OLEDs: Innovations, Manufacturing, Markets

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The OLED industry is slowly moving from smartphones and TVs to IT and automotive. The global OLED production capacity for smartphones is 1 billion units, and the Chinese smartphone market is rapidly increasing the use of OLEDs, so LCD lines below 6G will gradually lose their value. The ignition of the OLED market for IT is driving investment in 8.6G equipment. The investment in OLED lines for IT by Korean and Chinese companies is expected to start with tablet PCs and expand to laptops and monitors. Increased investment in OLED for IT will also depress the value of 7G LCD lines. Expectations for micro-OLED market growth are being fueled by Apple Vision Pro. Korean display companies are also investing in mass production equipment in anticipation of MR device market growth. The Korean display industry, which has the best OLED manufacturing technology, will dominate the micro-OLED market.

10Kppi RGB OLEDoS should be in mass production for the success of XR industry in the near future.The presentation will discuss about the dual step FMM evaporator including the high resolution evaporation source, the high resolution FMM and the high resolution vision aligner.

GB direct patterning of OLED on Silicon display is the key technology for XR displays. FMM (Fine Metal Mask), FSM (Fine Silicon Mask) are good candidates for RGB direct via VTE (Vacuum Thermal Evaporation). 3000ppi OLED panel is successfully developed.

Augmented Reality eyewear is one of the most demanding applications in terms of technology, compactness, weight, and picture quality. The display is certainly at the heart of its requirements, as it will determine many of its features.OLED is clearly the mainstream technology for most of the near-to-eye applications, for applications from consumer cameras, to professional cameras, to industrial and military applications such as night vision, thanks to its compactness, low power consumption and superb picture quality.In this presentation, we will highlight the evolution of OLED technology, and how OLED can directly contribute to breakthroughs in the design and development of AR devices at the system level.

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CREDOXYS’ innovative p-dopant platform based on Cerium complexes enables OLED stack design without compromises. It offers ultra-low absorption for high efficiencies and tunable doping strength, effectively addressing pixel crosstalk as well as next-gen OLEDs with phosphorescent blue emitters.

In OLED, blue is the critical weak point. beeOLED now pioneers intra-metallic Europium emitter that offer a unique combination of deep blue single peak emission spectrum, open shell electronic configuration for 100% efficiency, and potential of high operational stability as no organic bonds are weakened during light generation. This will help OLED-displays to become more power efficient than today’s LCD screens for applications as mobile, tablets, monitors, and TVs.

Jacky Qiu received his MASc. degree in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Toronto. He is the co-founder and Sr. Vice President of OTI Lumionics where he takes lead in market research, industrial communications, financial and operational activities. He has 10+ years of experience working on OLED devices and technology. He co-authored 39 technical papers and holds 11 granted and pending patents. Abstract: This talk will discuss challenges and opportunities for transparent OLED in large and mid-size displays in novel applications set in a variety of industries. Similarity between transparent display and under display camera will be highlighted and potential for sensor integration is discussed. New panel design, process technology and materials to allow for higher optical transparency, sharper image and better OLED performance will be discussed.

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Traditionally manufacturing of electronic components has not been sustainable as the involved process steps waste a lot of material and require large amounts of energy and use toxic agents. Typically, electronics are manufactured via a cycle of homogenous functional material application, exposing of the design onto the applied material and material stripping of which can result in extensive wastage of the functional material. A more sustainable approach to electronics manufacturing is offered by inkjet and EHD as these technologies are built on an additive approach to manufacturing instead of a subtractive one. By additively applying functional material only where required according to the final product design, material and energy waste is minimized while increasing throughput at the same time due to eliminating the need for design specific tooling and reducing the amount of equipment required. This approach can be applied to a multitude of industries that profit from reducing functional material waste such as the manufacturing of displays, electronics, automotive, glass, semiconductor, 3d printing or solar. Inkjet printing of functional materials is a digital structuring process that can be used for a contactless application of a wide range of different materials without the need of a mask. It is suitable for mass production as well as to produce small batch sizes and for rapid prototyping due to the high potential to customize the individual printed structures. The process involves transferring metals, polymers, and ceramics into low viscous inks in the typical range of 2-15 cPs at processing temperature. These inks can then be applied to a surface by jetting the material through individual nozzles of a print head. For drop on demand placement required for the manufacturing of electronics typically piezo based print heads are used. These print heads can be equipped with over one thousand nozzles each. By integrating multiple print heads into one inkjet printer brings the total to multiple thousand nozzles per system. This in turn allows printing on large surface areas and enables high throughput electronics manufacturing with printable surface areas ranging from the micrometer to the square meter scale. By combining multiple print heads, each with their own ink delivery, it is possible to print multiple materials in one inkjet printing system which in turn allow the fabrication of highly advanced multiple material electronics in an additive fashion. Depending on the material printed, single dry layer thicknesses of 50nm – 20µm can be achieved. By printing multiple passes high layer thicknesses and three-dimensional objects can be manufactured such as lenses, sensors and displays. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing is an alternative method to conventional inkjet printing of functional materials. The key difference between piezo based inkjet and EHD inkjet is how the energy is created to eject the individual droplets from the nozzles. Whereas inkjet uses piezo elements within the printheads to push ink from the inside, EHD utilizes electrical fields to pull out the ink by potential difference between ink and substrate. By this focused application of energy to eject ink from the nozzle it is possible to eject submicron droplets which in turn allows creating structures with feature sizes of < 0,5 µm. The other key advantage of focusing energy is being able eject droplets of highly viscous ink with < 10.000 cPs at working temperature. The EHD MEMS printhead approach makes it possible to have thousands of individual EHD nozzles in close proximity to one another, while still being able to address each nozzle individually and increases the working distance between the printhead and the substrate to >1mm. This new MEMS printhead approach brings an unprecedented scalability to EHD printing. The print head design is key to enable stable and high throughput printing with EHD in different modus operandi such as a high-speed vector printing, digital multi nozzle printing or bitmap printing. EHD is compatible with a wide range of materials such as nanoparticles, small molecules, polymers, salts, melts and biomolecules.

