Taiwanese And Chinese Firms to Challenge Korean AMOLED Display Panel Dominance In 2012

First some terminology: OLED stands for “Organic Light Emitting Diode” a burgeoning flat screen technology expected to eventually rival LCD and plasma. AMOLED stands for “Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode.” Active Matrix is a method for controlling individual pixels. AMOLED displays reportedly provide higher refresh rates than their passive-matrix OLED counterparts and consume significantly less power. A major advantage of OLED/AMOLED panels is that their pixels are self-illuminating, unlike traditional LCD screens which require backlighting. Consequently, OLED/AMOLED panels consume less power and facilitate longer battery life thinner form factors. They are also claimed to offer superior brightness, wider viewing angles, faster response time and higher contrast ratios, as well as being flexible – theoretically allowing “foldable” mobile phone and cameras, or even tablets and notebooks.

Downsides: AMOLED displays may be difficult to view in direct sunlight compared to LCDs because of their reduced maximum brightness, although Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology claims to address this issue by reducing the size of gaps between screen layers, and OLED/AMOLED, technology is still relatively expensive. However, Wikipedia notes that researchers at DuPont have developed optimized coating processes for a new solution-coated AMOLED display technology that is cost and performance competitive with existing commercial vapor deposition technology and commercially viable at large glass sizes.

Anyway, Digitimes’ Rebecca Kuo and Jackie Chang report that Taiwan-based panel makers AU Optronics (AUO) and Chimei Innolux (CMI) will both introduce AMOLED panel products in 2012 to compete against Korean rivals, notably Samsung and LG Display, which have been dominating the market for this technology that poses a strong challenge to TFT LCD in the display market. Samsung currently enjoys more than 90 percent of the small- and medium-size AMOLED market.

Kuo and Chang say AUO has showcased four different sizes of AMOLED panels in exhibitions and plans to introduce small- and medium-size AMOLED panel products in 2012, while CMI plans to ship small-size AMOLED products in Q3 2012. They also note that China-based competitors have also been expanding their AMOLED capacities, and will likely begin mass production of AMOLED panels in 2012-2013.

This intensified competition can only mean lower prices for consumers. OLEDs have been around for a decade, but perhaps their time is finally coming.