flexible transparent lcd screen brands

OLED technology enables thin, efficient and bright displays and lighting panels. OLEDs are currently used in many mobile devices, some TVs and lighting fixtures. OLED displays offer a better image quality compared to LCD or Plasma displays - and can also be made flexible and transparent.

Several companies develop transparent OLED (also referred to as T-OLED) technologies. While there"s no inherent technology barrier towards transparent OLED displays, finding actual applications for such displays is not easy.

As of 2021, LG Display is producing 55-inch transparent OLED panels (used mostly in signage and commercial settings) while other companies produce small (around 1-2 inch in size) transparent PMOLED display. In April 2013 we posted a review of Futaba"s 2" 160x128 transparent PMOLED panel - which could be an interesting read even if this specific display is no longer in production.

OLED technology can be used to make lighting panels - these are thin, area-lit and efficient lighting panels, that can be made transparent. Unlike displays, transparent OLED lighting panels have more immediate applications (embedded in windows, for example). In April 2012 we posted our hands-on review with a transparent Tabola OLED lighting panel sample. As the OLED lighting market in general is still at an early stage, we do not see actual adoption and production of transparent OLED lighting.

The report package also provides a complete list of transparent OLED developers and makers and their current (and future) products, and a lot more. Read more here!

Universal Display Corporation is a developer and manufacturer of organic light emitting diodes (OLED) technologies and materials as well as provider of services to the display and lighting industries. It is also an OLED research company. Founded in 1994, the company currently owns or has exclusive, co-exclusive or sole license rights with respect to more than 3,000 issued and pending patents worldwide for the commercialization of phosphorescent based OLEDs and also flexible, transparent and stacked OLEDs - for both display and lighting applications. Its phosphorescent OLED technologies and materials are licensed and supplied to companies such as Samsung, LG, AU Optronics CMEL, Pioneer, Panasonic Idemitsu OLED lighting and Konica Minolta.

OLEDs can be printed onto any suitable substrate by an inkjet printer or even by screen printing,plasma displays. However, fabrication of the OLED substrate is more costly than that of a TFT LCD, until mass production methods lower cost through scalability. Roll-to-roll vapour-deposition methods for organic devices do allow mass production of thousands of devices per minute for minimal cost, although this technique also induces problems in that devices with multiple layers can be challenging to make because of registration, lining up the different printed layers to the required degree of accuracy.

OLED displays can be fabricated on flexible plastic substrates leading to the possible fabrication of flexible organic light-emitting diodes for other new applications, such as roll-up displays embedded in fabrics or clothing. As the substrate used can be flexible such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET),

OLEDs can enable a greater artificial contrast ratio (both dynamic range and static, measured in purely dark conditions) and a wider viewing angle compared to LCDs because OLED pixels emit light directly. OLED pixel colors appear correct and unshifted, even as the viewing angle approaches 90° from normal.

LCDs filter the light emitted from a backlight, allowing a small fraction of light through. So, they cannot show true black. However, an inactive OLED element does not produce light or consume power, thus allowing true blacks.

OLEDs also can have a faster response time than standard LCD screens. Whereas LCD displays are capable of between 1 and 16 ms response time offering a refresh rate of 60 to 480 Hz, an OLED theoretically can have a response time less than 0.01 ms, enabling a refresh rate up to 100,000 Hz . OLEDs also can be run as a flicker display, similar to a CRT, in order to eliminate the sample-and-hold effect that creates motion blur on OLEDs.

While an OLED will consume around 40% of the power of an LCD displaying an image that is primarily black, for the majority of images it will consume 60–80% of the power of an LCD. However, an OLED can use more than three times as much power to display an image with a white background, such as a document or web site.

Universal Display"s OLED screens currently feature in Samsung"s Galaxy S, S II and S III, S IV and S V smartphones. The Galaxy S3 sold 10 million units in the first three months after its launch in April 2012. Also, their Galaxy Note has sold 10 million units since launch.

In October 2013, Samsung released the first ever curved display smartphone called the Galaxy-Round. Samsung also introduced the "Roll Effect" where when the phone"s screen is off and is rolled, it displays basic information like time or battery percentage.

The Galaxy S5, launched in Feb 2014, has a 5inch Super AMOLED screen. The unique feature is the GS5 also has a new software feature - when the battery is low (10%), it switches to an ultra power-saving mode which changes the screen to monochrome, lowers the brightness and closes all "non essential" features. In this low-power mode, the GS5 can last up to 24 hours in standby on that 10% battery.

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Round smartphone in the Korean market in October 2013. The device features a 1080p screen, measuring 5.7 inches (14 cm), that curves on the vertical axis in a rounded case. The corporation has promoted the following advantages: A new feature called "Round Interaction" that allows users to look at information by tilting the handset on a flat surface with the screen off, and the feel of one continuous transition when the user switches between home screens.

In September 2013 Samsung unveiled their Galaxy Gear Smartwatch having a 1.6 inch OLED screen and multiple apps to link the watch to an Android (operating system) smartphone.

