Category Archives: Touch Technologies

October 11, 2012 – High pricing and ineffective marketing, in a consumer market fighting for attention against hot-selling mobile devices, are weighing down expectations for ultrabook demand — but the future’s still bright with new models promising more tablet- and smartphone-like features.

IHS iSuppli has slashed its estimates for 2012 ultrabook shipments to 10.3M units (with hopes of half of them coming in 4Q12), down from 22M units earlier this year. The firm also has lowered its outlook for 2013 ultrabook shipments, to 44M units from 61M units. (Part of this forecast-lowering is a classification issue: Intel’s rigid definition of what qualifies as an "ultrabook" has redefined many notebooks as "ultrathins," iSuppli notes.)

1Q12 2Q12 3Q12 4Q12 1Q13 2Q13 3Q13 4Q13
714 1,540 2,692 5,392 8,752 9,806 11,473 14,297

Forecasted global ultrabook unit shipments, in thousands of units. (Source: IHS iSuppli)

So far, the PC industry has failed to create the kind of buzz and excitement among consumers that is required to propel ultrabooks into the mainstream," noted Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for compute platforms at IHS. "This is especially a problem amid all the hype surrounding media tablets and smartphones."

The other sticking point for ultrabooks: pricing. Systems need to get from today’s ~$1000 levels to below the $600 threshold to achieve mainstream-friendly volumes. Ramping up sales for 2013 especially will depend on this, while also incorporating the new Windows 8 operating system as well as attractive features (read: expected by consumers) such as touchscreens. If they don’t, they’ll continue to face an uphill battle, in a persistently languishing economy against a growing roster of lower-priced tablets and smartphones (iPhone 5, Kindle Fire HD, forthcoming Microsoft Surface).

Intel seems to be focusing its attention on the mid-2013 introduction of its Haswell chip, which it hopes will "catalyze[e] the ultrabook revolution" with improved performance, lower power consumption, security features, and support for multiple displays and high-definition monitors, iSuppli notes. At the recent Intel Developer Forum, the chipmaking giant reportedly mapped out 40 ultrabook designs in progress with touchscreens, and showed survey results indicating consumers prefer touchscreens 80% of the time. Ultrabooks with convertible form factors — e.g. with a detachable touchscreen, usable either as a traditional clamshell laptop or as a tablet — offer the best of both worlds.

Ultrabooks: Key market for motions sensors

One component sector that’s counting on that ultrabook demand to materialize is motion sensors. Various accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses will be required to deliver the new features promised in new ultrabooks, from gaming to indoor navigation to augmented reality. IHS iSuppli projects an eye-popping 14-fold growth for motion sensor sales over the next four years to $117.3M, up from just $8.3M in 2012 — that’s a 93% CAGR. Before ultrabooks, the only motion sensors found in notebooks were accelerometers used to identify if the unit was dropped, to trigger protection of the hard-disk drive’s read/write head. With more solid-state devices (SSD) being used in notebooks, that functionality isn’t needed, notes iSuppli.

But the new ultrabooks do use accelerometers for functions such as auto screen rotation, and will employ compasses and gyroscopes to detect direction and motion — functions already common in games for tablets and smartphones. While Intel had originally asserted that it wouldn’t make sense to incorporate such motion sensors into conventional ultrabooks, the planned future convertible/detachable ultrabook models will indeed require them, points out Jérémie Bouchaud, director and senior principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS. And that’s the kind of assured end market that component suppliers need.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
0.4 8.3 32.8 60.2 92.3 117.3

 Forecast of global motion sensor revenues in ultrabooks. (Source: IHS iSuppli)

September 25, 2012 – A three-year European project to research solution-processable materials for OLEDs has concluded, with newly developed materials that can be integrated into large-surface OLED components and are suited for printing processes.

The NEMO (NEw Materials for OLEDs from solutions) project, a consortium of 11 companies led by Merck, was formed in Nov. 2009 with backing from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), to explore a variety of OLED materials and capabilities: soluble light-emitting materials, charge transport materials, new adhesives for reliable encapsulation of each OLED component. Physical tests were included to understand more about the materials for future development work. The project’s total budget was €29M (roughly US $38M).

