UBI Research has published a report on the state of the white OLED (WOLED) industry. WOLEDs, with colour filters, are commonly used in OLED TVs, as they are easier to mass-produce than the RGB OLEDs used in smaller displays such as smartphones.
The additional costs to improve RGB OLED displays at large sizes would make them uncompetitive. Therefore, WRGB (white) OLEDs are the only other option, in UBI’s view.
(Left) WOLED Display Shipments to 2020; (Right) 55″ WOLED Display Revenues to 2020
At SID 2014, UBI heard that those making WOLED displays have 80% yield rates. In 2015, UBI estimates that supply will reach 600,000 units – up 40% from 2014 – and 1.6 million in 2016.
Solution-process technology, such as printing, is being developed ‘in close pursuit’ of WOLED technology. However, UBI estimates that it will take three-to-four years for mass production to compete.
WOLED technology will dominate for at least five more years, with around 150 million display units out of 1 billion OLED displays (including small-size) in 2020. Large WOLED displays for the TV market will reach around 16 million units in 2016, and by 2020 revenues will grow to $13.7 billion.
Analyst Comment
We published an article on this as a Display Daily recently. (Is Samsung Looking at a Change in its OLED TV Plans?)