"Phablets" are defined as a device that has a screen between 5 and 7 inches and is part phone-part tablet. Examples include the Galaxy Note I, II and III. Samsung unveiled their Galaxy Note 3 at the IFA electronics show in September 2013. The Galaxy Note 3 has a 5.7 inch AMOLED screen.Galaxy Note 3 and say it is the best OLED screen they have tested and is superior to all LCD screens they have tested.

Cnet also reviewed the Galaxy Note 3 and had this to say about the AMOLED screen:"Trust me when I say that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3"s screen is simply gorgeous. Measuring a vast 5.7 inches across, the AMOLED display has an ultracrisp full HD resolution (1,920x1,080 pixels) which translates into an amazingly sharp 385ppi. That"s a level of detail that puts the smaller screens of the iPhone 5S (4-inch, 326ppi) and Samsung"s own Galaxy S4 (5-inch, 441ppi) to shame."

The Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is available in WiFi-only and 4G/LTE & WiFi variants. Storage ranges from 16 GB to 32 GB depending on the model, with a microSDXC card slot for expansion up to 128 GB. It has a 10.5-inch WQXGA Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels and a pixel density of 287 ppi.

The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is available in WiFi-only and 4G/LTE & WiFi variants. Storage ranges from 16 GB to 32 GB depending on the model, with a microSDXC card slot for expansion up to 128 GB.Full HD Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels and a pixel density of 359 ppi. It also features a 2.1 MP front camera without flash and a rear-facing 8.0 MP AF camera with LED flash. It also has the ability to record HD videos.

In June 2013 Samsung announced the Korean availability of a 55-inch curved OLED HDTV. Priced at 15 million Korean won (around $13,500). Samsung also reiterates the claim LG made when it launched its own curved OLED model that "keeping all parts of the screen an equal distance from the viewer makes for a better viewing experience."

With the arrival of Quantum Dot LCD displays, LG released an article describing why they still see OLED as the future of Television displays: "In fact, OLED technology is the technology that is so much advanced that it should not be compared to an LCD based QD. Hence, even though LG already has the technology to create QD backlighting, it is focusing on developing OLED".

Consumer Reports, an American Magazine covering reviews of consumer products, published their review of OLED televisions saying that their TV project leader, Claudio Ciacci, would pick LG"s OLED TV over every other TV model tested in 2014. "It has all the advantages of both LCD and Plasma Televisions without any of the weakness."

OLEDs enable screens to be made in curved or flexible format. Samsung"s flexible AMOLEDs will be fabricated on a plastic (Polyimide) substrate and will be able to withstand high temperature (up to 350-400 degrees). The displays can be bendable - but since the first products will use them inside rigid glass cases - so it"ll actually be "curved" displays and not flexible ones. A plastic based AMOLED will be shatterproof, and will also be lighter and thinner compared to glass based OLEDs.

OLED Info reports that for flexible displays on plastic, UDC"s UniversalBarrier single-layer encapsulation technology is being evaluated by Samsung. UDC has a working 6" R&D deposition machine for the encapsulation layer.Corning Glass have developed a flexible glass to help speed up the adoption of bendable OLED screens. "On Aug. 28 2013, Corning and AU Optronics announced that Corning is an important and strategic highperformance display glass collaborator for AUO’s line of AMOLED panels. AUO selected the Corning Lotus Glass platform based on the glass substrate’s outstanding thermal and dimensional stability. This aids AUO with efficient manufacturing during the high-temperature processes that are required to develop its AMOLED panels." Corning is also developing a Roll to Roll manufacturing process that will greatly reduce costs of mass-producing flexible displays.

UBI Research published a new report on flexible OLED displays, forecasting a very fast growth: from 20 million units in 2012 to 150 million units in 2013. UBI sees $6.3 billion in flexible OLED revenues in 2017. This is far more optimistic than the recent report by Markets&Markets who see the entire flexible display market at $3.2 billion in 2017.

The Flexible Display Center announced that it has successfully manufactured the world"s largest flexible color AMOLED prototype using advanced mixed oxide thin film transistors (TFTs). Measuring 7.4 diagonal inches, the device was developed at the FDC in conjunction with Army Research Labs scientists. It also meets a critical target set by the U.S. Department of Defense to advance the development of full-color, full-motion video flexible OLED displays for use in thin, lightweight, bendable and highly rugged devices.

"This is a significant manufacturing breakthrough for flexible display technology," said Nick Colaneri, director of the FDC. "It provides a realistic path forward for the production of high performance, flexible, full color OLED displays, accelerating commercialization of the technology in the process."