"The success of the project is an enormous and important step for printable material systems with very good performance data," stated Dr. Udo Heider, head of the OLED unit at Merck. "We are enabling our customers to use cost-efficient manufacturing processes, which thanks to their low material losses in production, will ultimately also benefit the environment."

Results of the project include Merck’s development of a new phosphorescent materials for red, green and blue applications — increasing lifetime extrapolated to 50% of initial brightness (i.e., stability in use) of green triplet emitter materials from 10,000 hours to more than 200,000 hours, and increasing the efficiency of these materials from 30 cd/A up to more than 70 cd/A (candela/ampere) at a brightness of 1000cd/m2.

Here’s a list of other results achieved by the NEMO project’s four industry companies and seven research institute/academic groups:

Humboldt University of Berlin: Modular synthesis strategies were used to produce and test new electron transport materials.

DELO Industrie Klebstoffe: Development of adhesives with low water vapor permeation for flat encapsulation. A main focus of the work was on optimizing the compatibility of the adhesive with the OLED materials. Suitable adhesive systems were identified, and a significant reduction in component defects was achieved. The developed systems were extensively characterized.

Enthone GmbH (formerly Ormecon): Developed dispersions of polyaniline, an electrically conductive polymer, from which charge carrier layers for OLEDs were produced. These displays show electrical properties equivalent to those of the previously used material. For OLED component characterization, impedance spectroscopy was used to investigate the OLEDs prepared by Merck. It was possible to identify unstable areas, which are responsible for the short lifetimes of OLEDs. Additionally, the impedance measurements were used to predict the lifetime of displays.

Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP): Developed polymer-based phosphorescent systems for green and red Merck emitters. Suitable charge transport molecules were bonded as a side group to a main polymer chain. It was possible to demonstrate that this leads to comparable or even better performance parameters and lifetimes of OLEDs in comparison with solution-processable small molecules. For "green", energy efficiencies of 61 cd/A and lifetimes of 66,000 h @ 1000 cd/m2 were achieved.

Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG (formerly H.C. Starck Clevios GmbH): Developed new materials for the intermediate layers, which will improve the charge carrier injection from the anode into the OLED emitter layer and help to increase the lifetime of the components. The work function of the hole injection layers can be set to a specific target value within a wide range of 4.8-6.1 eV. Water-soluble polymer counterions have been developed, which have helped to realize dehydrated PEDOT materials for the first time.

In parallel to this, work was conducted on transparent electrodes that can be separated from solution and are expected to lower the costs of OLEDs. The conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS films was further increased. Initial ITO-free OLED lamps have been realized. In combination with screen printed silver lines, this enables the production of OLEDs for lighting application without any identifiable decrease in luminance from the edge to the center of the component.

University of Potsdam: Studied physical properties such as charge carrier transport and excitation dynamics in newly synthesized materials and in the finished component. In combination with stationary and transient simulations, information was obtained on what processes restrict the efficiency of light emitting diodes and which ones impact component aging.

University of Regensburg: One working group, led by Professor Yersin, developed new emitter classes with both strong and weak metal-metal interactions that show a singlet harvesting effect. It is thus possible to realize highly efficient emitters for OLEDs based on highly economical copper clusters. This work on singlet harvesting with newly developed emitters made from copper clusters was recognized in April 2012 with an innovation prize at the international SPIE Organic Photonics conference in Brussels.

Another working group (led by Professor König) synthesized emitter libraries in accordance with a simple combinatorial protocol. A screening system was developed for the rapid and virtually automated identification and characterization of individual emitters as well as photostability testing thereof. This made it possible to investigate the degradation behavior of many substances and to draw conclusions on various degradation mechanisms.

University of Tübingen: Two groups from Tübingen provided new metallorganic cluster compounds that can be used as luminescent molecules in OLEDs. In chemical synthesis, coordination compounds of the metals rhodium, iridium, palladium, platinum, copper, silver and gold were presented and characterized, giving rise to new, highly promising lead structures for emitter materials.

September 14, 2012 – Now that the initial dust has settled after Apple’s debut of the new iPhone 5, industry watchers are taking a tally of which semiconductor suppliers stand to gain in the newest must-have smartphone.

Below is a quick tally of the key features and which suppliers likely benefit. (As usual teardown firms prepare their knives, TechInsights has cooked up a preliminary calculation of the iPhone 5’s bill-of-materials.)

