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Metal Oxide TFT Backplanes for Displays 2014-2024: Technologies, Forecasts, Players

IGZO and other active matrix backplane solutions for emerging OLED rigid and flexible displays

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Metal oxide display backplanes have already gone commercial. Sharp has invested in establishing a Gen8 IGZO plant at its Kameyama plant in Japan while LG has also selected IGZO backplanes for its large-sized white OLED technology. At the same time, Chinese companies such as BOE are fast playing catch up with both prototype and production capacity announcements.
 
IDTechEx estimates that 7 km sqr of metal oxide backplanes will be used in the OLED industry in 2024, enabling a 16 billion USD market at the display module level. The LCD display market will add an extra demand of at least 1 km sqr per year in 2024 for metal oxide backplanes.
 
The display industry continues to rapidly change and seek new markets. Long term trends are still prevalent and shape global activity. Examples include reducing power consumption, improving image resolution, and decreasing device thickness. At the same, the need to differentiate and capture new markets such as wearable electronics is first bringing in robust and then flexible and bendable displays. These trends will drastically affect the technology requirements at many levels including the backplane level. This will stretch several existing solutions beyond likely performance limits, thereby creating openings and opportunities.
 
The technology space for backplanes is complex. It consists of (a) mature technologies such as amorphous and polycrystalline silicon, (b) emerging technologies such as organic and metal oxides and (c) early state technologies such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, nanowires, etc. No single technology offers a one-size-fits-all solution and many technologies will co-exist in the market. Betting on the right technology will remain a decision-making nightmare.
 
It is within this complex and changing space that metal oxide are emerging. They promise low leakage currents, high mobility, amorphousity, stability and wide bandgap. These attributes promise to enable, respectively, power consumption reduction, compatibility with current-driven OLEDs and/or 3D displays, image uniformity over large areas, long lifetime and transparency.
 
In the short term, this will help enable higher resolution and lower power consumption levels in displays including LCDs (particularly in medium- to large-sized displays); while in the medium- to long-term metal oxides will help enable uniform medium- to large-sized OLED displays.
 
Figure 1: Radar chart benchmarking attributes of different backplane technologies. There is no-on-size-fits-all solution that clearly satisfies all emerging technical requirements
 
 
Source: IDTechEx
IDTechEx draws upon its technical and market expertise to make sense of this space. IDTechEx analysts have hands-on experience of fabricating, characterising and modelling metal oxide TFTs and have developed a detailed body of market and technology knowledge around displays with strong emphasis on OLED displays including plastic and flexible versions. In this report, IDTechEx will deliver the following:
 
1. Ten-year market forecasts by market share, area coverage and market value (at module level) for LTPS, organics, a-Si, and metal oxides in
 
  • OLED mobile phones
  • OLED notebooks/tablets
  • OLED TV
  • OLED wearable devices
  • OLEDs in automotive and aerospace sectors
 
2. Ten year market forecasts for metal oxide backplanes in the LCD industry
 
3. Technology assessment, benchmarking and trending: IDTechEx provides detailed technology assessment and benchmarking of metal oxides and all other rival TFT technologies including organics, silicon (amorphous, nanocrystalline and polycrystalline), graphene, and carbon nanotubes.
 
IDTechEx will also provide up-to-date information and analysis on flexible and/or printed backplanes
 
4. Driver and trends: IDTechEx will identify and assess are macro level drivers and trends and will discuss how they will impact the industry as a whole and metal oxide backplanes in particular.
 