Universal Display"s Sid Rosenblatt talking about the future of OLED technology was quoted as saying: "Samsung is going to introduce flexible screens, but the flexible plastic substrates are difficult to manufacture. Plastic is porous and oxygen with moisture causes OLEDs to degrade. [However]...These kind of displays are unbreakable, flexible on stainless steel foil. It would result in a thinner device because you don’t have the pieces of glass. It could conform around the sides, so you can show information on the sides. It would be lighter. So you can either make it smaller or thinner or you can make a larger battery so that it lasts longer. The challenges are encapsulation, so you need an encapsulation process. The temperature is too high to deposit them directly to the plastic, so they do is they literally deposit them on glass." Further SID Rosenblatt thinks that flexible OLEDs will be initially a niche market for the high end.

iSuppli, a market research firm, sees the flexible OLED display market growing significantly from 2013 to 2020. Their estimates are from a market value of $21 million in 2013 to $100 million in 2014 and reaching $12 billion by 2020. IHS says this will bring about "unprecedented change(s) in flat displays".LG and Samsung believe that flexible displays will make up as much as 40% of the Smartphone maker by 2018.

At the Flextech Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, Plastic Logic and Novaled demonstrated a new, really bendable, and completely organic AMOLED display. OLED News said: "This is a very important technological advance. For the first time we have an entirely plastic AMOLED with backplane electronics manufactured in a special low temperature process. The industrial techniques applied open up real prospects of mass producing these displays at a very competitive unit cost." Plastic Logic CEO, Indro Mukerjee, spoke of 2014 as the year when wearable technology is going to really take off. He described the advance that has been made in the following: "Flexible electronics is a reality, already proven through the development and manufacture of plastic, bendable displays and sensors. For the first time a fully organic, plastic, flexible AMOLED demonstration has been achieved with a real industrial fabrication process. This marks the start of a revolution in wearable products, the next frontier in consumer."

In both LCD and OLED displays, producing these cells – which are highly complex – is by far the most difficult element of the production process. Indeed, the complexity of these cells, combined with the levels of investment needed to achieve expertise in their production, explains why there are less than 30 companies in the whole world that can produce them. China, for instance, has invested more than 300 billion yuan (approximately $45 billion USD) in just one of these companies – BOE – over the past 14 years.

Panox Display has been involved in the display industry for many years and has built strong and long-term partner relationships with many of the biggest OLED and LCD panel manufacturers. As a result, we are able to offer our clients guaranteed access to display products from the biggest manufacturers.

Founded in 2001, AUO – or AU Optronics – is the world’s leading TFT-LCD panel manufacturer (with a 16% market share) that designs, develops, and manufactures the world’s top three liquid crystal displays. With panels ranging from as small as 1.5 inches to 46 inches, it boasts one of the world"s few large-, medium -and small-sized product lines.

AUO offers advanced display integration solutions with innovative technologies, including 4K2K ultra-high resolution, 3D, ultra-thin, narrow bezel, transparent display, LTPS, OLED, and touch solutions. AOU has the most complete generation production line, ranging from 3.5G to 8.5G, offering panel products for a variety of LCD applications in a range of sizes, from as small as 1.2 inches to 71 inches.

Now Sharp is still top 10 TV brands all over the world. Just like BOE, Sharp produce LCDs in all kinds of size. Including small LCD (3.5 inch~9.1 inch), medium LCD (10.1 ~27 inch), large LCD (31.5~110 inch). Sharp LCD has been used on Iphone series for a long time.

Beside those current LCDs, the industrial LCD of Sharp is also excellent and widely used in public facilities, factories, and vehicles. The Sharp industrial LCD, just means solid, high brightness, super long working time, highest stability.

Truly’s factory in Shanwei City is enormous, covering an area of 1 million square meters, with a net housing area of more than 100,000 square meters. It includes five LCD production lines, one OLED production line, three touch screen production lines, and several COG, LCM, MDS, CCM, TAB, and SMT production lines.

Its world-class production lines produce LCD displays, liquid crystal display modules (LCMs), OLED displays, resistive and capacitive touch screens (touch panels), micro camera modules (CCMs), and GPS receiving modules, with such products widely used in the smartphone, automobile, and medical industries. The LCD products it offers include TFT, TN, Color TN with Black Mark (TN type LCD display for onboard machines), STN, FSTN, 65K color, and 262K color or above CSTN, COG, COF, and TAB modules.

In its early days, Innolux attached great importance to researching and developing new products. Mobile phones, portable and mounted DVD players, digital cameras, games consoles, PDA LCDs, and other star products were put into mass production and quickly captured the market, winning the company considerable market share.

Looking forward to the future, the group of photoelectric will continue to deep LCD display field, is committed to the development of plane display core technology, make good use of global operations mechanism and depth of division of labor, promise customers high-quality products and services, become the world"s top display system suppliers, in 2006 in the global mobile phone color display market leader, become "Foxconn technology" future sustained rapid growth of the engine.

The company has three LCD factories and one LCM factory. It has acquired state-of-the-art TFT-LCD manufacturing technology, which enables it to achieve the highest efficiency in the mass production of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display production technology. Its customers include many of the biggest and most well-known electronics companies and computer manufacturers in Taiwan and overseas.

TCL CSOT actively produces Mini LED, Micro LED, flexible OLED, printing OLED, and other new display technologies. Its product range is vast – including large, medium, and small panels and touch modules, electronic whiteboards, splicing walls, automotive displays, gaming monitors, and other high-end display application fields – which has enabled it to become a leading player in the global panel industry.

