Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) represents a rapidly growing and highly promising technology for all display applications. Based on planned investments, NPD DisplaySearch forecasts that the market will grow nearly tenfold from 2.3M square meters in 2012 to more than 22M in 2016.

Most AMOLED capacity is currently dedicated to small/medium production for smart phones, but much of the capacity increase going forward is expected to be driven by fabs dedicated to TV production. There are many unknowns about how far and how fast it will develop, though, since AMOLED technology has not yet been proven in large-size TVs.

According to the NPD DisplaySearch “AMOLED Process Roadmap Report,” the manufacturing cost of a 55” oxide TFT-based AMOLED using white OLED with color filters is 8 times that of a high-end 55” TFT LCD display of equal size. The cost multiplier of a 55” AMOLED module using red, green, and blue OLED is 10 times. These higher costs are mainly a result of low yields and high materials costs. (Source: DisplaySearch)