5. Company profiles
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1.METAL OXIDE SEMICONDUCTORS
1.1.Zinc oxide is the n-type oxide of choice
1.1.Spherically-overlapping bonds make oxide semiconductors less sensitive to structural disorder
1.1.Bandgap, effective electron mass and electron affinity of ZnO, Ga2O3 and In2O3
1.2.Key properties of thin film transistors made using different multi-component metal oxides including ZnO, GIZO, GIZO, ZrIZO, SZO, GSZO
1.2.Mapping out the effect of composition on electron mobility and microstructure of multi-component oxides
1.2.Why amorphous oxides give both high mobility and high spatial uniformity?
1.3.Multi-component oxides are leading the way
1.3.How will mobility, ON/OFF ratio and threshold voltage vary as a function of Ga and In content
1.3.The current dominant industrial uses of metals used in multi-component oxide semiconductors (Zr, Hf, Sn, Ga, Zn, etc)
1.4.Adverse effects of persistent photoconductivity on different applications
1.4.The physics (thermodynamics) behind the difficulty in p-doping oxide semiconductors
1.4.Why go multi-component?
1.5.Multi-component oxides give leverage in device design and manufacture
1.5.Choices for p-type oxide semiconductors
1.5.Key target markets for oxide semiconductors
1.6.Optically transparent thin film transistors
1.6.p-doping and complementary logic are often not possible
1.7.Some p-type oxide semiconductors are emerging
1.7.Optical illumination leads to persistent photoconductivity
1.8.Showing the different plasma regions in a typical sputtering process
1.8.Transparent electronics?
1.9.Transparency is not as good as advertised- why?
1.9.High performance oxide TFTs fabricated using printing with an annealing temperature <250C
1.10.Photocurrent persists for long times, even in the dark
1.11.Manufacture
1.11.1.Sputtering
1.11.2.Printing
1.12.Target markets
2.DIELECTRICS FOR METAL OXIDES
2.1.Dielectric requirements for transistors
2.1.Inverse relationship between bandgap and permittivity constant in dielectrics
2.1.Dielectric requirements for transistors including defect density, breakdown voltage, dielectric constant, band offsets
2.2.Key characteristics and uses of different dielectric layers for both traditional and emerging oxide electronics
2.2.Interactions between oxygen species and the active channel in oxide thin film transistors
2.2.The dielectric material set- assessing suitability for traditional and metal-oxide electronics
2.3.Trade-off between bandgap and dielectric constant
2.3.Estimated band offsets between different dielectrics and GaInZnO
2.4.Comparing the stability of different dielectric systems in oxide thin film transistors using our stability index
2.4.Dielectrics- the wide bandgap limits the choice of dielectrics- AlOx and SiOx are promising
2.5.Which dielectric material gives highest stability in ZnO-based electronics?
2.5.Explaining and assessing different manufacturing techniques for depositing oxide dielectrics
2.6.Comparing and benchmarking different manufacturing technique for oxide dielectric
2.6.Hybrid structures for metal oxides
2.7.Dielectric purity is critical for metal oxides
2.8.Passivation is critical in transistors but not straightforward
2.9.Manufacturing techniques
2.9.1.Explaining different techniques
2.9.2.Comparing manufacturing techniques
3.TRENDS IN THE BACKPLANE TECHNOLOGY
3.1.Active vs. passive matrix
3.1.Passive or active matrix backplane in displays
3.1.Comparing passive and active matrix systems on the basis of size, refresh rate, energy consumption, cross talk, etc.
3.2.Explaining key parameters of display technologies that influence the requirements on the backplane technology
3.2.Linking the display technology (LCD, OLED, EPD, EWD, etc) with the requirements for the backplane technology
3.2.Display technologies
3.3.LCD displays vs OLED displays
3.3.Comparing and contrasting the design and attributes of LCD and OLED displays