Sinovia Technologies is using flexographic printing to fabricate bottom-emitting OLEDs. This is enabled by our proprietary transparent conductive anode, developed in house. Our anode is additively printed roll-to-roll at under 100 micron resolution, serving as the foundation of an entirely roll-to-roll fabrication process. Flexographic printing allows us to create arbitrarily-shaped OLED designs without any need for etching or photolithography. This includes dynamic segmented and passive matrix displays with a cost structure on par with the LCD and LED assemblies used in IoT and other smart product applications.

While OLEDs are traditionally regulated to display technologies, they have seen increasing demand in recent years for lighting. Inorganic LEDs are often the go-to choice for lighting in the modern world. Still, their excessive heating, high power demands, and use of scarce elements require alternatives for transportation, AgTech, packaging, medical devices, and wearables. Such demand results in the need for materials that enable rapid OLED manufacturing on a large scale without sacrificing efficiency, do not utilize scarce elements, and lower power consumption. Margik will present the importance of novel solutions for charge transport materials, which play a crucial role in performance efficiency and can assist in lowering turn-on voltage. Our multifunctional transport materials are based on coordination compounds and utilize elements from p-block.

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Flat panel displays become ever more stunning in terms of color gamut, form factor and efficiency. Fluxim provides advanced physics-based simulation software and measurement hardware to accelerate the product development cycles. The scope of the simulation software includes device stacks, pixel arrangements and display color gamut & power consumption. The presentation will cover the technology trends and how Fluxim’s modeling and measurement tools can boost related R&D efforts. Some background and methods implemented in our tools as well as an outlook is given, too.

The accurate modeling of complex multi-scale molecular structures poses a significant challenge in computational chemistry, particularly in addressing the intricate properties of OLED materials. While considerable efforts have been devoted to developing precise methods for simulating either isolated molecules using ab-initio quantum chemistry techniques or larger structures using classical mechanics, the demand for accurately describing highly complex systems like OLED materials necessitates an integrated approach, as OLED properties are governed by intricate quantum mechanical interactions arising from numerous intermolecular forces that depend on the material’s composition. To address this challenge, SCM has developed a comprehensive workflow that enables the seamless simulation of OLED materials, leveraging cutting-edge methods encompassing both classical and quantum approaches, allowing researchers to expedite the development of new OLED stacks by screening and selecting the most promising combination of materials. This streamlined approach not only accelerates the discovery process but also enhances the efficiency of materials design and the optimization of next-generation OLED technologies. The workflow comprises two primary steps: molecular component deposition and property simulation. In this presentation, we elucidate our workflow, present key findings, and unveil the latest advancements that enhance the accuracy of our results. Our approach not only facilitates the exploration of OLED material properties but also marks a significant step towards understanding and optimizing these crucial technologies. Additionally, the results from our atomistic calculations can be used in mesoscale kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations for device-level modeling, enabling the prediction of external quantum efficiency, J-V curves, and other important device characteristics for OLED stacks.

