samsung tft display vs amoled made in china

The flexible AMOLED panels made by Samsung Display have seen a rise in sales in China in the first quarter of this year, marking an increased penetration rate in the high end segments in the region over last year.

According to a DigiTimesreport, Chinese smartphone makers like Huawei, Honor, and ZTE have opted to use flexible AMOLED panels made by local display manufacturers, meanwhile, other local handset vendors like Xiaomi and Vivo are also using locally produced AMOLED displays for their mid tier models. The South Korean tech giant recently launched its E4 AMOLED panel, which arrives with an improved brightness of 1,500 nites over 1,200 nits from the previous generation.

This model is also capable of reaching a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1, which allows the display maker to continue growing in the Chinese market. Furthermore, the company has also lowered the prices of its rigid AMOLED panels that are now more affordable than the ones made from local Chinese vendors’ LTPS TFT LCD displays. Interestingly, Honor has launched the V40 series, which is its first smartphone since it was sold by its parent company Huawei.

The penetration rate of Samsung Display"s flexible AMOLED panels at the high-end smartphone segment in China in the first quarter of 2021 was higher than that seen a year earlier, Digitimes Research has found.

Among Chinese vendors, only Huawei and its spun-off Honor and ZTE have opted to adopt flexible AMOLED panels rolled out by local panel makers. Others, including Xiaomi and Vivo, were primarily using locally made AMOLED panels to produce mid-tier models.

Samsung Display"s newly launched E4 AMOLED panels improve the brightness of the displays to 1,500 nits from the 1,200 nits found in the previous model and reach a contrast ratio of 5-million:1, which has enabled the Korean panel maker to continue to make headways in the China market, Digitimes Research says.

Samsung Display has also lowered its rigid AMOLED panel prices, making those products more affordable than rival Chinese vendors" LTPS TFT LCD panels.

Honor has launched its first smartphone, V40, after being spun off from Huawei. The Honor V40 features a MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ CPU, with its AMOLED panels coming from BOE Technology and Visionox.

In addition to using E4 AMOLED panels from Samsung Display, Xiaomi has also purchased flexible AMOLED ones from China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) for its updated Xiaomi 10S model.

This rise of small, powerful components has also led to significant developments in display technology. The most recent of which, AMOLED, is now the main competitor for the most common display used in quality portable electronics – the TFT–LCD IPS (In-Plane Switching) display. As more factories in the Far East begin to produce AMOLED technology, it seems likely we will enter a battle of TFT IPS versus AMOLED, or LCD vs LED. Where a large percentage of a product’s cost is the display technology it uses, which provides best value for money when you’re designing a new product?

TFT IPSdisplays improved on previous TFT LCD technology, developed to overcome limitations and improve contrast, viewing angles, sunlight readability and response times. Viewing angles were originally very limited – so in-plane switching panels were introduced to improve them.

Modern TFT screens can have custom backlights turned up to whatever brightness that their power limit allows, which means they have no maximum brightness limitation. TFT IPS panels also have the option for OCA bonding, which uses a special adhesive to bond a touchscreen or glass coverlens to the TFT. This improves sunlight readability by preventing light from bouncing around between the layers of the display, and also improves durability without adding excess bulk; some TFT IPS displays now only measure around 2 mm thick.

AMOLED technology is an upgrade to older OLED technology. It uses organic compounds that emit light when exposed to electricity. This means no backlight, which in turn means less power consumption and a reduction in size. AMOLED screens tend to be thinner than TFT equivalents, often produced to be as thin as 1 mm. AMOLED technology also offers greater viewing angles thanks to deeper blacks. Colours tend to be greater, but visibility in daylight is lower than IPS displays.

As manufacturers increasingly focus on smaller devices, such as portable smartphones and wearable technology, the thinness and high colour resolution of AMOLED screens have grown desirable. However, producing AMOLED displays is far more costly as fewer factories offer the technology at a consistent quality and minimum order quantities are high; what capacity there is is often taken up the mobile phone market Full HD TFT IPS displays have the advantage of being offered in industry standard sizes and at a far lower cost, as well as offering superior sunlight visibility.

The competition between displays has benefitted both technologies as it has resulted in improvements in both. For example, Super AMOLED, a marketing brand by Samsung, involves the integration of a touchscreen layer inside the screen, rather than overlaid on it. The backlight in TFT technology means they can never truly replicate the deep blacks in AMOLED, but improvements have been made in resolution to the point where manufacturers like Apple have been happy to use LCD screens in their smartphones, even as they compete with Samsung’s Super AMOLED.

