Category Archives: Displays

July 31, 2012 — Average retail pricing for U.S. flat-panel televisions rose to the highest level in 2.5 years during Q2, thanks to advanced features and larger displays in a growing proportion of TV sets, according to IHS (NYSE:IHS).

Pricing for U.S. flat-panel televisions hit $1,224 in Q2, up 3% from $1,190 in Q1, and up 9% year-over-year (Y/Y). This is a peak price point for the US since the start of 2010, 10 quarters ago.

Advanced and cost-premium features include 3D display, integrated interactivity and Web 2.0 or “smart” features, and light-emitting diode (LED) backlights in LCDs, explained Edward Border, analyst for TV technology at IHS. Aiding in the pricing increase, 3D displays’ share of the TV market grew to 30.9 from 27.8% sequentially. A similar increase occurred for Smart TVs, growing to 44.3% from 40.9%; and for LED-backlit LCD sets, rising to 63.5% from 59.2%.

The US market is dominated by liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs, along with a small plasma segment. Average pricing in the second quarter for plasma displays as a whole reached $1,628, while that for LCD TVs amounted to $1,120 during the same period.

Some large-sized displays in both LCDs and plasmas increased their share in Q2. The 46” LCD’s share in retail rose to 12.2% from 11.8% sequentially, and share for 60” LCDs increased to 5.2% from 4.2%. Note that pricing in June for the 42” LCD TV category plunged to an all-time low of $761, down from $807 in May, after two consecutive months of price hikes. Within the LCD TV space, the majority of the smaller, below-42-inch screen sizes saw their average retail price increase, as features including Full HD, LED and Internet connectivity became more widespread in 2012 models.

Large-sized plasma sets saw an even greater expansion, with 50” rising to 23.8% from 21.2%, 60” increasing to 23.6% from 18.6%, and 65” growing to 6.9% from 6.1% of the market in Q1. For plasma sets in the 42” and 65” categories, prices fell in Q2.

The 32” TV sector was the only area to see a decline, with average set prices at $435, down from $495 in Q1.

Also read: Flat-panel TV market: Bigger is better

In the Smart TV sector, average pricing in June fell to $1,907 from $2,015 in May, but it was up significantly compared to $1,724 in June last year. From a pricing perspective then, the Smart TV can be considered a major technological success so far this year, appealing to consumers with its dynamic mix of interactive features, easy integration with set-top boxes, emphasis on online streaming capabilities and access to over-the-top cable content.

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of 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.

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July 30, 2012 — Teknek debuted an elastomer roller care system for all contact cleaning rollers, used during the manufacture of semiconductors, displays, solar cells, and other products. Unlike isopropyl alcohol (IPA) cleaning, the elastomer Roller Doctor rejuvenation pad exfoliates the roller surface with a precise quantity of proprietary cleaning solution.

The cleaning pads are impregnated with the solution, controlling cleaning liquid quantity.

Teknek recommends that this cleaning procedure is carried out every quarter to ensure the roller is delivering the highest possible performance and removes concerns about any debris on the roller entering and potentially damaging the cleaner.

Teknek provides contact cleaning equipment for a number of sectors including semiconductors, converting, printing, medical and solar cells. Teknek is a wholly owned subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works Inc., which operates businesses in welding, automotive OEM, industrial packaging, food equipment, construction, polymers and fluids, test and measurement, electronics, decorative surfaces and automotive aftermarket, and more. To learn more, please visit www.teknek.com or www.itw.com.

Update July 27, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Kuraray Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:3405, ISIN:JP3269600007) completed the transaction necessary to acquire MonoSol LLC, having received formal approval by the regulatory authorities.

MonoSol will operate as a company that produces and sells industrial-use poval film under the control of Kuraray Holdings U.S.A., Inc., Kuraray’s U.S.-based subsidiary. MonoSol’s company name and basic management system will remain unchanged following the acquisition.

Kuraray is scheduled to include MonoSol in its consolidated balance sheets from the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013 and in its consolidated statements of income from the third quarter of the same fiscal year onward.

June 1, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE —  Kuraray will acquire MonoSol, manufacturer of polyvinyl alcohol (poval) film, to expand Kuraray’s core Vinyl Acetate Chemical Chains Business.

MonoSol Holdco, LLC, the parent company of MonoSol, formed an acquisition agreement with Kuraray. The transaction is subject to formal approval by the regulatory authorities.