Toray Research Center (TRC) provides analytical services worldwide to R&D and industrial customers. TRC possesses a variety of analytical instruments and continues to introduce the latest technologies. This presentation will introduce TRC's analytical technologies applied to OLEDs and displays. We will also present a case study of our recently introduced analytical technology applicable to disp

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This presentation will showcase Carbene-Metal-Amide (CMA) emitters and their advanced properties for use in OLEDs. The science behind the highly promising materials will elucidate why CMA emitters have emerged as an appealing choice for next-generation OLED applications. Examples featuring deep-blue and UV-OLEDs will demonstrate desirable performance enhancements achieved through strategic CMA emitter implementation. Participants will gain valuable insights into the future potential of CMA emitters and how this may influence the future of OLEDs.

The efficiency and stability of single-layer polymer light-emitting diodes is compromised by unbalanced charge transport, the absence of triplet-exciton harvesting and low photoluminescence quantum efficiencies. We demonstrate that using thermally delayed activated fluorescence emitters in combination with trap-free transport internal quantum efficiencies of unity are obtained, resulting in high external quantum efficiencies of 28%. Our results show that OLEDs with a simplified single-layer structure can rival the efficiencies of complex multilayer stacks.

This presentation will introduce the phosphorescent organic light emitting devices (PHOLEDs) lifetime problems and lifetime extending techniques. Due to their vibrant colors and high efficiencies, PHOLEDs have been widely used in both display and lighting applications. However, stability remains a significant issue for blue PHOLEDs, hindering their widespread application. In the recent study, the polariton-enhanced Purcell effect has been found to efficiently increase the device operational lifetime by a moderate estimate of 10-14 times compared to the reported similar PHOLED devices up to date. The newly discovered plasmon-exciton-polaritons (PEPs) and cavity structures enable phosphors to emit faster without compromising their external quantum efficiency. The increased radiative emission rate in an optical cavity, known as Purcell effect, is modulated by the Purcell factor contributed by the PEPs. Our results also show the analytical dependence for the device lifetime on the Purcell factor, emission color etc. This method can be combined with other lifetime extending techniques, paving the way for stable, efficient PHOLED display and lighting applications.

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This talk delves into the role of plasmonic nanoparticles in transforming Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). Beginning with an explanation of plasmonics, we explore different plasmon types, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and localized surface plasmon resonance. The discussion covers the basics of Plasmon Resonance, shedding light on how it influences OLED performance. We then delve into the details of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance over nanoparticles, unraveling how these nanoparticles boost fluorescence in fluorophores. Examining the placement of nanoparticles within OLED structures, we address the crucial question of optimal positioning for maximum efficacy. Insights into the specific purposes served by these nanoparticles underscore their potential to enhance emission efficiency and contribute to groundbreaking advancements in the OLED field.

Breakthroughs in advanced materials are driving the next generation of OLED displays, sensors, and extended reality (XR) devices. Not surprisingly, high‐index materials are now considered an essential enabling technology for these next‐gen displays. The inks must deliver excellent film quality and precise patterning via various patterning techniques with high RIs, high transmission and low haze. For OLED displays, improved light outcoupling via structured MLAs is one key approach towards improving light outcoupling efficiency and brightness while lowering energy consumption. In parallel, inkjet printing has emerged as an established coating technique on display production lines. Until now, conventional display manufacturing technologies relied on polymer‐based materials. Refractive indices (RIs) for these materials typically top out at 1.6. In contrast, Pixelligent’s PixJet® and PixNIL® products deliver RIs ranging from 1.65 to 2.0. In his talk, Pixelligent’s Vice President of Product Development and Strategy, Neil Pschirer, will discuss the innovation behind the company’s materials including PixCor™, the only commercially available material that delivers refractive indices > 1.80, with the highest optical clarity, while dramatically improving UV stability.

The rapidly evolving landscape of organic electronics demands innovative approaches for the design and development of materials, particularly for display applications. This presentation showcases the integration of machine learning and physics-based simulations for OLED material design and development. We explore the synergies between these computational techniques, unraveling the intricate thin-film morphology and electronic properties that underpin the performance of organic electronic materials. Viewed through a multidisciplinary lens, we navigate the complexities of OLEDs, uncovering key insights that drive the next generation of efficient and high-performance devices. From understanding electronic transitions at the quantum level, morphology at the molecular level, to harnessing machine learning for accelerated material discovery, this presentation highlights the transformative impact of leveraging multiscale computational methodologies. We delve into several case studies, demonstrating how these computational tools empower researchers to predict, optimize, and tailor OLED materials for higher performance. Addressing the challenge of managing extensive data in OLED design, we highlight Schrödinger's informatics and collaboration tool, LiveDesign. This dynamic, cloud-native environment democratizes digital design processes, providing R&D teams with unified access to diverse tools such as physics-based modeling, advanced cheminformatics, and machine learning. LiveDesign streamlines collaboration and efficiency, overcoming limitations in expert availability and promoting innovation. This presentation serves as a guide for researchers and industry professionals, pointing towards a future where computational insights drive the design and development of next-generation OLED materials.