Aside from smartphones, many technologies utilise displays to offer direct interaction with customers. To decide whether TFT LCD will survive the rise of AMOLED technology, we must first recap the advantages of LCD. The backlit quality means that whites are bright and contrast is good, but this will wear down a battery faster than AMOLED. Additionally, cost is a significant factor for LCD screens. They are cheaper, more freely available and are offered in industry standard sizes so can be ordered for new products without difficulty.

It seems hard to deny that AMOLED will someday become the standard for mobile phones, which demand great colour performance and are reliant on battery life. Where size is an issue, AMOLED will also grow to dominance thanks to its superior thinness. But for all other technologies, particularly in industrial applications, TFT-LCD offers bright, affordable display technology that is continually improving as the challenge from AMOLED rises.

South Korea’s Samsung is the global leader in manufacturing OLED displays for smartphones, enjoying a market share of over 90% in terms of sales. However, Samsung faces rising challengers, including its compatriot LG and China’s BOE. We focus on BOE because it likely poses the biggest long-run challenge to Samsung, for two main reasons.

First, as a state-owned enterprise, BOE enjoys access to concessionary state financing, while many of its overseas competitors do not. Since OLED display manufacturing is extremely capital-intensive, the ability to secure capital is a big advantage. For example, BOE’s OLED production drive has already cost over $10 billion, most of which was borrowed from state banks. Second, BOE can better access end users of its products because Chinese smartphone brands are becoming dominant. For instance, Samsung’s share of the Chinese smartphone market has dwindled to 2% amid competition from the likes of Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, who have also increasingly turned to BOE as their OLED display supplier.

This case study examines the Apple iPhone Xs Max (OLED display supplied by Samsung) and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro (BOE) to compare the supply chains of the South Korean incumbent and its Chinese challenger. Although both supply chains are highly concentrated in East Asia, there is a key difference. Samsung’s supply chain is almost entirely vertically integrated, while BOE still relies mostly on foreign suppliers.

Cost: Samsung’s major advantages over BOE are cost and yield. An estimate posits that for Gen 6 mobile OLED displays, a 1% improvement in annual yield rate will save $20 million annually. Although BOE has managed to improve its yield rate from as low as 10% in early 2018 to between 50% and 70% in 2019, Samsung’s yield rate is 80%. So, BOE’s costs are still higher, but it is closing the gap.

Capacity: Samsung currently controls over 90% of global manufacturing capacity for smartphone OLED displays. Although BOE is quickly catching up, the Chinese company will still have less than half of Samsung’s capacity in 2022.

Downstream Relationship: Samsung’s dominance over smartphone display manufacturing has caused many of its customers to worry about potential over-dependence on a single supplier. Thus, many device makers are now looking for alternative suppliers as a hedge. And some of them, like Huawei, are turning to BOE.

LCD manufacturers are mainly located in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan. Almost all the lcd or TFT manufacturers have built or moved their lcd plants to China on the past decades. Top TFT lcd and oled display manufactuers including BOE, COST, Tianma, IVO from China mainland, and Innolux, AUO from Tianwan, but they have established factories in China mainland as well, and other small-middium sizes lcd manufacturers in China.

China flat display revenue has reached to Sixty billion US Dollars from 2020. there are 35 tft lcd lines (higher than 6 generation lines) in China,China is the best place for seeking the lcd manufacturers.

The first half of 2021, BOE revenue has been reached to twenty billion US dollars, increased more than 90% than thesame time of 2020, the main revenue is from TFT LCD, AMoled. BOE flexible amoled screens" output have been reach to 25KK pcs at the first half of 2021.the new display group Micro LED revenue has been increased to 0.25% of the total revenue as well.

Established in 1993 BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd. is the top1 tft lcd manufacturers in China, headquarter in Beijing, China, BOE has 4 lines of G6 AMOLED production lines that can make flexible OLED, BOE is the authorized screen supplier of Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc,the first G10.5 TFT line is made in BOE.BOE main products is in large sizes of tft lcd panel,the maximum lcd sizes what BOE made is up to 110 inch tft panel, 8k resolution. BOE is the bigger supplier for flexible AM OLED in China.

As the market forecast of 2022, iPhone OLED purchasing quantity would reach 223 million pcs, more 40 million than 2021, the main suppliers of iPhone OLED screen are from Samsung display (61%), LG display (25%), BOE (14%). Samsung also plan to purchase 3.5 million pcs AMOLED screen from BOE for their Galaxy"s screen in 2022.

