Category Archives: FPDs and TFTs

North American quantum dot manufacturer Quantum Materials Corp today announced it is increasing production capacity to 2000 kilograms (2 metric tons) of quantum dots and nanoparticles per annum in Q2 2015. The Company is able to leverage short development timelines to plan for increasing quantum dot production and anticipates further production expansion during the remainder of 2015.

“We have achieved quality, uniformity and scalability goals with our patented continuous-flow manufacturing process,” said Quantum Materials Corp CEO Stephen Squires, “and so are making the investments in production capacity and people to meet market demand for high-quality quantum dots. We have also made great strides in ramping-up volume production of both Cadmium-core and Cadmium-free (aka heavy-metal free) quantum dots. We perceive Cadmium-free quantum dots will drive future use, particularly in electronic goods destined for highly environmentally-regulated regions such as the European Union.”

The company has made significant capital investment in new automated nanoreactors, expanded lab space and scientific staffing to fulfill quality and quantity requirements for quantum dots in consumer electronics applications. Quantum Materials’ patented continuous-flow process produces quantum dots in the high volumes, uniformity and reliability needed for integration into UHD 4K LCD display, solid-state lighting, solar and biotech manufacturing industries. Up to this point, competitors’ batch synthesis methods have inhibited quantum dot-use in consumer electronics due to the limitations of a highly manual process in controlling quantum yield, color purity, volume production and the resultant higher production costs.

The company also released today an informative video detailing heavy–metal free quantum dot use and benefits in LCD display manufacturing.

Quantum Materials is at the forefront of Cadmium-free quantum dot development to allow manufacturers to meet and stay ahead of future environmental regulations governing dangerous materials in consumer electronic devices. Quantum dots are easily integrated into the industry-standard thin-film roll-to-roll inkjet and surface deposition technologies currently used in existing LCD display production lines and other next-generation printed electronics.

Quantum Materials executives CEO Stephen Squires and Senior Director of Business Development for Asia and the Pacific Toshi Ando are meeting with major LCD manufacturers at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). They will be participating in the Distributed Computing Industry Association’s (DCIA) “Internet of Things (IoT) Marathon” webcast.

Global shipments of diagnostic displays are forecast to grow at a 5 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), between 2014 and 2018. According to the latest DisplaySearch Specialty Displays Report, larger high-resolution wide-aspect-ratio displays are starting to become more popular, but 21.3-inch displays had a 67 percent share of unit shipments and a 65 percent share of revenues in the first half of 2014.

“The majority of future shipment growth will take place in emerging regions, not in developed regions, where much of the growth has previously occurred,” said Todd Fender, senior analyst professional and commercial displays for DisplaySearch, now part of IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS). “At the county level, brands are looking to China, as the largest opportunity of growth, followed closely by Latin America.“

Fig. 1

Veteran radiologists who were trained on, and had previously read, images on traditional x-ray film using light boxes have been the driving force behind the continued strength of 21.3-inch displays with a 4:3 aspect ratio; however, as younger doctors enter the workforce, the legacy of film and grayscale-only images will slowly fade away. For example, in the first half of 2014, 43 percent of diagnostic displays were grayscale, but by 2018 these displays will represent just 34 percent of the market.

In today’s traditional picture archiving and communication (PACS) display ecosystem, multiple displays are used to review and read images; however, this configuration may lead to lower productivity and faster eye fatigue. Larger and higher resolution single screens have entered the market over the last few years, in an attempt to reduce or eliminate these issues. Displays with 6 megapixels (MP) to 10 (and higher) MPs are forecast to increase over the next several years, as users migrate from multiple screens to single-screen viewing.

Table 1

Clinical Review Displays and Surgical Displays

Similar to diagnostic shipments, clinical-review-display shipments are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4 percent, between 2014 and 2018.  More than eight in 10 (83 percent) of clinical review display sizes fall between 19 inches and 22 inches, and 98 percent have a resolution of 2 MP or lower. “There will be a gradual shift to 4 MP and 8 MP wide aspect ratio displays as availability increases and as prices fall,” Fender said.

