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KoreanSID Business Conference 講演概要 (スマートフォン編)
冒頭部和訳
SID Business Conferenceで筆者は世界スマートフォン市場の概要について講演を行い、その後、OTI Lumionicsの共同創設者兼CEOであるMichael G Helander氏が、3D顔認識ソリューションへの展開を可能にする同社のアンダーディスプレイカメラおよびセンサー技術について講演を行った。最後に、Universal Display Corporation (UDC) のビジネス開発担当副社長であるMichael Hack博士が、同社が開発を継続しているOLED技術に焦点を当て、燐光が秘めるOLED効率の飛躍的向上の可能性を強調した講演を行った。同博士はまた、プラズモニクスが与える影響と、同社の溶剤不要ドライ印刷ソリューションであるOrganic Vapor Jet Printing (OVJP) がディスプレイ用途から非ディスプレイ用途へと展開を推進している状況ついて説明した。
SID Business Conference Smartphone Session Overview
At the SID Business Conference, this author gave a presentation on the global smartphone market overview, which was followed by a presentation from Michael G Helander, Co-Founder and CEO of OTI Lumionics, focused on the company’s technology that enables under-display cameras and sensors for deployments in 3D facial recognition solutions. Lastly, Dr Michael Hack, VP of Business Development at Universal Display Corporation (UDC), focused on the company’s continued developments in OLED technologies and highlighted the potential of phosphorescence for future leaps in OLED efficiency. He also discussed the impact of plasmonics and the pivot of the company’s solvent-free dry printing solution, Organic Vapor Jet Printing (OVJP), from displays to other non-display applications.
Counterpoint: Global smartphone market overview
The global smartphone market is facing a high level of uncertainty. This is significantly influenced by changing tariff situations, like the recent 90-day pause on the highest tariff levels between the US and China, though the remaining tariffs are still elevated.
Global smartphone shipments are anticipated to decline in low-single digits (~1%), whereas prior to the change in trade policy by the US government, the market was expected to grow moderately in 2025 (4%). The primary driver for this decline is the anticipated lower volume in the US. Reductions in places like Western Europe and parts of Asia are indirect consequences of US tariff policies affecting economies reliant on the US as an export market.
The situation has reignited efforts to diversify manufacturing away from China, particularly for products targeting the US market. Apple's move to make India the main country of origin for US-bound products highlights advancements in the Indian manufacturing ecosystem and the company’s confidence in the supply chain there.
Apple is the key OEM most affected by the change in outlook – it is still heavily reliant on China as a manufacturing hub and has come under increasing pressure in the country from competing flagship launches. Android OEMs outside China will also be affected by economic factors like inflation and rising unemployment, shifting discretionary spending away from smartphones. OEMs with a lot of exposure to the Chinese market are still expected to see lower volumes than previously expected but still expect YoY growth thanks to government initiatives that could boost domestic consumption throughout the year.
Despite the market weakness, the premiumization trend is not expected to reverse, helping smartphone OEMs to offset revenue declines due to falling unit volumes with higher ASPs.
OTI Lumionics: Under-display solution for deployment in 2026
Michael G Helander focused on the company’s main technology – a set of materials and processes for cathode patterning, enabling a “bottom-up” method by using a material coating to repel metal atoms during vacuum deposition. This contrasts with traditional “top-down” lithography processes that may require multiple masks.
A main application for this technology is enabling under-display camera modules and I/O sensors by patterning small holes in the display's top metal cathode layer. This increased transparency allows facial recognition sensors to function through the display. Implementing this under-display solution is crucial for enhanced device security, especially 3D facial recognition, given the ability of GenAI applications to compromise password or video-based authentication. The technology has been in prototyping cycles in 2023 and 2024. The company expects that under-panel Face IDs using its technology will become available in smartphones in 2026, which suggests that the iPhone 18 Pro models will adopt it, as has been previously rumored.
AI was initially expected to help compensate for challenges in developing this new method for under-display applications, but advances in GenAI have actually slowed progress in some areas because authentication flows using AI processing are now seen as a threat vector, requiring devices to exclude AI as part of the verification solution.
Helander also discussed the benefits the OTI solution can bring to the foldable segment of the smartphone market. While foldable devices offer opportunities for larger screens in smaller devices, demand has tapered off, with Counterpoint projecting a YoY decline in foldable shipments in 2025. There is also still a need for performance, camera and battery life improvements, along with cheaper MSRPs.
The company's technology can help address some of these issues by improving the entire value chain, including materials, equipment and panel designs. It is working on improving OLED performance by developing new cathode materials to replace traditional magnesium-silver to enhance sheet resistance (improving IR drop), provide panel design flexibility, and improve display efficiency. A new cathode composition shows a 10%-15% improvement in blue index and similar lifetime. Combining this with other innovations could lead to a 50%-100% increase in OLED performance over the coming years, according to the company.
Another area is enabling thinner foldable devices by removing the polarizer and moving to polarizer-free solutions, also known as color on encapsulation (CoE). However, some polarizer-free approaches result in worse performance outdoors, which impacts visibility outdoors. To address this, it is developing a new vacuum-processible black matrix material that can be patterned closer to the cathode and emissive layers for higher performance, using an adaptation of its metal patterning technology.
UDC: OLED efficiency improvements with phosphorescence
Dr Michael Hack focused on the historic advancements UDC has made over the years to improve the performance of OLEDs with its phosphorescence technology.
Significant progress has been made over the years, including an approximate eight-fold increase in external quantum efficiency (EQE) for red and green emitters, with efficiency still increasing. Lifetimes for red and green materials have seen a 60,000 times increase and are constantly improving. These advancements, driven by UDC's phosphorescence technology, have led to about a 72% reduction in the power consumption of OLED displays since 2015. The development of phosphorescent blue is a major goal for the industry as it can lead to an additional 25% decrease in power consumption. LG recently verified the commercial performance of UDC's phosphorescent blue in a tandem panel. The technology is also improving color performance by narrowing the emission spectrum (reducing full width half maximum and the second peak) for all three colors (red, green, blue), which results in brighter colors, improved viewing angles, and support for future color standards like BT.2020.
UDC is also developing new technologies. Plasmonic Phosphorescence, or Plasmonic OLED, is a project that uses device physics, rather than chemistry, to improve efficiency. This method aims to quench excitons near the cathode, convert their energy to plasmonic energy, and then extract it as light, potentially yielding a four-fold improvement in lifetime, and promising large improvements in efficiency and an increase in lifetime for all colors.
Another technology is Organic Vapor Jet Printing (OVJP), a solvent-free dry printing process initially considered for OLED TVs but now being considered for non-display markets. OVJP offers benefits like high material utilization, high throughput, scalability, and precise control over thickness and doping. It is a versatile technique for various applications beyond displays, including potentially drug delivery and transistors. The high efficiency of OLEDs is seen as a key advantage that makes it difficult for competing technologies like MicroLED to rival them for most applications in the near future. This efficiency contributes to sustainability through lower power consumption and heat generation, while also enabling new product opportunities like brighter Micro-OLED displays.