Technology Co., Ltd), established in 2009. CSOT is the company from TCL, CSOT has eight tft LCD panel plants, four tft lcd modules plants in Shenzhen, Wuhan, Huizhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou and in India. CSOTproviding panels and modules for TV and mobile

three decades.Tianma is the leader of small to medium size displays in technologyin China. Tianma have the tft panel factories in Shenzhen, Shanhai, Chendu, Xiamen city, Tianma"s Shenzhen factory could make the monochrome lcd panel and LCD module, TFT LCD module, TFT touch screen module. Tianma is top 1 manufactures in Automotive display screen and LTPS TFT panel.

Panda electronics is established in 1936, located in Nanjing, Jiangshu, China. Panda has a G6 and G8.6 TFT panel lines (bought from Sharp). The TFT panel technologies are mainly from Sharp, but its technology is not compliance to the other tft panels from other tft manufactures, it lead to the capacity efficiency is lower than other tft panel manufacturers. the latest news in 2022, Panda might be bougt to BOE in this year.

Established in 2005, IVO is located in Kunsan,Jiangshu province, China, IVO have more than 3000 employee, 400 R&D employee, IVO have a G-5 tft panel production line, IVO products are including tft panel for notebook, automotive display, smart phone screen. 60% of IVO tft panel is for notebook application (TOP 6 in the worldwide), 23% for smart phone, 11% for automotive.

Innolux"s 14 plants in Taiwan possess a complete range of 3.5G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G, 6G, 7.5G, and 8.5G-8.6G production line in Taiwan and China mainland, offering a full range of large/medium/small LCD panels and touch-control screens.including 4K2K ultra-high resolution, 3D naked eye, IGZO, LTPS, AMOLED, OLED, and touch-control solutions,full range of TFT LCD panel modules and touch panels, including TV panels, desktop monitors, notebook computer panels, small and medium-sized panels, and medical and automotive panels.

AUO is the tft lcd panel manufacturers in Taiwan,AUO has the lcd factories in Tianma and China mainland,AUOOffer the full range of display products with industry-leading display technology,such as 8K4K resolution TFT lcd panel, wide color gamut, high dynamic range, mini LED backlight, ultra high refresh rate, ultra high brightness and low power consumption. AUO is also actively developing curved, super slim, bezel-less, extreme narrow bezel and free-form technologies that boast aesthetic beauty in terms of design.Micro LED, flexible and foldable AMOLED, and fingerprint sensing technologies were also developed for people to enjoy a new smart living experience.

Hannstar was found in 1998 in Taiwan, Hannstar display hasG5.3 TFT-LCD factory in Tainan and the Nanjing LCM/Touch factories, providing various products and focus on the vertical integration of industrial resources, creating new products for future applications and business models.

driver, backlight etc ,then make it to tft lcd module. so its price is also more expensive than many other lcd module manufacturers in China mainland.

Maclight is a China based display company, located in Shenzhen, China. ISO9001 certified, as a company that more than 10 years working experiences in display, Maclight has the good relationship with top tft panel manufacturers, it guarantee that we could provide a long term stable supply in our products, we commit our products with reliable quality and competitive prices.

Maclight products included monochrome lcd, TFT lcd module and OLED display, touch screen module, Maclight is special in custom lcd display, Sunlight readable tft lcd module, tft lcd with capacitive touch screen. Maclight is the leader of round lcd display. Maclight is also the long term supplier for many lcd companies in USA and Europe.

If you want tobuy lcd moduleorbuy tft screenfrom China with good quality and competitive price, Maclight would be a best choice for your glowing business.

Over time, the purpose of using mobile phones or Smartphones has changed. Comparatively, it has now become a basic necessity of every individual. Smartphone has dramatically transformed the lives of individuals. It has now become a mini-computer that everyone carries in their pocket. Instead, you can have multiple things at your fingertips in a few seconds. While there are plenty of things to look for, AMOLED vs OLED is also a part of it.

Before purchasing any Smartphone, everyone goes through a list of specifications. This list includes display type, screen size, battery backup, supported operating system, total internal memory, and many others. Today, we have brought a comprehensive study of the significant display technologies available nowadays.

This article will introduce you to AMOLED vs OLED display technologies. Then, we will discuss the properties of both display technologies, followed by the difference between AMOLED vs OLED.

It stands for Natural Light-Emitting Diode, a type of LED technique that utilises LEDs wherein the light is of organic molecules that cause the LEDs to shine brighter. These organic LEDs are in use to make what are thought to be the best display panels in the world.