Surgical display shipments are forecast to grow more than any other medical-imaging category, reaching 7 percent CAGR between 2014 and 2018. Although almost half of surgical displays fall between 15 inches and 20 inches, the fastest area of growth is forecast to be in displays that 55 inches and larger, which are expected to grow at a 23 percent CAGR between 2014 and 2018. Additionally, 8 megapixel and 9 megapixel displays will grow significantly between 2014 and 2018; however, neither resolution will make up a large portion of the surgical display market.

“Larger displays are becoming more affordable, and they are being installed in surgical rooms as medical on-site and virtual professional collaboration becomes more popular,” Fender said. “Larger screens are much easier for multiple viewers, and many are also used as live teaching devices.”

LCD TV makers are responding to the challenge of OLED, with quantum dot (QD) technology, curved screens and other innovations. According to new information from DisplaySearch, now part of IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), in order to boost consumer value in the LCD television market, 4K ultra-high-definition (UHD) enhanced-color LCD TVs, using quantum dot (QD) technology will become available in 2015, with 1.3 million shipping worldwide. Shipments of quantum dot TVs are expected to grow to 18.7 million in 2018.

“While LCD technology undisputedly dominates the TV scene, manufacturers continue to innovate, in order to bring additional value to consumers,” said Paul Gray, director of European research at DisplaySearch. “The launch of new 4K UHD services promises to foment another round of innovation, as content creators bring richer, deeper colors to their art. Curved screens are also a popular feature this year, but there will be limited opportunity for growth, as the market for this feature is expected to peak next year.”

Based on information in the DisplaySearch Quarterly TV Design and Features Report, ITU-R Recommendation BT.2020 (rec.2020) colors promise a new level of fidelity that beyond the range of current high-definition TVs. “While broadcasters and cinematographers have begun to capture such images, the television industry has just started to respond to the challenge,” Gray said.

Fig 1

“Quantum dot is one of the weapons that the LCD industry is using to create ever more faithful images, which are very close to the full viewable range of the human eye,” Gray said. “Broadcasters are finalizing their plans for UHD, but they very clearly want there to be more to their UHD services than simply extra pixels. Richer colors work on any screen size, regardless of one’s visual acuity, and subtle shading increases the perception of reality. Quantum dot is part of the LCD industry’s response to the challenge posed by OLED technology and its use demonstrates that there is still room for innovation.”

Curved LCD TVs

A similar response to the challenge posed by OLED can be seen in the emergence of curved LCD TVs, which proves that LCD has further opportunities for innovation. In fact 1.8 million curved TVs are expected to ship in 2014, peaking at 8.2 million in 2016 and 2017. DisplaySearch analysts anticipate that Western Europe will be the dominant region for curved TVs, with 2.6 million shipping in both 2016 and 2017, resulting from consumer taste for unique design and Samsung’s dominant market share.

“Curved TVs are an industry styling fashion, in the same way that sets became very thin when the first LED backlights were introduced,” Gray said. “In due course, such fashions can burn through, leaving enduring value. For example, the legacy of thin TVs is their lower power consumption. It is easy to dismiss fashion, but it remains a critical element in maintaining value and consumer interest in the TV category.”

Fig 2

The Quarterly TV Design and Features Report tracks all 4K UHD TV product ranges, forecasts, video processing and broadcasting; plus, detailed information on other aspects of TV design such as smart TV, backlighting technology, OLED and 3D. This report is delivered in PowerPoint and includes Excel-based data and tables.

Global desktop monitor sell-in revenue rose 7 percent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, as average selling prices (ASPs) rose just over 10 percent. According to a new report from DisplaySearch, now part of IHS, worldwide desktop PC monitor shipments declined just over 3 percent, to reach 34 million units.

“Sales margins for desktop displays have declined over time, and manufacturers are now trying to reverse that trend with bigger sizes and improved features, to justify higher prices,” said Hidetoshi Himuro, director of PC/IT market research for DisplaySearch. “In the face of tablets and notebook computers with integrated displays, demand for desktop monitors is shifting toward higher display quality and resolution, with improved performance for professional operation and computer gaming.”

Table: Monitor Set Shipment Attribute Comparison 

Item

Q3’13

Q3’14

Y/Y change
Average Sales Price

$155

$171

10%
Size share  – 20″ and above

60%

64%

7%
Resolution share  – 1920×1080 and above

48%

55%

14%
Wide Viewing Angle Share (IPS/FFS+VA)

17%

19%

13%

Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report, Q3 2014.

