Can AMOLEDs be used in Industrial Applications?

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Can AMOLEDs be used in Industrial Applications?

• Written by Peter Ren, Business Development
  Manager for New Vision Display

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Introduction

• Since TFT LCD display technology dethroned CRT
  (cathode ray tube) technology in the late 2000s,
  it has dominated the display market for over two
  decades. However, this year will be a tipping
  point for display technology a shift from
  traditional TFT LCDs to up-and-coming AMOLEDs.
  This technological shift is becoming apparent as
  Apple the longtime 1 AMOLED naysayer will
  adopt an AMOLED display technology for its new
  iPhone 8 set to launch this fall. Furthermore, it
  is rumored that Apple will gradually increase its
  iPhone AMOLED adoption from about 25 this year
  to around 50 in 2018. Samsung, the AMOLED
  technology leader, of course, uses AMOLED
  displays in all of its premium handheld devices
  including the Galaxy and Galaxy Note series.
  Another heavy hitter, Google, uses AMOLED
  displays in its Pixel phone. As these tier one
  companies set the trend, others have no choice
  but to follow in their footsteps towards AMOLED
  technology.

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AMOLEDs in Indutry
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Certainly, AMOLED displays have many advantages
compared to TFT LCDs Lighter weight, thinner
profiles, wider temperature ranges, and better
overall optical performance. Additionally, AMOLED
power consumption can be as efficient as TFT
LCDs, and oftentimes more efficient for certain
applications. Their power efficiency can even
make display-always-on modes possible for uses
like peek-able display windows. However, the key
advantage of AMOLED displays over TFT LCDs is
that AMOLEDs can be made flexible with the use of
polyimide substrates. This incredible flexible
feature enables the development of bendable and
foldable displays, which could unlock unlimited
potential for technology advancements, such as
conformal displays. So far, AMOLED display
technology seems to be the only feasible gateway
towards displays working like newspapers or
magazines, like we saw in Si-Fi movies just a few
decades ago.
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• Given these AMOLED advantages, I am often asked
  by forward-thinking industrial, medical and
  military application engineers if AMOLED
  technology is available for their product? Their
  enthusiasm for newer technology is fully
  understandable, however I have to advise them
  that AMOLED technology is just not there yet
  and may take several years before it can be
  considered a good solution for their
  applications. Here are some reasons why

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1. High Cost
TFT LCD Display technology has been around for
two more decades than AMOLED technology, allowing
far greater time to improve the manufacturing
processes and materials, reducing production
costs. AMOLED production processes are still
quite complicated and have a steep learning. If a
typical TFT LCD fab has an 85 yield rate,
without changing anything it could have an
initial 0 yield rate on AMOLEDs. To be
successful, manufacturers must invest a
significant amount of money on research,
development and capital investments to solve
various unique AMOLED issues, such as particle,
encapsulation, Mura, mask cleaning, pixel
repairing, and aging. Right now, other than a few
Samsung AMOLED fabs, most AMOLED fabs are brand
new, working through their debugging phases, and
under heavy depreciation pressure. Therefore, the
NRE/NRT prices for AMOLEDs are still quite high.
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2. Less Support

• Due to major investment costs and complex
  processes, AMOLED fabs are focusing on a handful
  of key customers. Their typical customers are
  those within the consumer electronics industry
  with high production volumes, such as major
  smartphone manufacturers. Once their production
  processes are established for one project, fabs
  dont want to switch masks and processes for
  other projects as this can shut down production
  lines for an unknown period of time. Industrial
  applications typically have low production
  volumes, so AMOLED fabs arent often willing to
  manufacture for them.

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3. Unknown Reliability

• So far, AMOLED reliability validation has
  focused on major consumer electronics categories
  such as smartphones whose average lifespan is
  a mere 2 years. Typical industrial applications
  demand 5 years of lifetime, while some medical
  applications may request as much as 10 years of
  lifetime. There are also many environmental
  unknowns for industrial applications that could
  affect reliability Image sticking, solar
  effects, high humidity and high temperatures.
  Currently, some flexible AMOLEDs are limited to
  only 100 times of bending. It will take years to
  meet the robust and rugged requirements of
  industrial applications.

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4. Frequent EOL
Current AMOLED processes and materials are
developed and designed for consumer electronics.
All these are constantly in optimization phase to
improve yield and reduce cost. EOLs are expected
to happen frequently due to die shrinking,
material changes and process optimization.
Industrial applications take a long time to
develop and to achieve the right quality
standards. Therefore, its likely that EOL would
happen even before mass production.
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• Because AMOLED Display technology is still
  several years away from being used in industrial
  applications, proven TFT LCD technology along
  with its derivatives will continue to be the
  primary technology utilized. This is not unlike
  the lag when TFT LCD technology replaced CRTs,
  where industrial applications didnt start
  adopting TFT LCD Display technology for another 3
  to 5 years after consumer electronics
  applications.
• Peter Ren is the Business Development Manager
  for New Vision Display, serving customers in the
  US Pacific to Central regions and Mexico and
  South America. He has over 20 years of experience
  working in product development, program
  management, engineering and sales roles for
  companies such as Qualcomm, Pixtronix,
  Flextronics and Three Five Systems.

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Source

• https//www.ecnmag.com/blog/2017/07/can-amoleds-be
  -used-industrial-applications

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Thank You