Kuraray supplies poval films for optical applications, such as a polarizer film used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). MonoSol’s poval films are complementary to Kuraray’s and used for packaging films for unit dose detergent products, agrochemicals, mold-release films, etc. The acquisition will bring Kuraray into these industrial markets.

Kuraray’s Vinyl Acetate Chemical Chains Business comprises poval films as well as poval resin, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) resin, PVB film, EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer) resin, and vinylon fiber.

Monosol is based in Indiana, with production in the US and UK. It employs approximately 300 people.

Kuraray develops chemicals and resins, fibers and textiles, high-performance materials, medical products and more. Learn more at http://www.kuraray.co.jp/en/

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July 27, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Optomec’s Aerosol Jet deposition tools are being used for printed sensor, display, solar cell, CMOS and passive devices, and other development areas, with new installations at CEA Liten (France), Innovation Lab (Germany) and the University of Sheffield (UK).

Optomec supports more than 40 customers in Europe.

@ CEA: The Aerosol Jet system at CEA is located at PICTIC, which is the first European platform entirely dedicated to printed electronics. Christophe Serbutoviez of CEA Liten states, “The Aerosol Jet system plays a key role in ensuring the digital printing of fine traces of conductor and dielectric materials on flat and 3D surfaces. The system enables our customers to manufacture advanced printed CMOS devices, thermal sensors and passive components such as RLC filters.” CEA Liten is the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives). CEA is active in four main areas: low-carbon energies, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. CEA’s PICTIC (Research and Development of Printed Electronic Devices) platform is financially supported by the European Feder funds, Rhône Alpe Region and the CEA.

@ Innovation Lab: The Aerosol Jet system at Innovation Lab is used to develop new manufacturing processes for a number of different printed electronics applications. Kai Sudau of Innovation Lab states, “Aerosol Jet systems offer the opportunity to deposit fluids that could otherwise mainly be processed using spin coating. The Aerosol Jet system enables us to create structured layers of these fluids rather than full layers.”

Innovation Lab GmbH (iL) is an application-oriented organization for research and knowledge transfer in science and business, supported by the Universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim, and by the companies BASF SE, Merck KGaA, Freudenberg & Co., Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Roche Diagnostics GmbH and SAP AG.

@ University of Sheffield: The Aerosol Jet system at the University of Sheffield is currently used to produce a series of photomask samples with positive and negative micro arrays on a glass substrate. Conventional production methods are extremely complex and require special processing equipment. The Aerosol Jet deposition system provides a more cost-effective approach by directly printing the photomasks, eliminating many process steps. The University plans to use the Aerosol Jet system to help solve a wide variety of printed electronics manufacturing challenges.

The Mercury Centre is a multi-million dollar industrially focused facility within the University of Sheffield, accelerating the manufacture of high-technology components across a range of sectors, including advanced manufacturing, energy, health-care devices and electronics.

Optomec is the world-leading provider of additive manufacturing solutions for high-performance applications in the Electronics, Solar, Medical, and Aerospace & Defense markets. Internet: www.optomec.com

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July 26, 2012 — FUJIFILM Corporation sold its entire worldwide patent portfolio of more than 1,200 organic light-emitting diode (OLED) patents and patent applications to Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:PANL) for $105 million.

Fujifilm has researched and developed OLED materials as well as devices for more than 10 years.

Universal Display is expanding its business for OLED materials and the licensing of its patented OLED technologies through this acquisition. In related news, Universal Display expanded its OLED partnership with Plextronics to cover hole injection and transport materials.

In addition to the patent sale, the 2 companies are engaged in “a strategic relationship,” with strengthened and enhanced alliances between the companies. Fujifilm will expand its business for the supply of Fujifilm’s highly functional materials, such as barrier films, conductive films and flexible substrates, to OLED manufacturers globally, including Universal Display’s worldwide customer base. Universal Display will develop new technologies and processes for OLED manufacturing. "Fujifilm and Universal Display will continue discussions for further possible strategic relationship between the two companies," said Shigetaka Komori, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fujifilm.

“This transaction will almost double Universal Display’s patent portfolio,” noted Steven V. Abramson, president and CEO of Universal Display, who called the patent buy and the collaboration with Fujifilm a rare opportunity.

FUJIFILM Corporation is one of the major operating companies of FUJIFILM Holdings. Since its founding in 1934, the company has built up a wealth of advanced, highly versatile technologies in the field of photo imaging, and Fujifilm is now applying these technologies to other new business fields.

Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: PANL) is a leader in developing and delivering state-of-the-art, organic light emitting device (OLED) technologies, materials and services to the display and lighting industries. To learn more about Universal Display, please visit www.universaldisplay.com.