In the first quarter of 2022, TCL CSOT’s TV panels ranked second in the market, 55 inches, 65 " and 75 inches second, 8K, 120Hz first, the first, interactive whiteboard and digital sign plate; LTPS flat panel, the second, LTPS and flexible OLED fourth.

In order to ramp up production output, the company began construction of a 6th-generation AMOLED production line in December 2016, with a total investment of 27.3 billion yuan (almost $4 billion USD). The line, which has a production capacity of 30,000 glass substrates per month, produces flexible and rigid high-end AMOLED displays for use in smartphones, tablet pens, vehicle displays, and wearable devices.

Tianma Microelectronics was founded in 1983 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1995. It is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the production of liquid crystal displays (LCD) and liquid crystal display modules (LCM).

After more than 30 years of development, it has grown into a large publicly listed company integrating LCD research and development, design, production, sales, and servicing. Over the years, it has expanded by investing in the construction of STN-LCD, CSTN-LCD, TFT-LCD and CF production lines and module factories across China (with locations in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Wuhan and Xiamen), as well R&D centers and offices in Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

JDI (Japan Display Inc.) was established on November 15, 2011, as a joint venture between the Industrial Innovation Corporation, Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba. It is dedicated to the production and development of small-sized displays. It mainly produces small- and medium-sized LCD display panels for use in the automotive, medical, and industrial fields, as well as personal devices including smartphones, tablets, and wearables.

Recently Shenzhen Metro Line 6, Line 10, Beijing Metro Line 6 train glass window, the news of the emergence of transparent display is quite eye-catching, these transparent display and the window into one not only can display the weather, site information, but also Internet access, watch videos, shopping online stores.

Transparent displays can find many applications outside of televisions. Especially for a supplier such as LG, which itself is much more interested in areas such as outdoor billboards, or information display panels in companies and museums, than in televisions themselves.

The past decades of cell phone development history can also be seen, whether it is a transparent display, or transparent keyboard, such materials related to transparency in cell phones is not much, the actual landing of the product is only a handful.

Talk about the application of transparent screens on cell phones. You do not say, in the era of feature phones, cell phone manufacturers have really used transparent materials to do some niche devices.

The last time a transparent display was so eye-catching was at CES 2016, when Panasonic showed a transparent display in the form of a cabinet door, called the “invisible TV”; when it is not opened on a daily basis, it just looks like an ordinary transparent glass cabinet door. When it was opened, it was a TV that could display motion pictures. At that time, it was still a concept product.

One point to revisit here is the “self-luminous” nature of OLED screens themselves, which means that each red, green or blue sub-pixel on the screen emits its own light without relying on an additional backlight. Only in this way, OLED screens can eliminate the liquid crystal layer, backlight layer and other modules commonly found in traditional LCD screens, achieve higher color contrast, and in the form of thin and light enough to ensure. Thin, folding, bending, these screen forms are inseparable from the structural characteristics of the OLED screen itself.

The direction of transparent display technology is more diverse, such as LCD, OLED can be transparent. Here we put aside some unconventional transparent display technology, such as Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLens transparent display technology: this type of reality-enhanced AR glasses products, and sometimes with 3D display properties.

In addition, MIT has been working on developing a passive transparent display system with nanoparticle technology – this scheme uses a projector as an external light source to project the picture on top of a transparent medium (this transparent medium is embedded with a nanoparticle that can partially display the projected picture). There are also some current transparent display technologies that use similar projection schemes. These solutions are cheaper, but they are not the mainstream of transparent displays, at least not yet.

In the past two years we have seen more transparent displays, usually LCD or OLED transparent displays. It feels like we are back to the time when we discussed the flexible screen not long ago, divided into OLED flexible screen and LCD flexible screen two directions to do the discussion. So how do these two types of panels are transparent?

LG in a video briefly explained the principle of transparent OLED screen – it in the original red, green, blue and white four pixels, based on the addition of a “transparent sub-pixel”. This pixel does not emit light and does not participate in the image display, but it is itself made of highly transparent material.

Ultimately, when countless such pixels are evenly distributed on the panel, the screen will naturally obtain a certain transparency effect, but at the same time can also take into account the display of color images.

That’s why the transparency of transparent TVs is only around 30-40% at this stage, not 100%. After all, some sub-pixels are still used for image display, but as long as the density of transparent sub-pixels is high enough and the amount is large enough, it is enough to “fool” the user’s visual senses.

Making the screen transparent is only the first solution to the problem of transparent TV. After all, outside the screen, the back of the traditional TV set there are power, motherboard, audio and other devices, they can not disappear in thin air.

It is clear that the LCD screen originally had the basis to make a transparent screen. As for the OLED screen, the simplest example to support its transparency is that many smartphones now support under-screen fingerprint recognition (and even some have under-screen cameras), and these fingerprint recognition solutions are usually optical fingerprint recognition, which requires the screen itself to be transparent in order to achieve the purpose of still recognizing fingerprints under the screen. These screens are generally OLED screens, so it is clear that OLED screens naturally have this “transparent” feature. (For example, transparent electrodes ITO indium tin oxide material; some layers are thin enough so that the performance of translucent)

It can be said that the ‘coolness’ of the transparent TV is also the main reason why it is so desirable. Especially when you reach out to the back of the screen and see your palm intersect with the virtual TV content, that feeling is really fantastic.