— Dual-band WiFi. 4G LTE connectivity, which dramatically accelerates speeds vs. previous models This technology (similar to what the Kindle Fire now uses) increases test times at the module test level, which is a sweetspot for TER’s Litepoint business, points out Credit Suisse’s Satya Kumar. TER already indicated that this unit already saw a boost in 2Q12 attributable to both the iPhone 5 and Kindle Fire. Going forward, this likely means other smartphone vendors will adopt this technology, and eventually 802.11ac next year — both of which "are particularly test-intensive" and thus positives for TER, he notes.

Barclay’s CJ Muse, meanwhile, calls out Qualcomm’s 28nm 4G/LTE baseband and Broadcom’s 40nm WiFi combo chip.

— Upgrade to the A6 logic chip. Apple’s projections of nearly 300m iOS units for 2013 is such a sheer volume that "a seemingly benign metric like SoC die size for iPhone 5 [which is 95 mm2, 22% smaller than the A5] is actually meaningful enough to move the worldwide capex for semiconductor industry by 5% for every 10-sqmm variation," Kumar observes. He factors in 32nm capital intensity, Apple’s unit growth and die size, and determines that Apple’s chip partner Samsung could keep its logic capex spending flat in 2013 just to keep up with manufacturing the new A6 chips. (Apple also is using a dual-core ARM-A15 cores to run at 2× speed for the CPU, which Apple believes is better than Intel’s SoC core roadmap.

Barclays’ Muse points out that anything that means more 28/20nm chips means more litho-intensive processing, which "should benefit ASML disproportionally."

— More DRAM memory content, no extra NAND. DRAM content in the iPhone 5 is doubled to 1GB; Kumar actually had expected an increase in NAND content in the iPhone 5, but apparently Apple’s keeping it steady at 16-32-64GB, which underscores "the cautious commentary on wafer starts and capex from NAND companies," he writes. Among chip tool suppliers possibly affected, KLAC has higher exposure to logic/foundry and LRCX is more heavy into NAND than peers, but the extra DRAM content in the iPhone 5 likely makes up for that. Thus, the extra DRAM and no extra NAND means it’s "a wash" for suppliers.

— Upgraded to in-cell display technology. Putting touch sensors inside the panel, vs. adding a separate touch layer on top of the LCD panel, helps reduce the display’s thickness, which means the phone can be thinner or more features can be improved such as a bigger longer-life battery, explains Vinita Jakhanwal, director for small and medium displays at IHS iSuppli. LG, Sharp, and Japan Display are all potential suppliers of the in-cell display — if they can keep up with demand.

— Audio, antenna upgrades mean more sapphire. Sterne Agee’s Andrew Huang points to Cirrus Logic as a big beneficiary of a new "wideband audio" feature that can fill up more frequency spectrum to improve voice sound quality. Magnachip Semiconductor gets extra business tied to Cirrus Logic, points out Barclays’ Muse. Another winner is Corning, whose Gorilla Glass 2 is likely used as the cover glass for the iPhone 5, he says.

Huang also points out the iPhone 5’s increased used of sapphire, both as a camera lens cover and as the substrate (silicon-on-sapphire) for the antenna switch to automatically switch antenna connections, is a trend worth watching: "Within the next 12-18 months, we believe sapphire content per mobile phones could increase," he writes, suggesting eventually it might supplant the cover glass material. The silicon-on-sapphire trend likely benefits Rubicon (SoS wafer sapphire substrate supplier) and Peregrine Semiconductor (SoS switch component supplier). [Corrected 9/20: Soitec makes the actual SoS wafers for Peregrine.] "Our checks indicate that Rubicon supplies ~30-40% of the market for SoS wafers," he writes, and although a number of other ingot makers are currently getting qualified, "it is much more difficult to core, slice and polish SoS wafers, which suggests margins for SoS wafers are comparable, maybe even lower than those of LED wafers." Muse adds that Magnachip gets a foundry-biz boost from Peregrine, too.

