OLED-TV Display/Monitor Technology News

OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display technology is set to make minor inroads into the TV market during the next few years, iSuppli predicts.

Now mainly relegated to handset displays, OLED TV shipments will rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 170.6% to reach 1.2 million units in 2012, up from 8,000 in 2007. Sales revenue for OLED TVs will increase to US$691 million in 2012, rising from less than US$1 million in 2007, iSuppli forecasts.

Sony spurs OLED TV talk

"Interest in OLED TVs has been stimulated by Sony's recent announcement that it will offer a product using the technology by the end of the year," said Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst for mobile displays at iSuppli. "Sony cited OLEDs' ultra-thin form factor and higher contrast and richer colors compared to conventional LCD TVs."

In response to Sony's announcement, Toshiba Matsushita Display (TMDisplay), the display arm of the con­sumer-electronics giant Matsushita, also announced acceler­ated availability of 20.8-inch active-natrix OLED (AM OLED) panels for OLED TVs, Jakhanwal added.

TV suitability

Indeed, AM OLED technology is suitable for TV in many regards, iSuppli believes. OLEDs offer fast response time, good color, high brightness, excellent viewing angles and high contrast ratios. Furthermore, OLEDs don't need backlights, making them potentially thinner than the alternative flat-panel technologies on the market.

Moreover, the resolutions needed in the TV market are attainable with OLEDs. OLED TVs in larger sizes, i.e. greater than 20-inches, could be sold by the 2012 timeframe. Most likely, these TVs will use polymer panels made by inkjet printing in the largest sizes, but small-molecule OLEDs made by evaporation techniques also could be used in TVs.

However, there are shortcomings to OLED technology that will prevent wider adoption in the TV market. The main challenges are poor manufacturing yields, limited lifetimes and pricing.

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