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July 26, 2012 — DisplaySearch has lowered its 2012 mobile phone displays forecast from 1,917 million units to 1,729 million units, blaming insufficient capacity of semiconductor processes for new application processors, anticipation of the iPhone 5, the European financial disaster, saturation in developed markets, and other unexpected situations.

Smartphones have driven continuous small- to medium-size display growth, with low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT LCDs) and active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays preferred in premium models.

In Q1 2012, mobile phone display shipments totaled about 400 million units, missing NPD DisplaySearch’s forecast.

The traditional boom quarter — Q3 leading into holiday consumer sales — will be hard hit in 2012. NPD DisplaySearch modified its forecast down from 22% Q/Q growth to only 9% Q/Q growth because of the negative factors and poor shipment results seen early in 2012.

Comparing last quarter’s forecasts and actual shipment results by technology, NPD DisplaySearch found that AMOLED actually had higher growth, but other technologies showed declines.

  • NPD DisplaySearch originally estimated 23% Q/Q growth for AMOLED, but it reached 26% Q/Q.
  • LTPS TFT LCD was forecast to be up 7% Q/Q, but was actually down 2% Q/Q.
  • amorphous silicon (a-Si) TFT LCD declined 14% Q/Q.
  • CSTN, MSTN, and PMOLED are no longer mainstream as mobile phone displays, so their declines were less relevant to the results.

Access the full article in the DisplaySearch Monitor, http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/displaysearch/hs.xsl/login_required_dsm.asp?page=my_dsm.asp

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July 25, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Panasonic, LG Chem and Philips are among the presenters for the upcoming 14th annual OLEDs World Summit, September 26-28, in San Francisco, CA, hosted by Smithers Apex and the OLED Association.

The conference will highlight the “dynamic and newsworthy” organic light-emitting diode (OLED) advances of 2012, said Andrew Smaha, conference director for Smithers Apex. It will focus on investment and markets for display and lighting, plus highlight recent advances in R&D from OEMs and research institutes. “Experts will delve deeper into OLED technology R&D than any other symposium to date,” said Smaha. The event’s focus on OLED lighting R&D and design is nearly double what was presented in past editions.

OLEDs 2012 will also offer attendees three panel discussions: How OLEDs Can Grow from ‘Niche’ to Market Dominance, Strategies with OLED Lighting Designers, and Flexible OLEDs from Concept to Market.

More than 20 presentations will come from Arizona State University; AU Optronics Corp.; Bingham McCutchen; Display Search; EMD Chemicals; First O-Lite; Fraunhofer; IBM; Ignis Innovation Inc.; IHS iSuppli; Kateeva, Inc.; KeyBanc Capital Markets; Konica Minolta Advanced Layers; Novaled AG; OLED Association; OLEDWorks; OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH; Panasonic; Philips Lighting; Soochow University; SRI International; Sungkyunkwan University; Tianma; Universal Display Corporation; the U.S. Army Research Laboratory; and Wolf Greenfield.

The OLEDs World Summit will begin with 2 pre-conference seminars that will allow attendees to gain a deeper understanding of key issues facing the industry. Barbarians at the IP Gate, led by Jed Dorsheimer of Canaccord Genuity, will show attendees how to construct a lasting IP portfolio along with offensive and defensive IP strategies. Options for Innovative Area Lighting, led by Norman Bardsley of Bardsley Consulting, will cover color, control, cost and other key topics.

For complete information about OLEDs 2012, please visit the conference website at www.oledsworldsummit.com.

Smithers Apex, formerly known as IntertechPira, is a global business that provides events, market research, publications and strategic and technical consulting for niche, emerging, and high-growth industries. Learn more at www.smithersapex.com.

OLED Association (OLED-A) provides a forum for the interchange of technical and market information. Our membership includes companies involved in small-molecule OLED technology and polymer technology (PLED or light-emitting polymers).

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July 25, 2012 — Polarizers used in display manufacturing will form a $9.94 billion market in 2012, up 4% from 2011, according to Displaybank. Sequentially, the polarizer market decreased by 9% in Q1 2012, hitting 2.235 billion. This was down 6% from Q1 2011.

The majority of polarizers — 98% — will be used in thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), with the remainder divvied up between active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) and other display technologies. Starting in 2012, the AMOLED TV market is expected to grow gradually. New films are being developed to meet this need, as compensation films used in small- and medium-sized AMOLED displays are inadequate for large-size AMOLEDs. While just 2% of the overall polarizer market in 2012 ($167 million), AMOLED-use polarizers will grow to 9% of the total segment by 2016, Displaybank reports, exceeding $1 billion.

