OLED televisions to be ready for the market in 2011

Dan Rogers - 29 Jun 2010

MBraun, a supplier of processing tools to leading display firms, reveals that recent orders suggest its customers are on track to deliver commercial OLED televisions to the market in 2011.

The German company provides automation and production tools to OLED display makers including Samsung and LG, which have reportedly been ramping up production for OLEDs recently, as covered in +Plastic Electronics Volume 2, issue 6.

Announced scale-up plans have been for smaller screens though, suitable for smartphones and cameras. Samsung announcing its new facilities will be able to produce 30 million 3-inch screens per month, for instance.

However, MBraun's orders from the electronics manufacturers suggest that they have television manufacturing in mind.

Scale-up solved

One of the barriers to the television market has been increasing screen sizes in production. Display makers have been reticent about revealing how this has been overcome. However, MBraun sales manager for flat panel applications, Daniel Karecovsky, says that the solutions have been found.

Karecovsky remarks: 'The job of scaling up is one for our customers, which they are adapting to currently available equipment. These steps have already been taken, to produce screens up to 42" in size.'

LG is increasing the availability of its 15EL 9500, a 15-inch display (already available in some parts of Europe) in 2010, while Samsung is believed to be ahead of its South Korean competitor in terms of commercial OLED development.

And Karecovsky suggests that the firms will be ready to sustain significant manufacturing for OLED televisions next year too.

'We know that they're currently putting they're systems in place to manufacture televisions on a large scale, although there are still some improvements to be made,' he adds.

Lessons

Whereas Sony struggled with the launch of the first OLED television, the XEL-1, in 2007, Karecovsky believes firms are now better equipped to serve the market.

'Sony suffered yield problems, which translate into cost problems,' he explains. 'Samsung has been running several large-scale systems entirely for R&D though, which others have used for production, and so it has gained a lot of experience [in OLED manufacturing].

'Now it is investing in larger systems, it will use this know-how to create real products.'

Volume 3, issue 2 of +Plastic Electronics magazine will include special features on the development and commercialisation of OLEDs for display applications. To find out more or subscribe in time for the next issue, visit our Magazine page.