When you make an OLED display, you put organic films among two conductors to make them. As a result, a bright light comes out when electricity is used—a simple design with many advantages over other ways to show things.

OLEDs can be used to make emissive displays, which implies that each pixel can be controlled and emits its very own light. As a result, OLED displays have excellent picture quality. They have bright colours, fast motion, and most importantly, very high contrast. Most of all, “real” blacks are the most important.  The simple design of OLEDs also makes it easy to create flexible displays that can bend and move.

PMOLED stands for Passive Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. The PMOLEDs are easy to find and much cheaper than other LEDs, but they cannot work for a long duration as their lifespan is very short. Therefore, this type of display is generally for small devices up to 3 inches.

AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. This type of display is generally for large platforms. It contains TFT, which further consists of a storage capacitor. It also works on the same principle as OLED displays.

AMOLED offers no restriction on the size of the display. The power consumption of AMOLED is much less than other display technologies. The AMOLED provides incredible performance. It is thinner, lighter, and more flexible than any other display technology like LED, or LCD technology.

The AMOLED display is widely used in mobiles, laptops, and televisions as it offers excellent performance. Therefore, SAMSUNG has introduced AMOLED displays in almost every product. For example, Full HD Super AMOLED in Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Super AMOLED in Samsung Galaxy S3, HD Super AMOLED in Samsung Galaxy Note, and HD Super AMOLED Plus in Samsung Galaxy S3. Apart from this, it is also used in AMOLED vs OLED creating the following:

So far, we have discussed OLED and AMOLED display technologies. Now, we will look at some of the differences between OLED and AMOLED display technology:

OLED comprises thin layers of the organic component, which emits light when the current passes through it. In this technology, each pixel transmits its own light. On the other side, AMOLED consists of an additional layer of thin-film transistors (TFTs). In AMOLED, the storage capacitors are used to maintain the pixel states.

While the technology is different among various manufacturers, Samsung’s edge AMOLED displays use plastic substrates with poly-Si TFT technology similar to how LG uses it in their POLED technology. This technology is what makes the possibility to build curved displays using an active-matrix OLED panel.

OLED display much deeper blacks as compared to AMOLED displays. You cannot see the screen in AMOLED display under direct sunlight. The AMOLED display quality is much better than the OLEDs as it contains an additional layer of TFTs and follows backplane technologies.

These organic compounds are present between the protective layers of glass or plastic. Comparatively, AMOLED comprises an active matrix of OLED pixels along with an additional layer of TFTs. This extra layer is responsible for controlling the current flow in each pixel.

The OLED display offers a high level of control over pixels. Hence, it can be turned off completely, resulting in an excellent contrast ratio compared to the AMOLED displays and less power consumption. On the other side, AMOLED has faster refresh rates than OLEDs. Also, they offer a tremendous artificial contrast ratio as each pixel transmits light but consumes more power than OLEDs.

OLED displays are comparatively much thinner compared to LCDs. Hence, it provides more efficient and bright presentations. In addition, OLED offers support for large display sizes compared to traditional LCDs. AMOLEDs remove the limitation of display sizes. one can fit it into any display size.

Putting all the points mentioned above in view, the key difference to understand appropriately is that POLED is an OLED display with a plastic substrate. On the other hand, AMOLED is Samsung’s word for its display technology which is mainly for marketing. Therefore, most phone manufacturers having AMOLED displays mean that they are using Samsung displays. It is as simple as that. To add to that, all the curved display technology is made possible because of the usage of the plastic substrate.

So, based on the points mentioned above, the difference between OLED and AMOLED displays, you can choose any of the two display technology at your convenience. Both are good, offer excellent performance, and are customised according to your requirements.

The AMOLED display has a higher quality than OLEDs since it has an additional layer of TTs and uses backplane technologies. When compared to OLED screens, AMOLED displays are far more flexible. As a result, they are substantially more expensive than an OLED display.

Window to the digital world, the display is one of the first seen features when selecting a smartphone, so a show must be good, and an AMOLED display offers the same. Offering a great viewing experience, here are the top 3 AMOLED screen smartphones available in the market right now:

Realme 10 Pro Plus 5G features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 394 PPI display. It runs on MediaTek Dimensity 1080. On the rear, the Realme 10 Pro Plus 5G has a triple-camera setup with 108-megapixel primary sensor, 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor, 2-megapixel sensor.

