LG's groundbreaking 'Dream OLED' display technology is one step closer to full production

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Last year, we reported on LG's new blue phosphorescence (PHOLED) technology for OLED displays, a brand-new way of stacking "phosphorescence and fluorescent blue OLED technologies for better efficiency, brightness, and longevity." Yes, it's considered a holy grail for OLED displays, with LG referring to it as 'Dream OLED.'

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The good news is that after 8 months, LG is now reporting that it has successfully verified "the performance of commercializing blue phosphor OLED panels on the mass production line for the first time." This is excellent news as it's on track to become a game changer for OLED gaming displays and TVs in the coming years.

So, what makes it a game changer? Well, it solves all of the issues associated with current OLED technology. It's more efficient, significantly brighter, and alleviates 'burn-in' or image retention issues.

Here's LG's explanation (translated) of how it creates a brighter image using 25% less power.

"In the display industry, OLED panels that embody all three primary colors of light (red, green, and blue) with phosphorescence are called 'dream OLED'. The light-emitting method of OLED panels is largely divided into fluorescence and phosphorescence, which is a simple method that reacts to electricity and produces light, but the luminous efficiency is only 25%. On the other hand, phosphorescence is a method of storing energy for a while after receiving electricity and then producing light, which is highly difficult to achieve but has a luminous efficiency of 100%. Simply changing the luminous method from fluorescence to phosphorescence reduces power consumption by about 1/4."

Blue light has the shortest wavelength and requires the most energy. LG's solution includes a two-stack tandem structure with blue fluorescent material on the lower layer and blue phosphorescent material on the upper layer. The downside is that LG's current 'dream OLED' displays are limited to small and medium-sized panels covering smartphones and tablets. Still, with this new milestone, blue phosphorescence technology is expected to "expand rapidly."

"The success of the blue phosphor commercialization verification, which is called the final puzzle for the OLED of dreams, will be an innovative milestone for the next-generation OLED," LG Display CTO (Vice President) Yoon So-Young said.