A “breakthrough” in inkjet-printed quantum dot color conversion devices for LCD and emissive displays will pave the way for an anticipated $12.6 billion market for low-cost, ultra-thin and flexible display components, announced quantum dots supplier Nanosys and DIC, a Japanese manufacturer of printing inks. Inkjet printing of quantum dot color conversion layers “has the potential to dramatically improve the incumbent LCD technology, as well as accelerate the development of emerging emissive display technologies such as microLEDs,” said the companies. The Nanosys-DIC collaboration is expected to enable display makers to successfully manufacture printed quantum dot displays “at scale” sooner than if they hadn't joined forces, the companies said.

Following the recent Nanosys application to register “QDOG” as a trademark (see 1711080046), Display Supply Chain Consultants President Bob O’Brien speculates the acronym stands for “quantum dot on glass,” and thinks the technology “may be the next best thing in the TV world,” he blogged Monday. “Perhaps it was only a matter of time before someone paired the great need of QDs for encapsulation with the great ability of glass to encapsulate, but now it’s happening,” said O’Brien, a former Corning executive. DSCC’s “understanding” is that panel maker Samsung Display is driving QDOG developments by sourcing glass light guide plates (LGPs) from Corning and Asahi, he said. By “coupling” glass LGPs with QDs, “it’s possible that QDOG represents a major advance on bringing both quantum dots and glass LGPs to a virtuous cycle whereby a profitable premium product gains market share and higher volumes, which allows for the economies of scale that drive lower costs, which drives yet higher adoption, and so on,” he said. “Our checks with TV brands and panel makers indicate that 2018 will be a breakthrough year for QDOG,” with Samsung Display’s business plan to build a million QDOG LGP panels, to be sold to TCL and other brands, he said.

The impact of higher LCD TV panel prices at the beginning of 2017 continued to weigh on retail demand for LCD TVs into Q3 by way of slower retail price erosion, especially in China and North America, the world’s two most price-sensitive markets, said IHS Markit in a report. Demand in other regions showed signs of growth in Q3, especially in Europe and most emerging markets, it said. Global TV shipments in Q3 declined 5 percent year-over-year to 54.8 million units, and revenue increased 1 percent and average selling prices were up 6 percent due to the growth in average screen sizes and the bigger “mix” of premium-priced 4K sets, it said. “Demand in China has been negatively impacted by much slower retail pricing erosion for TVs, and fewer promotions as brands seek to protect profit margins,” said Paul Gagnon, IHS executive director-TV sets research, in a statement. “Likewise, the high price sensitivity and minor price erosion in North America led to a 10 percent decline in year-over-year shipments in Q3 ahead of the important Black Friday holiday shopping season.” IHS expects that “the more conservative” Black Friday TV promotions compared with years past “will diminish the potential volume growth this year” in the U.S., said Gagnon. The average screen size of a TV shipped in Q3 increased 1.7 percent from a year earlier to 42.1 inches, said IHS. When combined with the much-reduced price erosion, that helped TV revenue increase year over year for the first time in three years, it said. The growth of 4K also contributed to the positive revenue result, with 4K mix increasing to 35 percent of units and 64 percent of revenue, it said.

The OLED market will reach $48.8 billion by 2023, up from $16.6 billion last year, driven by smartphone adoption and growing investments in technology and manufacturing plants, said ReportsnReports Tuesday. The Asia-Pacific market had the highest market share last year, while Apple is contributing to market growth in North America, it said, suggesting Apple may use OLED displays in upcoming iPads and laptops.

Abstracts and technical summaries are due Dec. 1 for the Display Week 2018 conference and symposium, said the Society for Information Display (SID) organizers Saturday in a final call for papers. Submissions are sought on more than a dozen areas of interest in display technology, said SID, plus three groups of “special topics” for the 2018 event: (1) augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence; (2) quantum dots and micro-LEDs; (3) wearable displays, sensors, and devices. Display Week 2018 opens May 20 at the Los Angeles Convention Center for a six-day run.

Quantum dot materials and technology supplier Nanosys applied Oct. 20 to register “QDOG” as a U.S. trademark for “semiconductor nanocrystals for use in consumer electronics,” Patent and Trademark records show. Nanosys “files trademarks for new technologies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans ahead of commercial release,” Jeff Yurek, director-marketing and investor relations, told us Wednesday. Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young speculates QDOG is an acronym for “quantum dot on glass,” he told us Wednesday. “We believe you will see QDs on glass light guides in 2018.” The innovation “lowers the cost of introducing QDs, as the glass light guide replaces one of the barrier films previously used in QD enhancement film,” he said. “It marries the thin form factor of glass light guides with the color and brightness performance from QDs.”

