Samsung SDI and Clairvoyante to Develop the Industry's First wVGA OLED Panel

Samsung SDI will produce the world's first high-resolution active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) panel using PenTile subpixel rendering technology from Clairvoyante Inc., according to a report by the Society for Information Display. By incorporating Clairvoyante's PenTile RGB technology, Samsung SDI is able to develop the first handheld wVGA (480 x 800) OLED PenTile RGB panel, overcoming the manufacturing and performance challenges that have previously complicated high-resolution OLED production, according to a press release.

At 3.08-in. diagonal, this first wVGA OLED panel will optimize emerging applications for handheld Web browsers, GPS and video, where exceptional detail and viewability is required, the companies said. Samsung SDI believes its OLED technology can result in the industry's thinnest packages for mobile applications and produces power-efficient displays with extraordinary viewing characteristics.

Currently, OLEDs are available in display formats only up to qVGA (240 x 320). Until now, OLED manufacturers have been challenged to achieve formats of greater than qVGA that also retain the lifetime and performance necessary for the handheld market, according to the statement. PenTile technology makes it possible to attain this improved performance by eliminating one-third of the subpixels while maintaining the same display resolution.

Samsung SDI said it anticipates a strong future for OLED technology, recently investing in additional capacity to support new demand. Samsung has been fabricating OLED panels since August 2002, with applications in car audio, electronic games, MP3 players and recently cell phones.

"Our partnership with Clairvoyante will create a new PenTile OLED panel that will lead the handheld market with a power-efficient, high-resolution OLED panel that supports continued innovation in emerging handheld applications," Sung-Chul Kim, Samsung SDI vice president, stated.

Samples are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2008, with mass production anticipated by the third quarter of 2008.