Since you can DIY transparent display at home, screen transparency is not a black technology. Only these years the transparent screen research has always continued, the core issue should be how to increase transparency or screen light transmission. After all, DIY transparent display, and today’s Xiaomi transparent TV than in transparency or far worse.

This is also theoretically an important issue that affects both LCD and OLED transparent route. The previous article mentioned that LCD screen is the need for backlighting, which creates an obstacle for the full form of LCD screen to achieve transparency. In the early years there are some LCD transparent screen therefore removed the backlight system, with the help of external light source: either natural light, but artificial external backlight, to achieve the visualization of the screen. At the same time, LCDs also came with two polarizers (starters), which are components that affect the light transmission rate.

“While a typical transparent LCD screen requires a backlight to achieve a visible picture, a transparent OLED screen is made up of millions of self-illuminating pixels. This creates a whole new field of innovation…” And because the OLED layer structure is simple, it is also easier to make thin.

As mentioned earlier, these different layers originally have transparent properties. About contemporary panel manufacturers, there will be different layers to do further transparent technology. This part of the specific technical details we do not know. But the aforementioned Xiaomi transparent TV, subway windows transparent screen are OLED panels, it is not difficult to imagine the mainstream of today’s transparent display in which direction to go.

For example, many high-end supermarkets originally used a lot of glass in their windows to create a simple, transparent visual perception. LG now wants to replace all of this window glass with transparent OLED screens so that customers passing by can see both the products and the real-time changing information on the glass, which is also a means to enhance the experience.

Transparent displays for black are usually more valuable in terms of picture presentation, not only because the black background is easier to integrate into the environment (e.g., viewing in dim light), but also because the presentation of bright colors such as gold and silver is significantly more favorable and significantly better than transparent screens that display white transparently. In addition, the black part of the transparent is also to enhance the visual experience. Last year, when Panasonic showed its OLED transparent TV, it also added an extra black panel at the back to enhance the black presentation.

This is something that appears more valuable for the inherent use scenarios of transparent displays, such as store window item display aids, and various retail experience enhancements, all with transparent black displays, as well as enhanced bright color displays. This is also part of the reason why OLED transparent screens are more promising.

Although we do not know exactly what the different transparent display panel manufacturers are doing to optimize the transparency of each layer of the panel, some past materials and papers have revealed the industry’s efforts to achieve higher light transmission at certain levels of the panel. For example, the aforementioned Panasonic transparent TV, there is the application of transparency through the current control layer structure: transparent when energized, not energized transparency reduced (Figure below); and then the TFT layer of the backplane part of the display.

When discussing flexible screen technology, the TFT layer is also a key focus, after all, this is where the semiconductors converge, and the AMOLED active array pixel circuitry contains at least thin film transistors, storage capacitors, and depending on the desired display brightness, OLED efficiency and various parameters, the TFT is an important limiting factor for transparency. Depending on the desired display brightness, OLED efficiency and various parameters, the driver circuitry can occupy a significant size of the pixel, making the TFT an important limiting factor for transparency.

When the Panasonic transparent TV, as well as today’s Xiaomi transparent TV, close up and look closely is still visible in the fine grid embedded in the glass.

But the Xiaomi transparent TV grid, and its pixel improvement has a lot to do with. This is the recent OLED transparent screen to increase transparency efforts.

At present, the world has a transparent OLED screen mass production capacity of the supply side, there is only LG left. The panel used in the Xiaomi transparent TV is likely to be provided by LG.

At the same time, the circuitry is stacked behind the RGBW pixels, which gives the “transparent sub-pixels” a higher light transmission rate (of course, there are similar solutions with RGB sub-pixels and transparent areas). However, it seems that because of this reason, the pixel density cannot be too high. Although the Xiaomi transparent TV has a screen size of 55 inches, the resolution is 1080p.

Xiaomi will be the price of this transparent TV within 50,000, seems to be the beginning of transparent screen into the people’s home. Just from a practical point of view, such as the actual display effect of Xiaomi such transparent TV, than today’s mainstream TV is slightly far, although indeed futuristic, but in the ordinary home lighting environment, coupled with the messy background, the TV screen is indeed very difficult to see clearly.

From LG for its transparent panel positioning, such a product is not primarily for home entertainment services. In addition to its use as a subway train information interaction tool mentioned at the beginning of this article, it is more often used in electronic signage, merchandise / exhibits to assist in the display. Its name is “LG Transparent OLED Signage”. As a retail store merchandise display, it is still quite eye-catching, for example, as a product window display, integrated into the window glass, it creates a variety of interesting display scenes, very similar to reality enhancement.