Figure. Polarizer market forecast by technology/size. SOURCE: Displaybank, Polarizer Market & Industry Trend Analysis.

Acrylic films will also see growth. Acrylic films are used to replace Z-TAC, a polarizer compensation film for IPS. Now, acrylics are being investigated as an alternative to plane TAC films. This has been shown in small and medium-sized applications, and could emerge in 2013 and grow rapidly in 2014.

“Polarizer Market & Industry Trend Analysis” analyzes the market forecast of polarizer, production line status by manufacturer, supply chain, and price trend from 2010 to 2016. In addition, this report intends to give a better understanding of the polarize market where the competition of the  high value-added film production started in earnest through the market analysis of important optical sub-material films, TAC film, PVA film, PET protective film, release film, anti-reflection film, and compensation film.

Learn more and access the report at http://www.displaybank.com/_eng/research/report_view.html?id=15&cate=4

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July 25, 2012 — Wireless technology provider Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) will scale back its mirasol display technology, which uses interferometric modulation (IMOD); a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based technology capable of creating color from ambient reflected light. The technology offers low power consumption and is used in several e-reader products on the market.

During Qualcomm’s Q2 results investor conference call, Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm said they will scale Mirasol back into a limited set of products, and will look to license it to industry partners. Qualcomm “will directly commercialize only certain Mirasol products,” Jacobs said.

Mirasol displays took the silver award for Display of the Year at the Society for Information Display’s (SID’s) Display Week Awards in 2012.

Jacobs did not elaborate in the investor conference call as to why Mirasol is being limited and licensed out. However, QCOM did recently restructure its organization, moving substantially all of its R&D activities, its QCT semiconductor business, and other product and services businesses into a new wholly owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies Inc. (QTI).

In January 2011, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, worked with Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to expand the manufacturing capacity of mirasol displays in Taiwan, building a fabrication facility in Longtan. The aim was to have the MEMS facility operational in 2012, with a US$975 million initial investment by Qualcomm.

Learn more about mirasol displays at http://www.mirasoldisplays.com.

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July 25, 2012 – Marketwire — UniPixel, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNXL), engineered films provider for touch screen, flexible printed electronics, lighting and display applications, completed the production-level qualification of its Diamond Guard Hard Coat film with its manufacturing and distribution partner, Carestream Tollcoating.

With Carestream, UniPixel established the capacity to support 100 million+ square feet/year production of Diamond Guard, which is used as a cover glass replacement or protective cover film for displays.

Various pilot production orders from major electronic OEMs, ODMs, and film converters have been fulfilled.

Diamond Guard is a low-cost alternative to glass, with a 6H or higher hardness rating, scratch resistance, gloss finish and shatterproof composition. It is thin, light and flexible. This enables roll-based manufacturing, where Diamond Guard is die- or laser-cut to size. Users can print bezels, logos, borders, or other designs in a roll-to-roll processing method. Diamond Guard does not require special surface treatment for inks to adhere. The Diamond Guard line of protective cover films includes FPR (finger print resistant), AG (anti-glare), and DGU (Diamond Guard Ultra) Hard Coat (up to 9H rating) versions.

Widespread commercialization in the cover glass and protective cover markets will begin with this large-volume certification, said UniPixel CEO Reed Killion. The product will be marketed for small, medium, and large-size displays.

Carestream Tollcoating provides high-precision contract coating services and supplies optical-grade PET film, specializing in the application of aqueous and solvent coatings on flexible substrates.Carestream’s global logistics network boasts supply chain management and distribution capabilities in 56 countries. Diamond Guard can be provided as a raw coating material or as a resin for use in customer coating processes.

UniPixel also will work with OEMs and ODMs to combine Diamond Guard with its UniBoss touch sensor to produce a thinner, cost-effective touchscreen display. Functional prototypes have been developed with better than one-fifth the thickness of current touchscreen displays on the market and at a highly competitive cost. The company aims to market this touchscreen offering in 2013.

Carestream Tollcoating, a division of Carestream Health, Inc., is a premium contract coating services provider specializing in the application of aqueous and solvent coatings on flexible substrates. For additional information, please visit www.tollcoating.com or www.carestream.com.

UniPixel Inc. (NASDAQ:UNXL) delivers Performance Engineered Films to the Lighting, Display and Flexible Electronics markets. For further information, visit www.unipixel.com.

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