Coming to the front, it has a 16-megapixel selfie camera housed in the punch-hole display. It comes with a 5000mAh battery that supports 67W smart flash charging. The Realme 10 Pro Plus 5G is one of the best segments with a AMOLED FHD display.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G runs on MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset bundled with Mali-G68 MC4 graphics processor and up to 12GB RAM. The display front comes with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with FHD and 395 PPI.

The cameras have a triple rear camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. In addition, it has a 16-megapixel selfie camera. It has a 5,000 mAh battery with 67W fast charging. The AMOLED display on the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G is a treat for all media enthusiasts.

OPPO has recently launched the OPPO Reno8 5G with MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset coupled with Arm Mali-G77 MC9 GPU and up to 8GB of RAM. In addition, it comes with a 6.43-inch curved AMOLED display with support for HDR10+.

On the rear, it comes with a triple-camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide angle sensor, a 2-megapixel macro camera. In addition, it has a 32-megapixel selfie camera integrated inside the punch-hole on display on the front. It comes with a 4,500mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging and can charge the phone 100 per cent in just 15 minutes. Since it comes with an Full HD+ AMOLED display on the display front, it is a treat for gamers and media consumption lovers.

Smartphone displays have advanced significantly in recent years, more so than most people realise in this technological age. Display screens are similar to windows in the mobile world, which has seen a tremendous transformation in innovative products in the last several years. People have gotten more selective when buying a phone in recent years, and although all of the functions are important, the display is always the most noticeable.

Major smartphone manufacturers attempt to provide their consumers with the most delicate devices possible that incorporate the most up-to-date technologies. In AMOLED vs OLED, AMOLED is a type of OLED and a more prominent example of both OLED and POLED, so there’s no debate about which is superior.

AMOLED and TFT are two types of display technology used in smartphones. AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) displays are made up of tiny organic light-emitting diodes, while TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) displays use inorganic thin-film transistors.

AMOLEDs are made from organic materials that emit light when an electric current is passed through them, while TFTs use a matrix of tiny transistors to control the flow of electricity to the display.

Refresh Rate: Another key difference between AMOLED and TFT displays is the refresh rate. The refresh rate is how often the image on the screen is updated. AMOLED screens have a higher refresh rate than TFT screens, which means that they can display images more quickly and smoothly.

Response Time: The response time is how long it takes for the pixels to change from one colour to another. AMOLED screens have a shorter response time than TFT screens..

Colour Accuracy/Display Quality: AMOLED screens are more accurate when it comes to displaying colours. This is because each pixel on an AMOLED screen emits its own light, which means that the colours are more pure and true to life. TFT screens, on the other hand, use a backlight to illuminate the pixels, which can cause the colours to appear washed out or less vibrant.

Viewing Angle: The viewing angle is the angle at which you can see the screen. AMOLED screens have a wider viewing angle than TFT screens, which means that you can see the screen from more angles without the colours looking distorted.

Power Consumption: One of the main advantages of AMOLED displays is that they consume less power than TFT displays. This is because the pixels on an AMOLED screen only light up when they need to, while the pixels on a TFT screen are always illuminated by the backlight.

Production Cost: AMOLED screens are more expensive to produce than TFT screens. This is because the manufacturing process for AMOLED screens is more complex, and the materials used are more expensive.

Availability: TFT screens are more widely available than AMOLED screens and have been around for longer. They are typically used in a variety of devices, ranging from phones to TVs.

Usage: AMOLED screens are typically used in devices where power consumption is a concern, such as phones and wearable devices. TFT screens are more commonly used in devices where image quality is a higher priority, such as TVs and monitors.

AMOLED and TFT are two different types of display technology. AMOLED displays are typically brighter and more vibrant, but they are more expensive to produce. TFT displays are cheaper to produce, but they are not as bright or power efficient as AMOLED displays.

The display technology that is best for you will depend on your needs and preferences. If you need a screen that is bright and vibrant, then an AMOLED display is a good choice. If you need a screen that is cheaper to produce, then a TFT display is a good choice. However, if you’re worried about image retention, then TFT may be a better option.

Nauticomp Inc.provides world-class fully customizable touchscreen displays for commercial and industrial settings. With features like sunlight readability, brightness adjustability, infrared lighting, full backlighting, all-weather capabilities, etc., our displays are second to none. Contact us today to learn more.

Active-matrix organic light-emitting-diode (AMOLED) displays have many attractive features that have led companies to attempt to manufacture them, but

one country – Korea – currently accounts for the vast majority of AMOLED-display manufacturing capacity. Ambitious investment plans in China, Japan, and Taiwan could change this balance over the next several years.