In addition, LG in the promotion of its transparent display pre-determined a program, this display and the “video wall OLED Signage” to do combined. That is, there is a video wall OLED signage at the back, and then put the transparent display in front: so that the two in the common display screen, can create an immersive 3D viewing.

In the era of feature phones, with the increasing maturity of transparent display technology, we may soon see these transparent displays in many high-end retail stores and public infrastructure, just like the glass windows of trains in the subway. But it probably won’t be in our home entertainment anytime soon, as the screen now occupies almost the entire front of full-screen phones, so we can’t design a long “chin” or an abrupt “forehead” again, right?

LG Display, the world’s leading innovator of display technologies, announced that it has developed the world’s first 77-inch flexible and transparent OLED display. With this achievement, LG Display, recognized for its expertise in large-sized OLED technology, further reinforced its leadership in the global display industry.

The company’s newly-unveiled world’s first and largest flexible and transparent OLED display boasts an Ultra HD (UHD) resolution of 3840x2160 with 40% transparency and 80 radius of curvature. The panel can be rolled up to a radius of 80mm without affecting the function of the display.

LG Display has consistently advanced the fundamental technologies that enable large-sized flexible and transparent OLED displays in collaboration with the Korean government, which sees OLEDs as the future display technology. This innovative 77-inch flexible and transparent OLED display is just the latest in a long line of milestone products. LG Display unveiled an 18-inch flexible OLED panel with 30 radius of curvature that is rollable and an 18-inch transparent OLED panel in 2014, and a 55-inch transparent OLED panel with 40 percent transparency in 2016.

The global transparent display market size was USD 1.26 Billion in 2021 and is expected to register a revenue CAGR of 45.0% during the forecast period. Increasing usage of transparent displays in media & entertainment industries for advertisement and better user experience is expected to drive market revenue growth. In addition, rising innovation in display technologies will play a major part in the future of smartphones, laptops, and automobiles. Increasing innovations in micro-OLED technology have potential to bring Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) to the next level. Micro-OLED screens can be directly attached to single crystal silicon wafers that create more energy-efficient, self-illuminating displays. This technology is also suited for wearable devices and companies, such as Samsung, Apple, Sony, and others, are developing consumer electronics displays featuring micro-OLEDs.

Technological advancements in OLED display technologies for airplanes, cars, hotel rooms, and others are driving revenue growth of the market. On 02 January 2020, LG announced flexible and transparent 55-inch OLED displays designed to be installed on walls of airplanes to create a sense of openness and freedom in small cabins. These displays will show clouds, sky, and other peaceful things that will elevate passengers’ flight experience while traveling. Passengers can also turn off transparency if they want privacy. In addition, , according to US-based DPI Labs, a producer of airline cabin technology introduced 4K OLED screens for business and VVIP airplane cabins . In fact, in January 2021, the company successfully installed 55-inch and 65-inch OLED screens on VVIP Boeing 767. This installation includes a complete cabin management system consisting of passenger and cabin crew control panels, audio/video distribution, cabin control modules, and multi-colored LED cabin lighting.

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are interested in advanced forward-looking displays for mobility solutions. Manufacturers are taking initiatives, such as on 30 November 2021, Covestro and Ceres Holographics, a company based in Scotland announced to expand their collaboration to create transparent displays with volume holographic optical elements suitable for the car industry. With this collaboration, creation of vehicle-specific master designs will also be possible, which can subsequently be replicated as large-format HoloFlekt films and incorporated into glass.

Rising demand for OLED displays in the automotive sector is driving revenue growth in the market. Transparent OLED panels are also ideal for use in long-distance traveling by buses, trains, and other public transportation as they are surrounded by windows that can serve as displays showing information about routes, tourist attractions, weather, news, advertisements, and any others. Polymer Organic Light-Emitting Diode (P-OLED) technology replaces glass with polymers or plastic substrates and offers superior image quality and clarity in vehicles. In addition, Augmented Reality (AR) can be used on windshield displays, which offers more vivid and convenient information to drivers and also helps to decrease road accidents. Moreover, rising demand for autonomous and Electric Vehicles (EVs) is also increasing demand for Head-Up Displays (HUDs). Autonomous cars are built to communicate with other road users through exterior displays. Smart transparent display increases visualization and shows information such as vehicle’s driving mode, speed limit, visual detection of other vehicles and nearby pedestrians, and navigation instructions, which helps to increase road safety.

However, a complicated setup that occupies space and high cost of installation and maintenance are expected to hamper growth of the market. Transparent display technology is still developing, which has led to high manufacturing costs. Production of black images, limited viewing angle, limited brightness, and screen lag, and blur are some other factors restraining growth of transparent LED displays. Furthermore, materials used in OLEDs are impacted by environment, as they are sensitive to moisture and intense heat can discolor the screen, and its pixels are quickly burned. Compared to other transparent technologies, it also loses brightness significantly more quickly. These factors are expected to hamper revenue growth of the market over the forecast period.

