Can OLED technology hold the key to the future?

Future consumer items with flexible and foldable screens have intriguing potential, and they may also be used in industrial settings including workplace apparel, smart infrastructure, and factories. I've already discussed innovative encapsulating and inkjet printing techniques that have made it possible to construct OLED displays on dynamically flexible substrates. Before we may all enjoy unfolding our electronic broadsheets on the drive to work, there are still other difficulties that need to be resolved.

Principal issues include power and efficiency.

If battery life is to live up to expectations, power and efficiency remain the two main issues. Next-generation smartphones with foldable displays will use more energy, but less battery space will be available when the display is folded up. In order to solve this, some intriguing new technologies are emerging to increase display efficiency. Blue is the key, as it is the OLED RGB pixel's least effective emitter. Phosphorescent materials, which have an extraordinarily high efficiency, are used in the fabrication of the red and green pixels of current-generation OLED pixels. Sadly, it has not been able to manufacture phosphorescent blue emitters, therefore these use older, far less efficient fluorescent materials.

How can OLED displays prolong the life of smartphone batteries?

A new technology called Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF), which is being developed by the German start-up Cynora, aims to significantly improve the efficiency of blue emitters and can also be used to improve red and green emitter efficiency, leading to significantly more efficient OLED pixels and lower overall power consumption. In the long run, battery-powered non-consumer applications and foldable displays for the mass market may both be made possible by this.

Large quantum dot OLED TV screens' architecture can be made simpler with the use of blue TADF emitters. Only blue emitters are used in QD OLEDs, and TADF will allow for a layer count reduction, lowering operating voltage and lowering manufacturing costs.

How will these innovative new screens get to consumers?

One of the most intriguing technological advancements taking place in the business at the moment is the combination of TADF, quantum dot, and microLED displays. The display supply problem is still evolving at the same time. Production has been shifting to China and Taiwan for a while, primarily as a result of price pressure from the consumer TV and smartphone sectors. We can anticipate some brand consolidation as mother-glass cost increases continue to rise.

On the other hand, young, focused enterprises with little resources frequently take the lead in the early creation of cutting-edge technologies. They may lack the size and strength required to properly commercialize the technology, therefore they will at the very least need to co-opt or possibly merge with larger firms even while they can offer the inventiveness and agility needed to flourish in non-consumer sectors.

In order to be in a position to advise our customers on when and how to take advantage of these exciting advancements in their new products, we at Anders, along with our partners, are researching new technologies, start-ups, and mergers and acquisitions.