September 7, 2012 – Intel is lowering its 3Q12 outlook citing sluggish demand amid challenging macroeconomic conditions. The chipmaker says 3Q12 sales will come in about a billion dollars short of expectations, in a range of $12.9-$13.5 billion instead of $13.8-$14.8B, and gross margins will be about a point lower than projected (62% instead of 63%). The firm also said its capital spending for all of 2012 will be on the low end of its $12.1-$12.9B guidance, as it "accelerates the re-use of existing equipment to the 14nm node." Notably, the company also pulled back its full-year forecasts, which it will update in its 3Q earnings report due Oct. 16.

"[We are] seeing customers reducing inventory in the supply chain versus the normal growth in third-quarter inventory, softness in the enterprise PC market segment, and slowing emerging market demand," Intel said in a statement.

Analysts have for weeks been pointing out warning signs about how a variety of macroeconomic concerns are impacting the semiconductor sector. Both Intel and AMD have been predicting a slowdown in 3Q12. "We anticipate the worst 2H for PC sales since inception," warns Citigroup’s Glen Yeung, citing not just the macroeconomic factors but also increasing tablet competition and undetermined Windows 8 timing. "Multiple challenges in the PC space, with slower ultrabooks, weaker OEM commentary and Win8 pricing [are] affecting a more cautious OEM-ODM outlook," adds Vijay Rakesh from Sterne Agee.

Intel’s downgrade though, provides new clarity on just how dismal the environment is becoming. "It’s worse than everyone expected […] Their consumer PC business is getting whacked," noted Patrick Wang from Evercore Partners. Adds Barclays’ CJ Muse: "While we believe cuts were clearly in order, the magnitude of the cut came as a surprise (implies ~9M fewer units) and this clearly speaks to the severity of the challenging macro environment, uncertainty in supply chain as to what SKUs will sell, and PC cannibalization by tablets."

Barclays’ Muse also points to the capex cutbacks as another worrisome sign. That Intel is actively seeking to reuse equipment, particularly lithography tools, isn’t a surprise; it’s done so for several nodes now. Nevertheless, "this announcement likely provides a few seeds of doubt as to [the] capex outlook for 2013." And industry watchers are counting on a big bounceback in 2013 semiconductor equipment demand after a flat year in 2012.

What’s still not clear is how much of the sluggishness now acknowledged by Intel is attributable to macroeconomic factors, and how much is attributable to the company’s own product strategy. Outside of its advantages in manufacturing (soon pushing into 14nm) and technology development (see its investment in ASML), Intel isn’t getting much oomph from any non-x86 PC areas (e.g. tablets/handsets). FBR Research’s Craig Berger explains:

In order to grow, Intel needs to ramp ARM solutions into handsets and tablets. Intel’s traction outside of its core x86 processor market seems limited. Intel does not have 4G LTE solutions today (why not??). It does not seem to be pushing highly integrated ARM-based baseband/application processors to effectively compete against Qualcomm and Broadcom (instead saying discrete processors are fine for high-end smartphones…what about the other 1.5 billion handsets?). Intel does not have in-house connectivity solutions that it could eventually bake into its basebands (WiFi and Bluetooth) or RF transceivers necessary to produce a platform solution. If Intel was not going to go all the way with its cellular strategy, then why did it spend multiple billions of dollars to acquire Infineon Wireless?

And then there’s the exploding demand for tablet computers. Berger reminds of the math that roughly 2.5 tablet shipments equals one PC. If Apple and dozens of competitors could ship 85M tablets this year, translates to -9% lower PC unit growth. "In order to grow, Intel needs to ramp ARM solutions into handsets and tablets," Berger concludes. Right now, though, "Intel [is] not taking necessary steps to be [a] real player in ARM-based handsets and tablets," he writes.

Visit the Semiconductors Channel of Solid State Technology, and sign up for our WaferNEWS e-newsletter!

Three leaders in their respective fields have formed a technology alliance to bring a new glass cutting technology to market. InnoLas Systems GmbH licensed process technology developed by FiLaser LLC and will use ultra-short pulse lasers produced exclusively for InnoLas by LUMERA LASER GmbH. This complete turnkey system designed for glass, sapphire and brittle materials cutting will be available exclusively through InnoLas’ worldwide sales network.