Based on technology, the global transparent display market is segmented into OLED, LCD, and others. The OLED segment is expected to register a rapid revenue CAGR owing to various benefits and being more transparent than conventional LCD technology. Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) does not need a backlight source to reflect and create an image. Transparent OLED screens are self-emissive as they are made up of pixels. and panel allows light to travel through in both directions, which makes it transparent even after being turned off. OLEDs also have advantage of being 40% more transparent as compared to traditional LCDs, which can only reach up to 10% transparency. Manufacturers are using this advantage to replace LCD products with OLEDs. For example, LG launched "OLED Shelf," made with two transparent OLED screens, which smoothly integrates into any living room decorating and adds a touch of elegance by hanging off from shelf on the wall and is also best for displaying TV shows or gallery paintings.

Based on product, the global transparent display market is segmented into smart appliances, Head-Up Displays (HUDs), digital signage, and others. The smart appliance segment is expected to register a rapid growth rate during the forecast period due to rising demand for high-quality LEDs and laptops for gaming. Demand for gaming displays are surging since the onset of pandemic driving revenue growth in this segment. For example, LG is all set to launch its highly-touted 48-inch and 42-inch gaming OLED displays to the market by end of 2022. LG gaming range OLEDs have already received high praise from gaming community and are faster than conventional LCD counterparts.

Based on end-use, the global transparent display market is segmented into transportation & logistics, media & entertainment, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, and others. The media & entertainment segment accounted for largest revenue share in 2021 owing to high demand for OLED screens for better visualization. Transparent display technology provides angle-free and stunning Full High Definition (FHD) pictures, which is perfect for futuristic or hi-tech environments and creates incredible effects for media productions. Transparent OLED technology offers a visual effect with its impactful display solutions that is not attainable with other technologies, making it perfect for digital signage and prop/visual effects. Majority of companies now prefer to use transparent display panels for branding or advertising. As these screens provide a strong visual impact on audience by playing dynamic graphics or even 3D images continuously, leaving them with a lasting visual impact on the brand.

The North America market accounted for second-largest revenue share in 2021 owing to rising demand for cutting-edge corporate display solutions in public and private sectors to create next-generation working experiences. For example, at InfoComm 2022, Planar, a pioneer in visualization technology announced to showcase a number of cutting-edge video wall LED display systems. This system offers unmatched viewing experiences with its seamless, wide-view LED video wall displays, which are perfect for video conferencing, Unified Communications (UC), and hybrid meeting spaces. Rising demand for OLED transparent display screens in the media & entertainment industry is also contributing to revenue growth of the market in this region. Trains and bus companies in the U.S., Canada, and other countries in the region are also developing advanced technologies to use transparent OLED panels in subways, metros, and tourist buses to enhance safety and experience.

The Asia Pacific market accounted for largest revenue share in 2021 owing to advancements in transparent display technologies such as moveable screens and room dividers and presence of major companies such as LG Electronics, and others in the region. Moreover, Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shenzhen use transparent High Definition (HD) displays in subways and underground trains. Japanese East Japan Railway Company uses transparent displays on tourist trains routed between Akita and Aomori, which is also contributing to revenue growth of the market in this region. Mergers, collaboration, and partnerships are also driving revenue growth in the region. For example, on 09 December 2020, JOLED, which is a Japan-based company partnered with Germany-based AERQ to integrate medium-sized OLED displays in aircraft cabins.

The Europe market is expected to register a steady growth rate over the forecast period. Countries in Europe are more developed in terms of technology and infrastructure, which is creating major revenue opportunities for providers offering latest transparent display solutions. For example, UK-based tech firm Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is working on a new concept, an airplane with flexible screens and invisible walls, windows, and panels to display 360-degree images of the outside. These invisible walls will be covered with ultra-thin, lightweight, and malleable screens made from flexible OLED technology and will broadcast streaming high-quality footage of outside scenes of the plane. Removing windows entirely would significantly reduce weight of aircraft and will also reduce its fuel consumption and carbon footprint.

The global transparent display market is fragmented with many small, medium, and large-sized companies accounting for market revenue. Major companies are deploying various strategies, entering into mergers & acquisitions, strategic agreements & contracts, developing, testing, and introducing more effective transparent displays. Some major companies included in the global transparent display market report are:

On 03 January 2022, LG Display, a leading innovator of display technologies showcased its latest innovations at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022. OLED shelf, smart window, shopping managing showcase, and show window are some of the display concepts used by LG and it is made by using 55-inch Full-HD transparent OLED panels that provide 40% transparency. LG transparent high-end OLED technologies provide commercial, home, and office spaces with an innovative and new consumer experience.

For the purpose of this report, Emergen Research has segmented the global transparent display market based on technology, offerings, product, end-use, and region:

Transparent display technology surrounds us, even if we aren’t aware of it. In this article we look at transparent head-up displays, LCDs, OLEDs and transparent electroluminescent technology and delve into the pros and cons of the four main transparent technology displays.

However, if you think this is new technology, think again. While most transparent technology has come to the fore since the millennium, it was being used as far back as the mid-20th century.