In order to improve PC display penetration rates, average screen sizes have been steadily increasing. For example, market share for 20-inch-and-larger desktop monitor screens rose from 60 percent in Q3 2013 to 64 percent in Q3 of this year. Displays with full-high-definition (FHD) and higher resolutions have grown from 48 percent in Q3 2013 to 55 percent in Q3 of this year. Desktop PC displays shipped with wide viewing angle technology have also increased from 17 percent to 19 percent, year over year.

Holst Centre, imec and their partner Evonik have realized a general-purpose 8-bit microprocessor, manufactured using complementary thin-film transistors (TFTs) processed at temperatures compatible with plastic foil substrates (250°C). The new “hybrid” technology integrates two types of semiconductors—metal-oxide for n-type TFTs (iXsenic, Evonik) and organic molecules for p-type TFTs—in a CMOS microprocessor circuit, operating at unprecedented for TFT technologies speed—clock frequency 2.1kHz. The breakthrough results were published online in Scientific Reports, an open access journal from the publisher of Nature.

Low temperature thin-film electronics are based on organic and metal-oxide semiconductors. They have the potential to be produced in a cost effective way using large-area manufacturing processes on plastic foils. Thin-film electronics are, therefore, attractive alternatives for silicon chips in simple IC applications, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and near field communication (NFC) tags and sensors for smart food packaging, and in large-area electronic applications, such as flexible displays, sensor arrays and OLED lamps. Holst Centre’s (imec and TNO) research into thin-film electronics aims at developing a robust, foil-compatible, high performance technology platform, which is key to making these new applications become a reality.

The novel 8-bit microprocessor performs at a clock frequency of 2.1 kHz. It consists of two separate chips: a processor core chip and a general-purpose instruction generator (P2ROM). For the processor core chip, a complementary hybrid organic-oxide technology was used (p:n ratio 3:1). The n-type transistors are 250°C solution-processed metal-oxide TFTs with typically high charge carrier mobility (2 cm2/Vs). The p-type transistors are small molecule organic TFTs with mobility of up to 1 cm2/Vs. The complementary logic allows for a more complex and complete standard cell library, including additional buffering in the core and the implementation of a mirror adder in the critical path. These optimizations have resulted in a high maximum clock frequency of 2.1kHz. The general-purpose instruction generator or P2ROM is a one-time programmable ROM memory configured by means of inkjet printing, using a conductive silver ink. The chip is divided into a hybrid complementary part and a unipolar n-TFT part and is capable of operating at frequencies up to 650 Hz, at an operational voltage of Vdd=10V.

Interested companies can join Holst Centre’s R&D program on organic and oxide transistors, exploring and developing new technologies for producing thin-film transistors (TFTs) on plastic foils.

thin film microprocessor

Third quarter (Q3) TV shipments improved 4 percent, compared to a year ago, and LCD TV shipments alone rose nearly 9 percent, according to the latest findings from the Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, produced by DisplaySearch, now part of IHS Inc.

Annual TV shipment growth averaged less than 1 percent on a unit and revenue basis in the first half of 2014, with LCD TV growth barely compensating for declining shipments of plasma and CRT TVs. However, a continued strong trend of shipment growth in North America continues to be a catalyst, evidenced by LCD TV growth exceeding 12 percent Q3 2014 compared to the prior year.

LCD TV shipments from China rose 9 percent, compared to a soft period a year ago following the end of government subsidies, and despite modest sales results during the Chinese Golden Week of public holidays in the fall. Asia-Pacific region results were also quite strong, led by improved growth in an economically improved India, where more favorable currency valuations are making LCD TVs affordable to a wider group of Indian consumers.

“While the last several years in the TV business have been difficult in terms of overall shipments and revenue, the market is showing some broad resiliency now, with most regions enjoying growth in the third quarter,” said Paul Gagnon, director of global TV research at DisplaySearch.“Consumption for primary TVs is entering a renewed replacement cycle in some key regions, while adoption of larger screen sizes and 4K and other higher resolutions will keep consumers upgrading.”