AMONG the many compelling features of active-matrix organic lighting-emitting-diode (AMOLED) displays are image quality (wide color gamut, viewing angle, and high contrast), thinness, and weight (no backlight and the potential to be made on a single substrate, which could be plastic or metal), and manufacturing process (simple stack, small amounts of materials, and few optical films). During the decade since the first AMOLED displays were produced, dozens of companies have made at least some efforts toward mass production. Despite the promise of the technology, the reality has been that developing the equipment, materials, and manufacturing

processes to make OLED displays at high yield rates has been very difficult. Even the dominant firms, Samsung Display and LG Display, have struggled to scale

Through 2012, the vast majority of AMOLED-display manufacturing capacity has been in Korea, primarily with Samsung Display but increasingly with LG Display as well through investments in Gen 8 fabs for TV panels (Fig. 1). There is a great deal of uncertainty with regard to future production plans, but it is likely that there will be several new fabs in China, as well as a resurgence from companies such as Japan Display, Inc. (JDI), Panasonic, AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), and Innolux, all of which have implemented restructuring and consolidation of existing AMOLED-display fabs. The key to building out new capacity will be to master manufacturing technologies that enable scaling to large substrate sizes.

Fig. 1: AMOLED-display manufacturing capacity has been centered in Korea, but new or expanded production is expected in other countries over the next few years. Note: Taiwan capacity includes AUO’s Singapore fab. Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly FPD Supply/Demand & Capital Spending Report.

Samsung Display, the result of the merger of Samsung Mobile Display and Samsung Electronics’s LCD business, is the dominant producer of AMOLED displays, starting mass production in 2007 and accounting for more than 95% of shipments in 2012. The company’s capacity thus far has been built around Gen 4 and, starting in 2011, Gen 5.5 lines, which focus on displays for smartphones and other mobile devices.

These lines use the low-temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) approach for the fabrication of the active-matrix backplanes, which are then cut in half (for the Gen 4) or quarters (for the Gen 5.5) for organic-material deposition. Vapor deposition of RGB subpixels is achieved primarily via fine-metal-mask patterning. Samsung has been using its Gen 5.5 A2 line, which consists of five phases, to experiment with new manufacturing technologies, including laser-induced thermal imaging (LITI) for materials deposition, flexible substrates, and thin-film encapsulation. (For more about current large-area OLED-display manufacturing processes, see the article “RGB Color Patterning for AMOLED TVs” in this issue.)

LG Display did not start mass production of AMOLED displays for mobile devices until 2011, as it focused on high-resolution and wide-viewing-angle LCDs for mobile devices. The company also started out with Gen 4 production, but within one year, pilot Gen 8 production began, focusing on AMOLED-TV panels. The company began shipping 55-in. TV panels at the end of 2012, but is not expected to manufacture in large volumes until 2014, when it starts deposition on full Gen 8 substrates (it is currently using half Gen 8 sheets for organic-material deposition) in its M2 fab.

LG Display has adopted two new approaches in its Gen 8 fab – oxide-TFT backplanes and white OLEDs with a color filter. Both of these approaches are believed to enable scaling to larger substrate sizes – the oxide-TFT approach because it can use modified a-Si TFT processes and the white-OLED approach because it does not require the deposition of individual red, green, and blue organic emitters on the subpixels. In order to fabricate RGB subpixels, color-filter material is then patterned on top of the white-OLED emitting area. The process to add color filters is much easier than the process to deposit RGB organic materials.

Samsung Display has also announced that it will begin Gen 8 production, although the exact timing is not clear. This new fab will cut the LTPS backplane into six sheets for organic-material deposition. Samsung has been developing a proprietary evaporation technique called small-mask scanning, in which a linear vapor-deposition source is scanned along the mask, which is believed to allow for scaling to larger substrate sizes than is the case when using a fine metal mask with a point source. Samsung is also believed to be developing oxide-TFT backplanes and white-OLED deposition for future Gen 8 production, as it may be easier to scale than LTPS backplanes.

While Samsung will have the largest AMOLED-display manufacturing capacity through 2014, it is possible that LG Display could catch up in 2015 if it continues on its current Gen 8 investment path. Samsung would likely maintain its market share for some time, however, as it continues to increase smartphone-display production and is moving toward the production of panels for tablet PCs and other larger-screen sizes. The outcome may depend on whether Samsung pursues OLED TV as rapidly as LG Display or focuses instead on smaller, mobile displays.

