According to recent reports from South Korean media, Samsung Electronics is projected to achieve a record-breaking operating profit of $11.6 billion in the second quarter of this year. This remarkable financial performance could potentially push Samsung past Apple to claim the top spot globally. Interestingly, Samsung's Q2 operating profit is even greater than the combined operating profits of major tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google. In the first quarter of this year, these four companies collectively earned only $11.15 billion.
For those eager to delve deeper into the technical aspects of OLED technology, we’ve prepared an extensive overview focusing on one critical aspect of OLED manufacturing: evaporation. This process involves heating materials in a vacuum to create thin films that emit light. Let’s explore how companies like Panasonic have found ways to cut costs in this stage of the process and how Sony has refined this step.
Did you know that each pixel on an OLED screen is essentially "steamed" to form its light-emitting properties?
To understand evaporation better, let's break it down starting with the basic structure of OLEDs. As illustrated earlier, a typical OLED structure involves creating a layer of luminescent material just tens of nanometers thick on ITO glass—a layer commonly referred to as the self-luminous material of OLED pixels. Above this layer lies a metal electrode that, when charged, stimulates the luminescent layer to produce light. Electrons and holes are injected from opposite sides, moving through the organic layer and combining in the light-emitting layer to excite molecules and generate singlet excitons, which radiate light.
While this might sound complex, the simplified version is that the red, green, and blue sub-pixels you see glow independently. The complete panel includes additional elements like isolation columns and insulation layers between sub-pixels. AMOLED screens also incorporate a TFT backplane to manage individual pixel switches.
Given this intricate structure, traditional carving techniques won't suffice. Manufacturing OLED panels requires advanced technological processes, including ITO glass cleaning and lithography, which involve sophisticated methods we rarely encounter. Think of these processes as miniature carvings done with precision tools rather than knives.
The evaporation phase is particularly pivotal in OLED manufacturing. Within a vacuum chamber, the ITO glass substrate is placed on a heated rotating holder, while the luminescent material is heated to a gaseous state and deposited onto the substrate. This process involves depositing the red, green, and blue components, which are not physical bulbs but rather layers that emit these colors.
Evaporation is central to OLED production, not only for luminescent materials but also for metal electrodes. While the concept resembles cooking, the execution is far more intricate, involving precise control over pixel areas, alignment, film thickness, and vacuum levels—details that most people find hard to grasp. Following evaporation, other stages such as dispensing, encapsulation, aging, cutting, and testing are equally crucial.
Evaporation is a significant contributor to the high cost of OLED screens. This is why companies like LG struggle to afford enough evaporation machinery and why even Canon Tokki finds it challenging to meet Samsung’s demands.
Besides evaporation, another approach gaining traction is printing. The high-end "evaporation" method primarily applies to RGB OLED screens, often used in Samsung's OLED TVs, producing excellent color purity but at a steep cost. This method uses FMM (Fine Metal Mask) to align pixels, which presents technical challenges.
To cut costs, some OLED TVs use a blue light source with a color conversion layer, requiring only the evaporation of blue components. However, limitations in converter development have limited this approach's adoption.
Another method involves white light plus color filters, akin to LCD panels. LG uses this approach for its OLED TVs, aiming to reduce costs further. While cheaper, this method suffers from lower light purity, impacting brightness, contrast, and energy efficiency compared to RGB OLEDs.
Panasonic believes the last method compromises image quality and cost-effectiveness, favoring RGB OLED. However, FMM evaporation is costly. At CES 2013, Panasonic showcased its "printing" process, unveiling what they claimed was the world's largest 4K OLED TV (56 inches). Unlike FMM evaporation, this printing method doesn't require a high-temperature vacuum, lowering manufacturing costs significantly.
Despite its advantages, the printing process faces challenges, particularly with the efficiency and lifespan of blue materials, leading to issues like a yellowish tint in some TVs.
Japanese companies like Mitsubishi Chemical are also exploring new materials for OLED printing, promising a 10-fold cost reduction compared to evaporation. Their innovative materials allow precise application to small areas, offering hope for more affordable OLED TVs.
Sony took a unique approach by combining evaporation and printing. They first coat a common blue layer, then print red and green, followed by evaporation. This ensures the blue material's lifespan and efficiency. At CES 2013, Sony unveiled the world's largest OLED TV using this hybrid method, addressing color casting issues and even surpassing some premium Korean competitors in perceived quality.
With advancements in printing technology, the future looks promising. Companies like Mitsubishi Chemical continue to refine organic film-forming techniques, potentially reducing OLED costs further. Packaging remains another critical area for innovation, essential for OLED's commercial viability.
Currently, OLED TVs remain expensive due to ongoing technological improvements. Despite this, prototypes showcasing foldable and paper-thin screens hint at OLED's revolutionary potential. Future developments, such as Panasonic's transparent cathodes and "top emission" technology, promise enhanced efficiency, while Sony's "super top lighting structure" boosts color purity.
Although OLED is hailed as the next-generation display technology, it still lags behind LCD in terms of maturity. The high cost of OLED TVs is thus understandable given the ongoing advancements needed to perfect this technology.
HP Chromebook 14 G7,HP Chromebook 14 G7,HP Chromebook 14 G7 replacement parts,HP Chromebook 14 G7 keyboard,HP Chromebook 14 G7 LCD cover
S-yuan Electronic Technology Limited , https://www.syuanelectronic.com