Conventional laser cutting is based on rapid heating leading to vaporization and material removal. This process is not only slow, but it also leads to unwanted micro-cracks and a rough surface finish. Material cut with conventional laser processes require post-processing in order to remove the unwanted damage. These subsequent grinding and polishing steps are costly and time consuming. Filament cutting, on the other hand, uses ultra-short laser pulses in the picosecond range that cut brittle materials via plasma dissociation. This new process ensures lower surface roughness, high bend strength, and faster processing speed. This new laser cutting technology works especially well on chemically strengthened glass and sapphire, which have been difficult to cut with conventional methods. Filament cutting thus enables a higher quality, throughput and yield in the production of touchscreen displays for smart phones and tablet PCs. Further areas of application include Si, SiC, and GaAs at very high speeds.

Richard Grundmüller, CEO InnoLas: “This innovative laser cutting technology gives us access to new markets, where we can leverage our core competencies in laser machining and glass handling in order to offer our customers a clear competitive edge.”

Jeffrey Albelo, CEO FiLaser: “We have created a novel laser process technology that is at the nexus of physics and materials science. It is purely disruptive and will provide our customers with a compelling motivation to acquire this capability. We believe the combination of these leaders in their respective fields will produce world-class results and will aid in putting this capability into the hands of our customers with speed and 24/7/365 reliability. Looking ahead, we have great expectations as the application potential spans far beyond glass, sapphire, and wafer singulation."

Dr. Achim Nebel, CEO LUMERA LASER GmbH: “LUMERA LASER is delighted to be part of this new partnership. LUMERA has been the leader in ps-laser systems for quite some years and our lasers’ capabilities are a perfect fit for this new application. Up to now the field of glass cutting had mostly been the domain of high average power CW lasers. The FiLaser technology utilizes unique aspects of our ultra-fast lasers providing a fast and high quality solution.”

August 22, 2012 — LG Display (LGD) more than doubled its tablet display sales revenue sequentially in Q2, thanks to panel shipments for Apple Inc.’s iPad, according to the IHS iSuppli Small and Medium Display Service. LGD is also moving forward on a plan to convert some amorphous silicon (a-Si) production to low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) fab, despite a yield loss inherent in the change.

During its most recent results announcement with industry analysts, LGD said its tablet panel revenue reached $610 million in Q2, indicating tablet panel sales performance was up 126% from $270 million in Q1.

Table. LG Display tablet display sales revenue. SOURCE: LG Display results announcement, August 2012.
  Tablet Sales % in Total LGD Product Line LGD Total Sales Revenue (Billions of US Dollars) LGD Tablet Sales Revenue (Millions of US Dollars)
Q1 2012 5% 5.48 270
Q2 2012 10% 6.12 610

LGD also said the sales percentage of tablet panels in the firm’s overall product line doubled between the two quarters — from 5 to 10%, as shown in the table. By the end of Q2, LGD’s total sales revenue stood at $6.12 billion, compared to $5.48 billion in Q1, according to the company.

“LGD can credit Apple for its outsized presence in the market for small- and medium-sized display panels, defined as those sized less than 10.X”, and used in products like smartphones and digital still cameras, in addition to tablets,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, director for small and medium displays at IHS. “The company started volume shipment for the higher resolution, new iPad panels — the third iteration of Apple’s best-selling media tablet device — during Q2, IHS believes, on top of furnishing panels for the older iPad 2 version. This amplified LG’s presence in the Apple supply chain, in addition to the company already supplying tablet panels in Q1 to other tablet players such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Research In Motion.”

Overall, LGD commanded a 38% share of the tablet display market sized smaller than 10” during Q1, when total industry shipments reached some 21 million units. LGD’s share is estimated to come at 37% in Q2, based on that period’s total shipments of 32 million units. The company said it expects its tablet panel sales to increase in Q3 by anywhere from 40 to 50%, which would mean a corresponding rise in LGD’s tablet panel revenue to between $850 million and $920 million.

Also read: The iPhone 5 bottleneck of in-cell touchscreens — Can Sharp, LG, and Japan Display meet demand?

LGD also said during its results announcement it would move forward with a plan to partially convert its a-Si liquid crystal display (LCD) fab into making LTPS LCD panels suitable for high-resolution, high-end displays that are more likely to be used in smartphones. LTPS LCDs can also be used as backplanes for organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, and the company could have the option of adding its converted G6 LTPS line to active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) capacity if it elects to do so.