Japan Display, Inc., (JDI) was formed via the merger of the mobile-display businesses of Hitachi, Toshiba, and Sony, and produces AMOLED displays using

Gen 2 (formerly Hitachi) and Gen 4 (formerly Toshiba) fabs; Sony did not transfer its AMOLED-display assets to the new company. JDI is planning to add new capacity to the Gen 4 line (organic deposition on half-substrates), with the capability to process WOLED or RGB. JDI has also acquired Panasonic’s Gen 6 a-Si LCD line and will install equipment to convert the fab to LTPS production in 2013, with organic-material deposition on the substrate cut into sixths.

Sony, historically a leader in AMOLED-display production, previously produced AMOLED displays for its Clie PDAs, as well as the first AMOLED TVs. Sony has maintained its facilities and integrated into Sony Semiconductor and is currently producing very-high-end AMOLED monitors for master video and medical applications.

Panasonic has been developing AMOLED-display production for years at its R&D center. In 2012, it installed ink-jet tools at a line in Himeji for AMOLED-TV pilot production. The company has been pursuing AMOLED-display production with oxide backplanes, ink-jet printing, and Sumitomo Chemical’s (much of the original patent portfolio was acquired from Cambridge Display) soluble polymer AMOLED materials (as opposed to more common small-molecule materials that are vapor deposited through a fine metal mask). In July 2012, Panasonic announced a joint development program with Sony based on printing technologies.

Other companies in Japan with ongoing AMOLED-display efforts include Epson, Ortus, and Sharp; however, none are anticipated to begin mass production in the near future.

AUO has two OLED lines for the production of small-to-medium OLED products, based on LTPS backplane and evaporation color patterning, a Gen 3.5 line, and a half Gen 4 line (AFPD in Singapore). In 2012, the company started a Gen 6 line using oxide-TFT backplanes and the full deposition of white OLEDs; it is believed that Sony’s 56-in. RGB 4K × 2K AMOLED TV was produced by AUO. Innolux owns a former TPO Gen 3.5 fab that uses LTPS backplanes with white OLEDs and a Chimei EL Gen 3.5 fab that previously produced bottom-emission AMOLEDs. Wintek has also been developing AMOLED-display production.

There are many panel makers in China that have built R&D lines for AMOLED production, including BOE, CCO, Shenzhen China Star Optoelctronics, IRICO, Tianma, UDT, and Visionox. Most of these fabs are Gen 2, with the exception of Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronic Technology’s (half Gen 4) fab, and all use LTPS backplanes and RGB patterning. BOE, China Star, Hehui Opto, IRICO, Lai Bao, and Truly have announced their intention to go into production with Gen 4 fabs over the next few years; BOE, China Star, Tianma, and Visionox are planning Gen 5.5 fabs, and Foxconn has announced its intention to build a Gen 6 line. Finally, BOE is planning a Gen 8 AMOLED-display fab for making TV panels in Beijing, using oxide TFTs and white OLEDs.

manufacturing, but the supply chain and human-resource pool are limited in some cases. However, a steady stream of new ventures is targeting AMOLED-display production. Among the newest players are IMEC, which announced that it intends to build a Gen 3.5 AMOLED fab in Nanjing, with help from JGroup. Blue Excited Tech-nology (BEX) plans to produce small AMOLED displays based on blue-coating technology developed at Xinyang Normal University; the company plans to build a Gen 4 fab using oxide-TFT blue OLED material and color conversion for color patterning.

Most existing AMOLED-display fabs are Gen 4 or smaller. This is due to limitations in scaling both the TFT backplane array and organic materials deposition to

larger substrate sizes. As with TFT-LCDs, there is an imperative in the AMOLED-display industry to move to larger fab sizes in order to increase revenues and reap economies of scale; so much of the industry focus is in these two areas of manufacturing technology.

In the past, AMOLED backplanes have been limited to Gen 4 substrates. This was because LTPS was the only TFT technology that was able to drive the OLED devices, which are diodes, with sufficient levels of current density. LTPS fabs were limited to Gen 4 because of the need for an annealing step that typically uses excimer lasers. Due to limitations in laser power, the Gen 4 substrate was the largest area that could be annealed by the laser in a reasonable amount of processing time. However, developments over the past recent years have reduced some of these barriers. First, more powerful excimer lasers, as well as multiple scanning, have enabled Gen 6 and potentially larger LTPS backplanes. Second, oxide-TFT technology, which is similar to standard a-Si TFTs but provides higher levels of current density, has been brought into mass manufacturing, enabling Gen 8 AMOLED backplanes to be produced.