4.OTHER TFT TECHNOLOGY
4.1.TFT technology
4.1.Extracting TFT figures-of-merit from the transfer and output characteristics of TFTs
4.1.Pros and cons of principle TFT architectures including staggered or co-planar top or bottom gate TFTs
4.2.Explaining the key TFT figures-of-merit and assessing the link between the material and device design parameters influencing them
4.2.Different manufacturing routes for making thin film polycrystalline silicon
4.2.Basic TFT configurations
4.3.TFT figures of merit
4.3.Relationship between crystalline content on device mobility (electron or hole), process temperature, spatial uniformity, stability, etc.
4.3.Main consumer benefits delivered by LTPS
4.4.Primary examples of p- and n-type soluble and non-soluble organic semiconductors
4.4.Improvements in the mobility of polymeric and small-molecule p- and n-type semiconductors as a function of year
4.4.Amorphous, polycrystalline silicon and nanocrystallin
4.4.1.Amorphous silicon
4.4.2.Polycrystalline silicon
4.4.3.Nanocrystalline silicon
4.5.Comparing the key attributes of different TFT technologies (a-Si, pc-Si, nc-Si, OTFT, graphene, CNT, etc). Parameters include manufacturing technique, mobility, uniformity, stability, and commercialisation stage and primary uses
4.5.Organic semiconductors
4.5.Comparing switching frequency of graphene devices against other RF devices including Si, InP, GaAs, CNT
4.5.2.Graphene
4.5.3.Other nanostructures
4.6.The inherent kink effect present in the output characteristics of graphene FETs
4.6.Printable transistors
4.7.Technology comparison and benchmark
4.7.Comparing the deposition process of one layer using traditional lithography-based methods and additive printing
4.8.How printing simplified the manufacturing process by reducing the number of steps involved
4.9.How printing can disrupts the value chain for graphene
4.10.A plethora of printable semiconductors are available including PQT 12, graphene, c-Si, ZnO, CdSe, etc
5.TRENDS SHAPING THE DISPLAY INDUSTRY
5.1.Examples of 3D displays
5.1.3D
5.1.Comparing the lifetime, resolution and uniformity requirements of different display products including HDTV, monitor, PDA, PMP, mobile phone and signage
5.2.Assessing the instability mechanisms present in each TFT backplane technology including oxide, organic, polycrystalline, nanocrystalline, etc.
5.2.Size and scale
5.2.A comparison of properties of two principle 3-D stereoscopic techniques
5.3.240 Hz driving methods of stereoscopic 3D displays (a) progressive emission, and (b) simultaneous emission method
5.3.Flexibility
5.4.Product differentiation
5.4.The scaling (substrate size) law in display. This is the equivalent for Moore's law for the display industry
5.5.Evolution of display size from 1935 to 2011. This trend has been sustained by a change in technology from CRT to LCD
5.5.Power consumption
5.6.Lifetime and consumer behaviour
5.6.Identifying the market niche for oxide semiconductors in the large-sized display segment
5.7.Identifying the market gap for flexible display
5.7.Transparency
5.8.Rimless displays
5.8.Comparing the properties of common plastic substrates including Kapton, PEEk, PET, PEN, PES, etc.
5.9.The latest progress in developing coloured flexible OLED display driven by various back plane technologies including organics, LTPS and organics
5.9.Increasing processing power
5.10.OLED have been a product differentiation factor in all manners of displays including music players, cameras, mobile phones, tablets, TVs, etc.
5.11.The evolution for LCD display power consumption as a function of a shift from CCFL to LED backlight technology
5.12.Comparing the power consumption for CCFL and LED LCD screens of various sizes in W/sqr. Inch
5.13.Example of transparent 19-inch AMOLED TV or monitors
5.14.Example of transparent mobile phone display
5.15.Cut-off frequency as a function of field-effect mobility, mapping out which materials enable which circuit types
