AMOLED panels may threaten large-size LCDs in 2013

An analysis report by market research firm IDC shows that as more and more large panel manufacturers invest resources in the development, expansion and introduction of OLED panels, AMOLED material technology and mass production technology will gradually mature. It is expected that as early as 2013, AMOLED may begin to pose a threat to the large-size application market of TFT-LCD panels.

Currently, the panel manufacturers that are most active in developing AMOLED are Korean manufacturers. Samsung has been fully committed to developing AMOLED through its Samsung Mobile Display, which currently accounts for 70% of the global AMOLED panel market share. The company also introduced a new 5.5-generation AMOLED production line for mass production in 2011, and also plans to enter the AMOLED TV business.

LG Group bought Kodak's OLED division in December 2009 and started mass production of AMOLED panels on LGD's 4.5-generation line in 2010. Recently, it decided to skip the 5-generation line and directly invest in the production of 8.5-generation AMOLED panels. It may launch a TV product using 55-inch AMOLED panels in the second half of 2012 to test the market. It has decided to invest in expansion plans.

In addition, although the development of AMOLED by Japanese manufacturers has stagnated for a while, it has not stopped. For example, SONY just launched 17-inch and 25-inch professional display products using AMOLED panels in 2011.

Meanwhile, the Chinese mainland industry has also regarded AMOLED as an important new generation display technology direction. According to statistics from the mainland, Chinese manufacturers including BOE, Tianma, Visionox, Rainbow, and Truly have all begun to use their 2.5th to 5.5th generation production lines to invest in AMOLED panel production.

As more and more panel manufacturers invest in AMOLED research and development, the industry believes that although AMOLED is only superior to LCD in terms of contrast, viewing angle, and response time, its service life and production cost are not as good as LCD, and its power consumption and color gamut are not much different from LCD. However, research institutions point out that AMOLED's power consumption may begin to be lower than LCD as early as 2013, which will help AMOLED applications move forward.