It is common in AMOLED-display manufacturing to cut the TFT-array substrate down to a smaller size for the back-end process of organic-material deposition. This is due to limitations in the standard process for evaporating organic material from a point source through a fine metal mask to define the subpixels. The use of this technique at Gen 4 and larger sizes has been difficult, due to issues such as sagging of the mask, shadowing and angular-distortion induced by the large angles, and the necessity of cleaning the masks. Samsung has recently been working on scanning a linear source across a mask, which could address some of these challenges; another approach is vertical scanning, in which both the mask and substrate are oriented vertically.

To scale up to very large substrate sizes, however, it is likely that new approaches are needed (Fig. 2). Two that have been in development for some time are LITI and ink-jet printing. In LITI, the organic material is embedded in a sacrificial film that is put on top of the substrate and then exposed to a laser, which causes a transfer of the organic materials to the substrate. In ink-jet printing, the organic materials are suspended in solution, which is then forced through ink-jet print heads onto the substrate. While these techniques show great promise, neither has been put into mass production. (The January/February Industry News section of ID magazine discusses new ink technology developed by Merck and Epson for the manufacture of large OLED displays.)

Fig. 2: While the use of a fine metal mask is the most prevalent method for deposition the organic material layers in AMOLED displays, newer larger fabs are pursuing other approaches that might be more easily scaled to large sizes. Source: DisplaySearch.

The newest approach to be tried is the white-OLED approach combined with the use of color filters, which LG Display is using (as described earlier); in this approach, a single layer of white-emitting material is deposited on the substrate and a color-filter layer is used to define the RGB (sometimes RGBW) subpixels. This approach eliminates the need for separate deposition steps for each of the primary colors, a source of many of the challenges with fine-metal-mask deposition. A downside is the added complexity of a color-filter layer and the potential for lower efficiency due to absorption losses.

Several upcoming fabs are planning to adopt both oxide-TFT backplanes and white OLEDs, as these technologies appear to be most easily scaled to larger substrate

sizes. It should be noted that both of these techniques are new to mass production, and it is likely that there are unforeseen barriers to mass production that could impact schedules and output. Finally, it cannot be forgotten that AMOLED displays currently face competition from TFT-LCDs in virtually every screen size and application. Thus, it is imperative that AMOLED-display manufacturing costs, currently a multiple of equivalent LCDs in large sizes, come down dramatically. In some cases, notably in China, AMOLED displays are viewed as an entry into the FPD industry that has greater potential than LCD manufacturing, which has become mature and extremely competitive.

A different approach to the production of AMOLED displays could be in flexible displays. It is extremely difficult for LCDs to be made in fully flexible, or even curved, formats, due to challenges with cell-gap maintenance and backlighting optics. Technologies such as electrophoretic technology are very amenable to flexible

formats, but do not have the visual performance required for video and other key applications. AMOLED-display technology is one of the few display technologies that has demonstrated the ability to be made in thin, flexible formats with little diminution of display performance.

Both Samsung Display and LG Display are working on the production of AMOLED displays on flexible substrates and face a different set of manufacturing challenges; notably, manufacturing yield and performance of the TFT backplane on flexible substrates and the requirement for some sort of thin-film encapsulation to protect the organic materials. Neither of these challenges has been surmounted in mass production, and it is likely that we will see a series of steps, first using flexible substrates to make fixed, possibly curved, displays, and then moving to full flexibility in future product generations. •

In Taiwan.  It was formed in 2001 by the merger of Acer Display Technology Inc and Unipac Optoelectronics Corporation. It has G3.5 to G8.5 production lines.

In Korea and China. It is used to be the 2nd biggest TFT LCD manufacturers. LG also planned to stop the production but delayed the plan after the price increased. LG has G7.5 and G8.5 (Guangzhou) production lines.

In Korea. It used to be the biggest TFT LCD manufacturers before it was dethroned by BOE in 2019. Because of tough competition, Samsung planned to stop the production in 2021 but delayed because the price increase during the pandemic.  Samsung has G7 and G8.5 production lines.

In China and Japan. In 2011, Tianma acquired 70% share from NEC to rename as “NLT Technologies”. Tianma has G4.5 (Shanghai, Chengdu, Wuhan), G5 (acquired from SVA: SVA Information Industry Co.,Ltd.). G5.5 (Xianmen, Shanghai for AMOLED),  G6 (Xiamen, Wuhan for AMOLED).