Although 4K TVs have been available for several years now, shipments in 2014 have significantly accelerated, due to broader competition and more accessible price points activating new consumer groups. Year-over-year 4K TV shipments jumped more than 500 percent in Q3 to top 3 million units, bringing total shipments to 6.4 million units in 2014.

China remains the focal point for 4K TV unit volume growth, accounting for more than 60 percent of global 4K TV shipments in Q3; plus, it has the highest 4K unit shipment mix of any region, at more than 13 percent. With 6 percent of the market, the next strongest region for 4K TV unit shipment mix was Western Europe, which is a significant increase since the beginning of the year.

“With a scarcity of content and streaming options, much of the early success in 4K will rely on education campaigns from brands and price compression allowing for better affordability,” Gagnon said.

China is the leading 4K TV consumer market, and local Chinese brands are now fiercely competing with Samsung, which is aggressively pushing for growth in China and leads all 4K brands in the nation, after debuting a greatly expanded lineup in Q2. In fact, with 36 percent share of the 4K TV shipments, Samsung led the market on a revenue basis globally in Q3. The company significantly outpaces all other brands. Chinese brands have a stronger share, thanks to greater unit volume within China, and a low average price compared to global brands competing in markets outside of China. However, with the arrival of greater competition in North America and other markets, as well as rising 4K TV exports from Chinese brands, competitive price compression will be difficult to avoid for most brands.

TFT LCD panel suppliers are rejuvenating their large-area panel business plans this year as the market demand for key applications grows. According to the latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT Panel Shipment Report, TFT panel suppliers are forecast to ship 718 million large area (9-inch-and-larger) panels, an increase of 3 percent over the previous year. Due to recent panel price increases, and TVs with larger average area sizes, large-area TFT LCD revenue is forecast to reach $75 billion this year.

“2013 was the first year large-area TFT LCD panel shipments and revenues declined; however, a market rebound beginning in the second quarter of 2014 has enabled panel makers to reach their business plans,” said David Hsieh, vice president of the greater China market for DisplaySearch, now part of IHS. ”Strong growth in the average sizes of LCD TVs, and inventory shortages in those sizes, have transformed the industry atmosphere, enabling panel makers to increase prices and expand shipment volumes.

According to DisplaySearch LCD TV panel shipments reached an historic high of 64 million units in the second quarter (Q2) of 2014, which revealed stronger-than-expected momentum in downstream inventory preparation. The following quarter, shipments were even higher, reaching a new record high of 65 million units.

Panel technology improvements that bolstered shipments included 4K panels, super-slim bezels, higher transmittance open-cell technology, higher resolutions, in-plane switching (IPS) and fringe-field switching (FFS), ultra-slim and lightweight form factors, and higher color gamut. Other recent improvements in integration included up-scaling circuitry, touch screens and mechanical parts.

OLED panels for high-resolution tablet PCs (e.g., 280-360 PPI) is expected to reach 5 million units in 2014, which is a new milestone for the category. “2013 was a year of convergence, between inventory adjustments and panel value upgrades, which set the stage for better results this year, in a tightening market with a surge in panel shipments,” Hsieh said.

Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Large Area TFT Panel Shipment Report

Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Large Area TFT Panel Shipment Report

According to panel makers’ business plans, shipments of notebook PCs and mini-note panels are forecast to reach nearly 197 million units this year, which is a 5 percent year-over-year growth rate. In the first half of this year, panel makers’ conservative estimates for notebook PC panels induced a shortage.

Beginning in 2013 panel makers upgraded to full-high-definition (FHD) and other high-resolution formats, and they also began to adopt flat light-guide backlight plates for ultra-slim panels. Slim and ultra-slim notebook PC panels comprised 76 percent of shipments in the third quarter of 2014.

Smartphone cannibalization of tablet PC sales, and the maturity of the smaller tablet PCs, has encouraged tablet PC panel makers to increase shipments of 9-inch-and-larger screens, which increased 9 percent in 2014 over the previous year.

“AMOLED has been successfully introduced in the tablet PC market, to accommodate higher color gamut, increase slimness and reduced weight, in order to maximize the future potential of more flexible form factor designs,” Hsieh said.

