Panel manufacturers such as LG, Samsung, and BOE are fiercely competing for priority access to Tokki G8.7 evaporation machine to expand their application of OLED displays – we know how that is not going so well for BOE. Technologies like Samsung’s vertical evaporation and the commercialization of blue phosphorescent materials (think UDC), along with more aggressive development by Chinese manufacturers, are expected to push the expansion of OLEDs in the display industry and increase competitiveness.
The latest report from TrendForce puts the global value of OLED materials at an estimated to reach $2.23 billion in 2022, with a YoY growth rate of 30%, and production values are expected to reach $3 billion by 2025. OLED production involves synthesizing intermediates from raw monomers, processing them into precursors, and sublimating and purifying them into terminal OLED materials, with technological barriers. The purity of these materials after sublimation is expected to be very high, allowing for gross margins as high as 10–20%. The technology and patents for terminal materials are concentrated within a few foreign manufacturers, but the booming market has led to an influx of upstream manufacturers, gradually breaking down past technological barriers.
| Material | Description | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Main host (light-emitting layer) | Organic material that emits light when stimulated by an electric current | DuPont, LG Chemical, Samsung DSI, Merck, Tokuyama, Idemitsu Kosan |
| Guest material (dopant) | Organic material that is added to the host material to adjust the color of the emitted light | DuPont, LG Chemical, Samsung DSI, Merck, Tokuyama, Idemitsu Kosan |
| Functional layers (with electron or hole transport properties) | Organic material that facilitates the transport of electrons or holes between the electrodes and the light-emitting layer | DuPont, LG Chemical, Samsung DSI, Merck, Tokuyama, Idemitsu Kosan, Lordin |
| Red and green phosphorescent dopant materials | Organic materials that emit red or green light more efficiently than traditional fluorescent dopants | UDC |
| Blue light-emitting materials | Organic materials that emit blue light when stimulated by an electric current | DuPont, LG Chemical, Idemitsu Kosan, Merck, Ruilian New Materials |
