Latest Updates in QD-OLED Technology

Supply and demand disruptions have been commonplace in all industries since the turn of the decade. Still, the display market has weathered these issues and retained strong growth, topping an estimated global value of $148 billion. New product launches, a potentially risky venture little over a year ago, now represent lucrative opportunities. Arguably, the timing couldn’t be better for pioneering first movers willing to endorse new TV technology paradigms–and Samsung Electronics has done just that.

QD-OLED TV is the revolutionary new display concept officially unveiled at CES 2022, although industry experts have suspected that QD-OLED TVs have been on the horizon for some time. Samsung discussed a novel system for quantum dot-enhanced organic light-emitting diode (QD-OLED) panels in 2019, and by 2020 the company’s South Korea production line received a $10.72 billion investment to upgrade for QD-OLED production.

So, what are the latest updates, and what do they mean for functional, market-ready QD-OLED displays?

Release Schedule

We discussed the likelihood of revolutionary new QD-OLED TVs launching this year in a 2021 article. The context of a global chip shortage and generally low demand due to stagnant global economies made us skeptical that an early 2022 release schedule was possible for Samsung Electronics. However, even under those conditions, it did seem likely that the first new QD-OLEDs would be unveiled and possibly released this year.

Samsung Display officially unveiled its QD-OLED platform at CES 2022, although no specific model was unveiled at the show. The reveal served primarily as a proof of concept, but a 65-inch model purportedly using QD-OLED technology did win this year’s CES Innovation Award, despite receiving no official announcement. There were positive signs that Samsung Display is gearing up for a market release, with QD-OLED production yields increasing to 85%.

However, this year, Sony won the first-to-market race by releasing the world’s first QD-OLED TV: the BRAVIA MASTER Series. These are seriously premium displays that indeed occupy the high-end price bracket. But they close the conversation about whether or not QD-OLED could arrive in 2022. Shortly afterwards, Samsung Electronics released the S95B, a 65-inch QD-OLED, to rival Sony.

Performance Parameters

It was widely speculated that QD-OLED display technology would push the frontiers of picture quality, aligning the exceptional peak brightness of traditional LED backlights with the unprecedented black levels of OLED panels and the outstanding dynamic range of QD displays. Industry experts expected that a self-emissive QD-OLED would use red, green, and blue (RGB) QDs in some format that mimicked an OLED panel with a colour filter. Samsung Display has confirmed that a blue light OLED is a light source for a QD colour layer. In a CES tech demonstration, Samsung suggested their QD-OLED panels reach 1,500 nits of peak brightness (over 3% of the screen) while maintaining individual pixel dimming for stunning contrast in high dynamic range (HDR) content. Additionally, Samsung suggested the new technology covers as much as 90% of the Rec.2020 colour spectrum.

Tech reviews for these new models laud the vibrant colours and dynamic picture, plus the peerless viewing angles for TVs of such brightness. The question now is whether QD-OLED will become a new standard or merely another option in a richly crowded consumer market.

For more information about QD integration with OLED panels, contact a member of the Avantama team today.

 

References and further reading:

  1. https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/display-market-925.html
  2. https://www.wired.com/story/the-chip-shortage-is-easing-but-only-for-some/
  3. https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-qd-oled-display-production-yield-increases-85-percent/
  4. https://www.t3.com/news/sony-reveals-world-first-qd-oled-tv-plus-smaller-oled-and-mini-led-at-last
  5. https://uk.pcmag.com/tvs/140866/samsung-65-inch-class-s95b-oled-tv
  6. https://www.t3.com/news/samsung-qd-oled-officially-revealed-heres-how-it-beats-oled-tvs