Due to the maturity of the desktop PC market, and the slow replacement cycle for these devices, overall shipments of LCD monitor panels fell 5 percent to 153 million units in 2014, which is the lowest level since 2006. Panel makers are now planning to shift to larger sizes, and they expect to add more value-added products of various sizes and higher resolutions, including 2560×1440 and 4K LCD monitors.

LCD TV panel shipments are expected to grow 5 percent this year, reaching 249 million units. On an area basis, LCD TV shipment area is expected to increase 15 percent, year over year, from 97 million square meters in 2013 to 112 million square meters in 2014; meanwhile, manufacturers are also planning to ship more than 20 million 4K TV panels this year.

The market for LCD public displays is expected to grow 39 percent this year, due to the demise of plasma display panels, and the strong momentum for digital signage. “Industrial applications and soaring growth in larger automotive displays is also pushing large-area TFT growth,” Hsieh noted.

The DisplaySearch Quarterly Large Area TFT Panel Shipment Report covers the entire range of large-area panels shipped worldwide and regionally, with complete coverage of panel makers. For more information about the report, please contact your regional DisplaySearch office.

University of Utah engineers have developed a polarizing filter that allows in more light, leading the way for mobile device displays that last much longer on a single battery charge and cameras that can shoot in dim light.

Polarizers are indispensable in digital photography and LCD displays, but they block enormous amounts of light, wasting energy and making it more difficult to photograph in low light.

The Utah electrical and computer engineering researchers created the filter by etching a silicon wafer with nanoscale pillars and holes using a focused gallium-ion beam. This new concept in light filtering can perform the same function as a standard polarizer but allows up to nearly 30 percent more light to pass through, says U electrical and computer engineering associate professor Rajesh Menon. The study is being published in November’s issue of Optica, a new journal from The Optical Society.

Sunlight as well as most ambient light emits half of its energy as light polarized along a horizontal axis and the other half along a vertical axis. A polarizer typically allows only half of the light to pass because it’s permitting either the horizontal or vertical energy to go through, but not both. Meanwhile, the other half is reflected back or absorbed, but the resulting image is much darker. Polarizers are widely used by photographers, for example, to reduce glare in the image. They also are used in LCD displays to regulate what light passes through to create images on the screen.

“When you take a picture and put the polarized filter on, you are trying to get rid of glare,” Menon says. “But most polarizers will eliminate anywhere from to 60 to 70 percent of the light. You can see it with your eyes.”

Yet with Menon’s new polarizer, much of the light that normally is reflected back is instead converted to the desired polarized state, he says. The U researchers have been able to pass through about 74 percent of the light, though their goal is to eventually allow all of the light to pass through.

LCD displays on devices such as smartphones and tablets have two polarizers that ultimately throw away most of the light when working with the liquid crystal display.

“If one can increase that energy efficiency, that is a huge increase on the battery life of your display. Or you can make your display brighter,” Menon says.

Menon’s team validated their concept using a polarizer that is only 20 by 20 micrometers and tested with only infrared light. But they plan to increase the size of the filter, use it with visible light, and figure out a way to make it more cost effective to manufacture. Menon says the first marketable applications of this technology could be available in five to 10 years. The technology also could be a boon for photographers who want to bring out more detail in their pictures while shooting in low-light situations and for scientists using microscopes and telescopes to visualize obscure phenomenon.

University of Utah electrical and computer engineering associate professor, Rajesh Menon, holds up a piece of silicon that has been etched with microscopic pillars and holes to create a polarized filter. He leads a team of researchers that have developed a new polarizer that can allow more light to pass through than conventional polarizers. This could lead to LCD displays for smartphones and tablets that last longer on a battery charge and cameras that can take better pictures at low light. Credit: University of Utah

University of Utah electrical and computer engineering associate professor, Rajesh Menon, holds up a piece of silicon that has been etched with microscopic pillars and holes to create a polarized filter. He leads a team of researchers that have developed a new polarizer that can allow more light to pass through than conventional polarizers. This could lead to LCD displays for smartphones and tablets that last longer on a battery charge and cameras that can take better pictures at low light. Credit: University of Utah

SmartKem, a supplier of high performance semiconductor materials for the manufacture of truly flexible displays and electronics, has announced the opening of a new thin-film-transistor (TFT) fabrication and testing facility at the company’s Manchester site – doubling the size of the company.