The current conversion plan calls for keeping 60% of the G6 fab output still dedicated to making a-Si LCDs for tablets, mobile phones or other such applications. The remaining 40% of capacity, however, will now be devoted to producing the high-resolution LTPS LCD displays.

The conversion process will entail an 80% loss in yield as is inherent with the process, LG Display indicated. But despite the capacity loss, the G6 LTPS LCD line will give LGD access to a larger size and more efficient LTPS fab in order to address the fast-growing, high-end smartphone panel market characterized by higher average selling prices. Apple and LG Electronics are currently LG Display’s main customers for smartphone display panels.

The G6 LTPS LCD line will also prove beneficial as Apple continues the evolution of the iPhone display, and as other smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) also keep improving the display resolution specifications. Given current manufacturing and performance guidance, more than 60 million 4.1” LTPS LCD panels can be produced in a year from a G6 LTPS LCD fab.

The LGD fab conversion move could prove prescient, especially since the company could be competing with Japan’s Sharp Corp. and Japan Display in supplying panels for the new iPhone. By initiating its fab conversion, LGD not only will be able to help support Apple, it will also allow the company to cater to the ever-growing panel needs of the smartphone market.

The conversion is expected to take place in stages over a yet unspecified number of quarters, but its effects will most likely be seen starting in H2 2013 at the earliest.

IHS (NYSE: IHS) provides information and insight in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape, including energy and power; design and supply chain; defense, risk and security; environmental, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability; country and industry forecasting; and commodities, pricing and cost. For more information, visit www.ihs.com.

Visit our new Displays Manufacturing Channel on Solid State Technology and subscribe to our Displays Digest e-newsletter!

August 17, 2012 — Barclays Capital provides its analysis of Apple iPhone 5 display manufacturing — will the phone’s display suppliers be able to achieve acceptable yields and throughput on the new in-cell architecture?

iPhone 5 builds were delayed and smaller-than-expected during Q3 2012, due to yield issues with the new in-cell touchscreen architecture. On top of this, the touch panel display industry is up against low profit margins and increased competition for business, according to a recent report.

"Over the next few years, in-cell, on-cell, and sensor-on-cover touch technologies will surpass the add-on type projected capacitive touch," according to Jennifer Colegrove, PhD, Vice President of Emerging Display Technologies at NPD DisplaySearch. However, today, in-cell display is the key bottleneck of iPhone 5 production. Barclays sees both LG Display (LGD) and Japan Display (JDI) likely to start small-scale volume production in August, with full-scale ramp-up in September. However, uncertainties remain regarding Sharp’s execution. Will Sharp be able to execute as required for full scale of iPhone-5-related memory demand?

The capacity of each panel maker (LGD, JDI, Sharp) is estimated at around 7 million units of the touchscreens per month, with an initial yield ratio around 80%. Expect an additional yield loss of about 10-20% at the final assembly process. Given this, Barclays estimates iPhone 5 production could reach around 15 million units in Q3 and 45 million units in Q4. Any kind of potential miss in execution at panel makers could result in lower-than-expected iPhone 5 production for the rest of the year.

Also read: Apple’s iPhone 5: Implications for the semiconductor supply chain

Visit our new Displays Manufacturing Channel on Solid State Technology and subscribe to our Displays Digest e-newsletter!

August 16, 2012 — Despite overall weaker shipments in 2012, new display and touch technology in small/medium devices continues to drive demand, especially in the smartphone sector. According to the NPD DisplaySearch Advanced Quarterly Small/Medium Shipment and Forecast Report, an increased demand for higher-performing smartphones is driving production of combined flat-panel display (FPD) and touch panel technology. In addition to the trend of display makers bonding touch panels to their displays for shipment to their customers, there has been dramatic growth in integration of touch into the display itself.

Active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays are using on-cell touch, while thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) makers are focusing on in-cell touch technology for high-resolution low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS). Currently, the top two global smart phone brands — Apple and Samsung — are leading adoption of these approaches. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3, AMOLED technology is being coupled with on-cell touch, and Apple is expected to incorporate in-cell touch in combination with LTPS TFT LCD on the iPhone5, which is expected in 2H’12.

