Korea makes strides in organic displays

In the growing global market for organic displays, recent reports from market research firms show that Korean companies are playing a large role, led by Samsung SDI. According to a recent quarterly report issued by DisplaySearch, the number of organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, suppliers shot up from six in 2003 to 21 last year. Samsung SDI led suppliers in both shipments and revenues, it said. According to technology industry researcher iSuppli, Samsung SDI dominated the OLED market last year, accounting for 44 percent of unit sales, replacing Japan’s Pioneer as the leading supplier. DisplaySearch said that Samsung SDI achieved shipments of 9.7 million, marking a 72-percent growth, year on year. Second in shipments was RiTdisplay, based in Taiwan, followed by Japan’s Pioneer. OLED panels process images faster than liquid crystal displays or plasma display panels at a lower power consumption, but are technologically more difficult to produce. The new display technology does not require back lighting and therefore is being increasingly used in small mobile devices such as cellphones and MP3 players. Figures from iSuppli show that worldwide OLED panel market revenues rose to $408 million last year, a 63-percent hike from the previous year. It predicted that the market would reach $615 million this year as OLEDs replace LCDs in mobile phone displays. Last year, 89 percent of OLED market revenues were from sales to the mobile phone market. In addition to Samsung SDI, compatriot LG Philips LCD is jointly developing OLED panels with its affiliate LG Electronics, and Samsung Electronics also joined the competition last year. by Wohn Dong-hee