OLED technology supplier Universal Display continues to make progress developing a “research tool” aimed at commercializing organic vapor jet printing (OVJP) production processes, said CEO Steve Abramson on a Thursday earnings call. OVJP has the “potential to revolutionize the manufacturing of large-area OLED TV panels,” Abramson said on Universal’s previous earnings call in August (see 1708040030). “In the lab here, we have designed and are in the process of building the next-level tool, which should be in end of this year or beginning of next year,” and the company “will start working off of that,” toward commercializing OVJP, he said Thursday. “We are continuing to explore alternatives on how we may want to best commercialize this technology. We believe that OVJP has a lot of advantages in making large area OLED televisions. So we are very excited about this opportunity.” But it’s “very difficult at this stage to predict the timing” of when OVJP might come to market, said Abramson. “This is a whole project,” he said in Q&A. “We are looking at a few years because you continually need to scale up to the next generation. So we are improving in the basic research functions and now we are working on the development and scale-up functions.” As with “any new tool that you have invented, you have to work through the kinks,” he said.

​Display Supply Chain Consultants upgraded its 2017 OLED industry revenue forecast and now sees global sales growing 57 percent this year to $34.9 billion, the consulting firm said in its quarterly report Tuesday. In its previous quarterly report in July, DSCC forecast OLED industry revenue rising only 46 percent this year to $21.2 billion. DSCC sees OLED revenue rising at a 27 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), reaching $62.8 billion in 2022. The firm is forecasting “strong demand” for OLED TV panel shipments in units and dollars, it said. In future years, OLED TVs will “take more share in the high end of the TV market,” it said. Lead OLED TV panel supplier LG Display “is stretching its existing capacity, adding more capacity and shifting its product mix to meet demand,” it said. It sees OLED TV panel revenue rising at a 37 percent CAGR to $5.9 billion in 2022 with units rising at a 49 percent CAGR to 9.5 million panels in 2022. Smartphones are expected to keep a dominant share of the OLED market with at least 85 percent share over the multiyear forecast period, with revenue rising at a 27 percent CAGR to $54 billion in 2022, it said. OLED smartphone panel shipments are expected to rise at a 24 percent CAGR to 1.37 million panels in 2022, it said. DSCC expects curved OLED smartphone panels to overtake rigid panels in 2019, it said. OLEDs are expected to overtake LCDs in the smartphone market in 2020 with “full penetration” expected in 2027, it said.

More use of e-labels, displaying regulatory or product other details in electronic format rather than through physical labels, would improve consumer convenience, help manufacturers continue to innovate and meet regulatory requirements, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Monday. E-labeling is needed, said ITIF, because products are getting smaller and it's more difficult to fit multiple, small labels that notify consumers and others about complying with electromagnetic interference, energy, materials, recycling and safety regulations, which can increase costs and limit design options. ITIF said e-labeling should be permitted through an iterative process, starting with displaying product information on a device's inbuilt screen and then expanding it to products without a screen by providing access to information via a URL or QR code. ITIF said there's a "regulatory reluctance" to shift from physical to e-labels, partially due to concerns over monitoring for non-compliance, and policymakers may need to enact legislation. The report noted challenges such as e-labels becoming unavailable if devices are broken or have lost power, but manufacturers could provide peel-away screen labels or present information on their websites.

Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) for the second straight year landed the contract from the Society for Information Display (SID) to produce the suite of “business track” conferences at the Display Week 2018 show, the consulting firm said in a Thursday announcement. Several changes are planned for the 2018 event, including a stronger emphasis at the SID Business Conference on executive “roundtables,” it said. The “market focus” conference on automotive displays will delve more deeply into “the impact of autonomous vehicles on the display market,” it said. “Semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles are likely to boost displays per vehicle and significantly expand the automotive display market.” DSCC was launched last year by former DisplaySearch CEO-founder Ross Young and Bob O’Brien, ex-director-marketing intelligence at Corning Glass Technologies (see 1606150021). DisplayWeek 2018 opens May 20 at the Los Angeles Convention Center for a six-day run.