6.PROGRESS WITH FLEXIBLE BACKPLANE TECHNOLOGIES
6.1.Flexible OLED made using a-Si TFTs
6.1.Flexible OLED using different backplanes
6.2.Latest progress on flexible displays
6.2.Flexible OLED made using polyscrystalline-Si TFTs
6.3.Flexible OLED made using organic TFTs
6.3.Solution processed metal oxides
6.4.Flexible OLED made using metal oxide TFTs
6.5.Tri-folded OLED displays reported by Semiconductor Energy Laboratory and Nokia Research Centre at SID 2014
6.6.Production process folded used to make a tri-folded OLED display. This was reported by Semiconductor Energy Laboratory and Nokia Research Centre at SID 2014
6.7.Structure of flexible AMOLED made by BOE
6.8.A curved 9.5 inch AMOLED display
6.9.9.55 inch flexible AMOLED display subjected to 20mm curvature radius
6.10.All organic flexible display
6.11.Flexible OLED driven by evaporated OFET backplane shown at Printed Electronics Europe
6.12.High-performance IGZO transistors deposited using a sol-gel method and annealed at 250C
6.13.IGZO TFT synthesis
7.MARKET ANALYSIS
7.1.Radar chart assessing the merits of different backplane technologies (LTPS, oxide, a-Si, organics) for LCD displays. The parameters considered are resolution, size, flexibility, on-pixel processing, and 3D. Here, the scale is from
7.1.How oxides deliver value across the existing market driver?
7.1.Assessing how oxides can meet the emerging needs that arise from existing drivers/trends in the display industry
7.2.Announced and exiting production plans of major companies. The information includes backplane technology, display size, production throughput and plant territory
7.2.Which backplane technology occupies which market position in the emerging landscape?
7.2.Radar chart assessing the merits of different backplane technologies (LTPS, oxide, a-Si, organics) for OLED displays. The parameters considered are resolution, size, flexibility, on-pixel processing, and 3D. Here, the scale is fro
7.3.Development cycle and product pipeline for various display applications using oxide TFTs
7.3.Opportunities and challenges for oxide backplanes in OLEDs, LCDs and e-papers
7.4.Joint venture, partnership and collaboration in the OLED space- a timeline
7.4.Joint venture, collaboration, partnership and distribution agreement timeline (2000-2012) in the OLED lighting and display industries
7.5.Examples of key OLED display products on the market. The products include cameras, tablets, music players, mobile phones, TVs, etc and the producers include Nokia, Sony, Samsung, LG, HTC, Microsoft, Motorola, etc.
7.5.OLED display products are rapidly multiplying
7.6.OLED- a rapidly growing market
7.6.Volume production (in units) for different companies in the OLED display space for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011
7.7.Announced annual production capacity (area) of various OLED display manufactures in 2015-2016. Two categories are developed: 1) LTPS backplanes and 2) oxide backplanes
7.7.Opportunities for oxides in the OLED display industry- data
7.8.Will oxides also be used in the LCD industry?
7.8.Sharp tablet using an IGZO backplane system
7.9.Mapping the emerging oxide electronic value chain by position and company name
7.9.Sharp and HTC announces a IGZO product
7.10.Value chain mapping
8.MARKET FORECAST
8.1.Market share of different backplane technology in the OLED mobile sector
8.1.OLED displays
8.1.1.Mobile market
8.1.2.Tablets and computers
8.1.3.TVs
8.1.4.Wearable devices
8.1.5.Automotive
8.2.LCD displays
8.2.Total market in unit area (in Km2) for OLED mobile displays segmented by backplane technology
8.3.Total market in for OLED mobile displays segmented by backplane technology
8.4.Ten year forecast for market share for different backplane technologies in the OLED notebook and tablet sector
8.5.Ten year forecast for total market in unit area (in Km2) for OLED notebooks and tablets segmented by backplane technology
