
LG is demonstrating a new technology which they call Crystal Sound OLED - which is an OLED panel that contains an embedded sound system. LG says that this technology is only possible with an OLED panel as it does not require backlights.
LG Display demonstrated a 65" Crystal Sound OLED - and the company says that it provides a better immersive viewing experience as the sound comes directly from the characters on the screen and not from an off-center sound speaker. LGD says it will unveil 55" and 65" 4K Crystal Sound OLED TVs in the future.
