Sumitomo Chemical has announced new materials that can simplify the process of creating OLED displays (using colour filters), by combining the RGB materials into a single white OLED material that can be deposited by inkjet printing, according to the Nikkei. At the moment, separate layers of at least three colours, plus the transport layers for each have to be used. This should improve yields and reduce cost compared to current methods.
Sumitomo’s OLED process has fewer layers – we heard in February that LG currently uses 22 layers in making its TV panels. Image:Sumitomo
Analyst Comment
It seems that these materials and techniques may be behind the development by Joled of a printed monitor OLED panel that is being bought initially, by Sony. There are also reports that Sumitomo (which bought CDT back in 2007) has proposed to LG Display that it should switch for TV production in 2019. However, as we have mentioned many times, inkjet printing has been ‘close to a breakthrough’ for close to 15 years! (BR)