8.6.Ten year market forecast for total market value for OLED notebooks and tablets segmented by backplane technology
8.7.Ten year forecast for market share for different backplane technologies in the OLED TV sector
8.8.Ten year market forecast for total market in unit area (in Km2) for OLED TVs segmented by backplane technology
8.9.Ten year market forecast for total market value for OLED TVs segmented by backplane technology
8.10.Ten year forecast for market share for different backplane technologies in wearable electronic devices containing an OLED display (flexible or rigid)
8.11.Ten year market forecast for total market in unit area (in Km2) for wearable electronic devices containing an OLED display (flexible or rigid)
8.12.Ten year market forecast for total market value for wearable electronic devices containing an OLED display (flexible or rigid) segmented by backplane technology
8.13.Ten year forecast for market share for different backplane technologies in OLED displays used in the automotive and aerospace sectors
8.14.Ten year market forecast for total market in unit area (in Km2) for OLED displays used in the automotive and aerospace sectors
8.15.Ten year market forecast for total market value for OLED displays used in the automotive and aerospace sectors segmented by backplane technology
9.COMPANY PROFILES
9.1.AUO OLED history
9.1.Display production in mainland China
9.1.OLED strategies by display manufacturers
9.1.1.AUO
9.1.2.BOE
9.1.3.China Star Optoelectronic Technology (CSOT)
9.1.4.Japan Display Inc (JDI)
9.1.5.LG Display (LGD)
9.1.6.Panasonic
9.1.7.Samsung Display (SDC)
9.1.8.Sharp
9.1.9.Sony
9.1.10.Visionox
9.2.Flexible 5" AMOLED display presented at SID2014
9.2.Company interviews
9.2.1.Amorphyx
9.2.2.CBrite
9.2.3.Hewlett Packard
9.2.4.Polyera Corporation
9.2.5.PolyIC
9.2.6.PragmatIC Printing
9.2.7.Sharp
9.2.8.Smartkem
9.3.CSOT AMOLED roadmap
9.3.Other
9.3.1.AimCore
9.3.2.AJA International, Inc
9.3.3.Angstrom Engineering
9.3.4.Applied Materials
9.3.5.BOE Display
9.3.6.Cambridge Nanotech
9.3.7.Dialog Semiconductors
9.3.8.Hitachi Metals
9.3.9.Idemitsu Kosan
9.3.10.IGNIS Innovation
9.3.11.Japan Display Inc
9.3.12.LG
9.3.13.Lucid Display Technology
9.3.14.Magnachip Semiconductor Ltd
9.3.15.Panasonic
9.3.16.Prime View International
9.3.17.Samsung Corning Precision Glass
9.3.18.Samsung Electronics
9.3.19.Samsung Institute of Advanced Technology
9.3.20.Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
9.3.21.Sharp
9.3.22.Sony
9.3.23.ThinFilms Inc
9.3.24.Tokyo Institute of Technology
9.3.25.ULVAC Corporation
9.3.26.University of Oregon
9.3.27.Vacuum Process Technology
9.3.28.Veeco Instruments
9.4.JDI strategy
9.5.55" and 77" curved OLED TV by LG
9.6.RGB OLED vs WRGB OLED
9.7.Plastic OLED display at SID 2013
9.8.LG flexible display strategy
9.9.Panasonic 4K 56" OLED TV at CES 2013
9.10.Panasonic is also working on flexible displays (in collaboration with European research institutes). At the SID 2013 symposium, they gave a presentation on a 4" OLED displays made on a PEN substrate.
9.11.SDC AMOLED production and capacity
9.12.Expected revenue growth for Samsung Display
9.13.AMOLED segments
9.14.Samsung Youm
9.15.Technology readiness for flexible AMOLED
9.16.Strategic investment will secure growth momentum
9.17.Flexible display with IGZO backplane presented at SID 2013
9.18.Flexible 3.4" QHD OLED display by Sharp
9.19.Sharp product range
9.20.Super Top Emission
9.21.Rollable 4.1" display presented in 2010
9.22.Visionox G5.5 AMOLED MP line project
9.23.3.5 inch LTPS flexible full-color AMOLED
9.24.Resistance stability of ultra-high density ITO target
IDTECHEX RESEARCH REPORTS AND CONSULTANCY
TABLES
FIGURES
 

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7 km sqr/year of metal oxide backplanes will be used in 2024 in OLED displays

Report Statistics

Pages 185
Tables 23
Figures 100
Companies 45+
Forecasts to 2024
 

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