In this article, we’re looking at four types of transparent tech which include typical projection head-up displays (HUDs), LCDs, OLEDs, and transparent electroluminescent displays (TASEL). We’ll look at the pros and cons of each and show you how transparent display technology plays an essential part in our working lives and free time. An explanatory

The first steps into creating transparent head-up displays can be traced back as far as 1937. However, it wasn’t until the 1950s, following perfections to the technology by the US and British Royal Navies, UK Ministry of Defence and, finally, the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1958, that the first true projection ‘head-up display’ was incorporated into aircraft.

There is also an emerging technology calledTASEL, which makes it possible to laminate displays in glass and show information without a projection system. However, as this a different transparent technology, we’ll mention thislaterin the article.

The most common transparent projection HUD is a display composed by a piece of flat glass used to project images in front of the pilot. This allows the pilot to keep their head up (hence the name ‘head-up display’) so they’re not distracted by looking down at their control panel for information during flight.

Why have we included LCDs as a transparent display when, at first glance, they’re not truly transparent? In fact, we’re only able to see the information on our monitors, such as laptops, with the introduction of a backlight and a reflector shield.

Take these away and we see true transparency of the LCD display - which is something Samsung did in 2012 with the production of theirSamsung Transparent Smart Window.

LCDs are also one of the most popular screens on the market and this rise occurred early in the 21st century when liquid-crystal-display sets rocketed in popularity. In 2007, LCDs eclipsed sales of competing technologies like plasma, cathode ray tube, and rear-projection TVs.

They were thinner and lighter, easier to scale. And for the manufacturers, the cost of production was lower, so it’s easy to see how LCD displays quickly became a favorite with manufacturers and consumers.

Organic light-emitting diode displays, orOLEDsfor short, are a step up from LCDs when it comes to transparent technology. For starters, unlike LCDs, OLEDs do not require the use of a backlight or any other filters due to the use of pixels which produce their own light.

The organic materials used in OLEDs are affected by the environment, they’re sensitive to moisture and screen discoloration occurs if subjected to direct sunlight and heat

Lumineq’s Transparent Electroluminescent displays consist of a glass panel with a luminescent phosphorous layer and a circuit board. The circuit board contains the drive and controls which are connected directly to the glass panel making the panel light up.

The transparent electroluminescent displays are good solutions for transportation vehicles such as cars, buses, trucks, trains, trams, boats, and airplanes because they can be laminated in glass and turn windows/windshields into information and functional displays.

It’s viewable from all angles, is visible in all types of weather conditions and is theonlytransparent display capable of working in the most extreme environments, from the freezing temperatures of the Arctic winter to the blistering heat of a desert summer.

However, due to the limitation of monochromatic images, transparent electroluminescent displays shouldn’t be used as entertainment screens in vehicles - they should be used to display only the most critical information in the eye-line of the driver without distractions.

This comparison of different transparent display technologies is conducted by the Ph.D. reseracher Jose Rosa for theImmerSAFE project. The project stands for "IMMERSIVE VISUAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR SAFETY-CRITICAL APPLICATIONS".

Each transparent display has its positives and negatives, and they’re all fantastic ways to showcase transparent display technology at its best when applied in areas which suit their purpose perfectly.

Lumineq’s transparent electroluminescent displays are ideal in transportation vehicles, heavy machinery, such as tractors, and optical devices, like range-finders and night-vision goggles.

To read how in-glass technology is making giant strides in optical devices, read our post ‘Bring augmented reality to optical devices with transparent displays’, or to find out more about Lumineq"s transparent electroluminescent technology,contact ustoday.

As exciting as these unlimited possibilities are, they also create a new need for understanding and embracing the benefits of see-through displays. The eBook from below will provide you with ideas, inspiration, basic guidelines and industry examples for designing transparent displays for vehicles – from cars, tractors, and ships to aircraft.

GhosT Display product line allows our customers to create true see-thru installations with this virtually frameless display solution. Its innovative OLED technology eliminates the requirement of a backlight offering strong vivid colours and ultra-wide viewing angle, but also an impressive transparency of 38%!  Dark image contents appear transparent and bright image contents opaque to potentially mask products behind the display.  The GhosT OLED range has been specially developed for the professional AV market and has been upgraded from previous versions of the Translucent OLEDs available and is suitable for Retail, museum, exhibition / trade shows, corporate headquarters as well as interactive applications and environments.

The GhosT T-OLED can be easily installed in walls or tables (see below), used as a stand-alone solution or as a transparent video wall and even made touch interactive thanks to the various product versions and the associated flexibility. For every kind of installation there is the optimum configuration available with a wide range of accessories (see below). All OLED products come with a 3-year warranty.

Based on the LG 55EW5F-A base open frame solution the GhosT T-OLED solution / Transparent OLED screen has been re-engineered to create a better and more reliable mechanical solution for open areas whether that be rental or fixed space applications. As you can see below the highly engineered solutions have helped take the LG base OLED panel to the next level to make it easier and more flexible for our customers and the end users / brands. This is not just a Transparent OLED panel but rather an optimised T-OLED solution for our customers and partners applications.