As more smart phones are produced with some form of combined touch-panel FPD technology, NPD DisplaySearch anticipates that the cost, size, and brightness of these smart phones will change. NPD DisplaySearch forecasts a reduction in cost for the process of bonding touch panels with displays, eventually decreasing the cost of smart phones for consumers. NPD DisplaySearch also predicts smart phones developed with this combination technology will become thinner, as consumer demand for a more lightweight device continues to rise. In addition, NPD DisplaySearch predicts these smart phones will feature a higher brightness as the glass sheets used for the outer touch panel are removed.

Touch panel combination technology is expected to provide a major revenue stream for small/medium FPD applications. In fact, by next year, the majority of panel shipments are expected to use touch panels combined with FPD, incorporating both in-cell and on-cell touch. This segment is forecast to grow to 70% by 2015.

Figure. Touch Panel Combination Shares in High Value FPD (2011-2016). Source: NPD DisplaySearch Advanced Quarterly Small/Medium Shipment and Forecast Report

“While this combined technology is expected to drive future demand, shipments are fairly stagnant because of a wait-and-see mentality that’s occurring in the marketplace at this time,” noted Hiroshi Hayase, NPD DisplaySearch Vice President of Small/Medium Display Research. “In Q2’12, NPD DisplaySearch found that shipments of small/medium displays have tapered off as both consumers and competitors wait for the release of the iPhone 5 in the second half of the year.”

In terms of expectations for the iPhone 5, LTPS TFT LCD production will increase with new fabs added in 2H’12. AMOLED production is increasing in expectation of expanding sales of the competing Galaxy S3. Furthermore, shipments of medium-sized LCDs in the 7“-class could increase due to new tablet PC models launched later this year.

The NPD DisplaySearch Advanced Quarterly Small/Medium Shipment and Forecast Report covers the entire range of small/medium (=9.0") displays shipped worldwide and regionally. Backed by more than 40 suppliers of data and our own team of industry analysts, this report analyzes historical shipments and projects forecasts that provide decision makers with the insights they need to support procurement and product plans.

New Advanced Features: The Advanced Quarterly Small/Medium Shipment and Forecast Report now allow users to track data by viewing-angle and 3D capabilities.

NPD DisplaySearch is a global market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain, as well as the emerging photovoltaic/solar cell industries. For more information on DisplaySearch analysts, reports and industry events, visit us at http://www.displaysearch.com/.

Visit our new Displays Manufacturing Channel on Solid State Technology and subscribe to our Displays Digest e-newsletter!

August 14, 2012 — Printed electronics is a set of printing methods used to create electronic circuits, sensors, devices, and various electronics products. Printing is emerging as a technology that can replace traditional photolithography processes for electronics manufacturing, reducing costly material use, very complex processes, and expensive equipment. Printing enables direct patterning of desired materials on the desired location without complex processes, and production is cleaner and more productive, according to Displaybank, an IHS analyst business.

Figure. Steps in printing electronics compared to steps in current electronics manufacturing methods.

Printing devices can lead the creation of new industries through technology fusion.

Printed electronics can be classified as substrate and printing material-related technology: various technologies that allow functional materials to be deposited at a desired position, equipments and parts that can run these technologies, and methodologies.

Printed electronics process technology includes material technologies of printed electronics inks such as conductive inks, insulating materials, and metal nano-inks, new printing process technologies such as inkjet printing, µ-contact printing, and imprinting to print materials, and various equipment technologies to support these.

Table. Printed electronics technology applications.

Area

Detail

Applicable processes

Displays and Lighting

LCD

-Color filter, alignment film, spacer: Inkjet, roll printing.

-TFT backplane: Semiconductor layer, gate, S/D electrode, insulating layer, printing.

PDP

-Wiring: Inkjet printing

-Electromagnetic waves shield: Ag conductive film filter screen printing

OLED

-organic light-emitting layer: Inkjet and nozzle jet when polymer-method OLED.

-Transparent electrode layer: Conductive polymer inkjet, slot die coating.

e-Paper

-Frontplane: Septum in wetting, inkjet and roll printing in solution injection.

-TFT backplane: Active layer and insulating layer imprint, inkjet.

Lighting

OLED

-Organic light-emitting layer: Inkjet and nozzle jet when producing polymer-method OLED.

Smart products

RFID

Antenna: Roll printing

-Others: Roll-to-roll to capacitors and chips

Packaging

Sensor: Inkjet, roll, and screen printing in sensor layer.