The expansion is set to provide comprehensive support to product development agreements, allowing partners to rapidly develop market-driven, flexible TFT-based products for applications in the display, touchscreen and sensor industries.

Together with the company’s organic synthesis technology and material formulation laboratories the center will offer complete turn-key support for its ground-breaking tru-FLEX technology platform in the development of flexible electronics applications. This will provide partners with additional services across the value chain from material synthesises, formulation and validation of the technology in transistor, circuit or end product form.

The new facility offers TFT device modelling, device stack design and a complete TFT fabrication suite including coating and evaporation equipment as well as a comprehensive test suite for device and circuit characterization including a semi-automated probe station. This not only augments SmartKem’s internal development work, but offers its customers comprehensive support in the rapid development of market driven flexible TFT-based products for application to the display, touchscreen and sensor industry.

The expansion and significant capital investment follows the recent Series A funding from a syndicate of leading investors including Finance Wales, BASF Venture Capital, Entrepreneurs Fund and Octopus Investments. Together with the creation of this new device facility expansion, SmartKem will also be increasing the size of its team by 30 percent with new members joining the synthesis, formulations and device technology groups.

Steve Kelly, Chief Executive of SmartKem, commented: “We are delighted with the speed with which we’ve managed to turn around the installation and commissioning of the new device facility. This is the final piece of the development cycle to bring in-house and the timing could not be better. We are seeing positive traction in the market for flexible electronics across the board from our core market of flexible AMOLED and EPD backplane drivers as well as many new and exciting applications. With the combined market for flexible display and electronics set to top $50 billion in the next 5 years, we are in great shape to continue to supply SmartKem tru-FLEX into new products and satisfy the growing market demand.”

Holst Centre, set up by the Belgian nanoelectronics research center imec and the Dutch research institute TNO, and Cartamundi NV have announced a collaboration to develop ultra-thin flexible near field communication (NFC) tags. The partners will develop these new NFC tags using metal-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) technology on plastic film. The flexible chips will be integrated into game cards as a part of Cartamundi’s larger strategy of developing game cards for the connected generation.

Holst Centre, imec and Cartamundi engineers will look into NFC circuit design and TFT processing options, and will investigate routes for up-scaling of the production. By realizing the NFC tags using chips based on IGZO TFT technology on plastic film, the manufacturing cost can be kept low. Moreover, the ultra-thin and flexible form factor required for paper-embedded NFC applications can be realized.

Currently, Cartamundi NV embeds silicon-based NFC chips in their game cards, connecting traditional game play with electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets. The advanced IGZO TFT technology that will be used addresses the game card industry call for much thinner, more flexible and virtually unbreakable NFC chips. Such chips are essential to improve and broaden the applicability of interactive technology for game cards, compared to the currently-used silicon based NFC chips. Next to technical specifications, this next-generation of NFC tags will better balance manufacturing cost and additional functionalities.

Chris Van Doorslaer, CEO of Cartamundi, explains: “Cartamundi is committed to creating products that connect families and friends of every generation to enhance the valuable quality time they share during the day. With Holst Centre’s and imec’s thin-film and nano-electronics expertise, we’re connecting the physical with the digital which will enable lightweight smart devices with additional value and content for consumers.”

“Not only will Cartamundi be working on the NFC chip of the future, but it will also reinvent the industry’s standards in assembly process and the conversion into game cards,” says  Steven Nietvelt, chief innovation and marketing officer at Cartamundi. “All of this is part of an ongoing process of technological innovation inside Cartamundi. I am glad our innovation engineers will collaborate with the strongest technological researchers and developers in the field at imec and Holst Centre. We are going to need all expertise on board. Because basically what we are creating is game-changing technology.”

“Imec and Holst Centre aim to shape the future and our collaboration with Cartamundi  will do so for the future of gaming technology and connected devices,” says Paul Heremans, Department Director Thin Film Electronics at imec and Technology Director at the Holst Centre. “Chip technology has penetrated society’s daily life right down to game cards. We are excited to work with Cartamundi to improve the personal experience that gaming delivers.”