Japanese panel maker JOLED has built its first printed OLED production line., according to the Chinese panel makers are also actively research and develop printing recently unveiled for the first time the BOE 55 inches 8 k OLED screen printing type, TCL Huaxing photoelectric also said flexible printing display technology is accelerating the industrialization process, its dominant Guangdong Hua flexible display technology research and development platform, has won "national printing and flexible display center". In the panel industry trough and the technology upgrade cycle, the next generation of display technology represented by printing OLED game has quietly begun.

More efficient technical solutions for large size products

Currently, there are three technological paths for OLED. First, WOLED technology pioneered by LGD is the most mature. But the material utilization rate is low, the steam plating process is difficult, the production cost is high, and LGD is the only representative of other panel manufacturers do not want to follow into this field; second, printed OLED, which prints the luminous material directly on the substrate after being dissolved, has a high material utilization rate and can achieve medium size at present. Third, Samsung chose the ROUTE of QD-OLED. At present, there are still technical problems in blue light life and quantum dot materials, which are still far from mass production.

Printing display is an important technology route, which can be very simple to achieve the top light technology, so that the luminous efficiency has been significantly improved, and the simple structure can complete the whole device function, power consumption will be reduced, and compared with white light OLED, color true reduction is higher. Fan Boyu, research associate at Trend Force, told China Electronics News that printing OLED is seen as a more efficient technology for producing large-size products, but it is not yet in mass production due to factors such as material and yield.

Dr Geng Yi, of CDI Think tank Integrated Circuits, told China Electronics News that the printed display could make up for the high cost of the plating technology. On the other hand, LGD OLED is WRGB, which maintains the advantages of OLED in contrast, but compromises color. If printed display is adopted, real RGB luminescence can be achieved, which will be another big breakthrough in OLED technology. If printed OLEDs work, it's a disruptive new technology for WOLED, and the addition of new players could help OLED get bigger and get rid of THE LGD one-man show.

Materials, equipment, yield and cost are key to maturity

In recent years, printing OLED technology research and development has been constantly advanced, materials enterprises, equipment enterprises and panel enterprises have layout. Fan Boyu pointed out that the current investment of mainstream manufacturers is only in the early stage, and the efficiency and performance of products have not been effectively improved due to technical and material problems, so there is no possibility of mass production for the time being. The development of printing OLED is still the key technology and materials can be breakthrough, so that product efficiency and performance is effectively improved, so that there is a chance to compete with steam plating.

There are several important links to promote the maturity of printing OLED technology. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the first is materials, the second is equipment, such as ink, precision and stability of equipment. From a product perspective, there are also two important factors, resolution and yield. As for the cost, as the technology continues to mature, the cost is expected to be significantly reduced, which will bring challenges to the large size of the steam plating technology OLED.

"There are three main challenges for printing OLED to achieve industrialization and real mass production. Second, high stability; Third, high efficiency." Ni Xiaofeng, senior director of flat panel LIQUID crystal display Department of Tepco (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. pointed out in the first World Display Industry Congress display materials and equipment sub-forum. In terms of high precision, first of all, the overall hardware of the equipment should realize some high precision control of mechanical motion, such as the 2-meter multi-size substrate of 8.5 generation. Secondly, the high precision printing of inkjet head is also very important.  Third, comprehensive environmental factors should be considered to minimize the impact of temperature and vibration. High stability, ink-jet head printing to ensure a high degree of accuracy, the maintenance of the entire system function is inseparable. In terms of high efficiency, a relatively high quality glass substrate must be made in a relatively short time, and three colors must be printed at the same time, otherwise the efficiency will be greatly affected.

In the short term, the niche medium size market is dominant

The market space for print displays is expected. IHS Markit expects global production of printed OLED panels to grow from 105,000 in 2020 to 1.3 million in 2024, with capacity per unit area rising from 209,000 square meters to 7.3 million square meters.

In terms of specific applications, Japan JOLED announced on its official website that the 5.5-generation production line at The Noemi plant will be capable of producing 20,000 units per month. The line will be mainly used in the field of on-board vehicles, medical care and high-end displays, with mass production planned for 2020.JOLED has revealed that its printed OLED panels are already on Toyota's concept cars as a dashboard display.

If the maturity of printing OLED technology is further improved, the market space of printing OLED will be gradually released, especially in the medium and large size, with a broad prospect. However, Fan admitted that if we want to enter the mass production stage, the initial stage can only target the niche medium size market, especially for special applications. JOLED, which started production in Japan, is also a product aimed at a more niche market, rather than the general consumer market.

The competition will be between China, Japan and South Korea.

"The future of the printed display panel debate will be between China, Japan and South Korea." Geng Yi told reporters. South Korea has a leading position in the OLED field and a technological reserve in printing OLEDs, while leading enterprises have also developed close cooperation with Korean universities.

Japanese companies have absorbed the lessons of their slow start in the OLED field and have made significant progress in printing OLEDs. Panel companies and equipment companies have layout. Compared with South Korea, Japan's advantage is still reflected in its complete industrial chain.

Chinese enterprises have long been layout of printing display, more out of their own technological innovation capacity to improve the consideration. TCL photoelectric aspects of ca has said that the company led Guangdong poly China are accelerating the industrialization process of flexible printing process routes of the show, and the progress of better than expected, and openly, as the industry mainstream manufacturers and more investment for the next generation display technology, this part of the technical progress and commercial situation is likely to exceed the cost of the everyone's expectations.

The establishment of the printing display innovation center under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has played a positive role in promoting the development of China's printing display industry. How to strengthen the strength of domestic enterprises in the upstream supporting field and better promote the development of the industry will be the key issues facing China's display industry.