Energy

Solar cells

-CIGS, CdTe, DSSC absorber layer: Spray, screen.

OPV active layer: Inkjet, slot die, roll method.

-Si electrode layer: Screen printing, inkjet, AD method.

Battery

-Electrode layer: Slot die to electrode layer.

Others

Touchpanels

-Wiring: Screen and roll printing to electronic wiring.

-Transparent electrode layer: Jetting and roll printing to replace patterned ITO.

Flexible PCBs

-Wiring: Roll printing when forming high-density wiring.

 

The report, “Printed Electronics Technology Trend and Market Forecast (2011~2020)” from Displaybank talks about printed electronics material technology, issue, process technology issue, and applicable areas throughout chapter 3~5, and chapter 6 and 7 summarize trends of companies and research institutes that are developing technologies in their fields. Lastly, chapter 8 forecasts and analyzes the size of printed electronics-applicable application in the next 10 years, and speculates the size of market, which can be created as printed electronics is introduced, for the first time in the world.

This report will help printed electronics-related technologies developing companies, companies reviewing new businesses, and companies that want to innovate through printed electronics process to understand an industry-wide trend and forecast future prospects. Learn more at http://www.displaybank.com/_eng/research/report_view.html?id=847&cate=6

Visit the Semiconductors Channel of Solid State Technology!

The FlexTech Alliance announced the Call for Papers is open for the 12th annual Flexible Electronics & Displays Conference & Exhibition. The 3 day multi-track Flex Conference consists of in-depth technical and business development presentations covering the entire flexible electronics supply chain. Taking place January 29 – February 1, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona, the event also includes interactive exhibits and product demonstrations, a short course series, academic research, poster sessions and a variety of networking opportunities. The deadline for submission is September 22, 2012. 

The Flexible Electronics & Displays Conference & Exhibition attracts attendees from more than 10 countries and 200 companies, universities, R&D labs, and government agencies representing the many different segments of the flexible electronics and displays value and supply chains. Attendees span the roles of research, marketing, product development, manufacturing, senior business development, and executive functions.

The conference is a culmination of shared information, highlighting technical breakthroughs and demonstrating working products in flexible, printed electronics and displays. In addition to product demos and new applications, priority for paper selection will be given to original research and new toolset, process and materials introductions.

Topic areas sought are:

Business Strategies and Market Overviews for Flexible, Printed Electronics and Displays: Business Development; Road Mapping; Challenges to Early Adoption; and Customer Perspectives.

Flexible Electronics-Based Applications and Products: Flexible Displays; E-Book and Mobile Devices; Solar/Photovoltaics; Solid State Lighting and OLEDs; Energy Storage/Batteries; Smart Sensor Systems/RFID (biomedical, smart bandages, health monitors, smart clothing, neuro prosthetic devices, packaging, advertising/point of sales, pharmaceuticals, toys and entertainment, food monitoring, agricultural sensing, security, and structural monitoring).

Flexible Electronic Devices: Thin Film Transistors; Sensors and Detectors; Memory; Logic; Membranes; Device Design, Design Rules, Process Integration

Flexible Electronics Processes and Manufacturing: Additive Printing Processes (inkjet, gravure, flex, screen printing and other patterned deposition, print/ink optimization); Roll to Roll/Web Processing; Production Cost Reduction; Deposition Techniques and Equipment; Metrology; Flexible Electronics Production vs. Graphics Printing Production; Hybrid Manufacturing, Packaging, and Assembly; and Integration of printed electronics and microelectronics.

Flexible Electronics Materials: Substrates; Substrate Treatment to Optimize Films (conductors, insulators, semiconductors, light emitting; Functional Inks; Nanomaterials; Adhesives; Encapsulants; ITO Replacement; and Sustainable Materials.

Supply Chain Development

The conference, now in its 12th year, is moving to the Phoenix, Arizona Convention Center to accommodate its continuous growth. The new venue will provide technologically advanced amenities in a vibrant downtown location, while maintaining the superb networking atmosphere that has long characterized the Flex Conference. With the expanded exhibit space, attendees will be able to engage with more suppliers, customers and partners in flexible, printed electronics R&D, design and manufacturing.  

For more information or to download the Call for Papers for the 2013 Flex Conference, visit www.flexconference.org. Online submissions are now available.