The OLED-Info newsletter (March 1, 2023)

The following is a sponsored article by Coherent

It’s well known that laser technology is critical for making OLED displays. In particular, the use of excimer laser annealing (ELA) to transform the amorphous silicon deposited on the display mother glass into polycrystalline silicon is essential for proper device performance.

But lasers are used at many other key steps in the production process. Several of these involve high precision cutting. The figure identifies two of these. The first is FlexOLED shape and hole cutting. The second is coverglass and window cutting.

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Sony's long-awaited second-gen VR headset, the PlayStation VR2, is finally shipping. Sony is offering the new headset for $549.99 in the US, and it is also available globally.

The PlayStation VR2 is based on dual 120fps 2000x2040 OLED displays that provide a 110-degree FOV. This is the first major VR headset based on AMOLED displays for a long time.

Universal Display Corporation reported its financial results for Q4 2022, with revenues of $169 million and a net income of $65 million. Looking at 2022 as a whole, revenues reached $617 million (up 11% from 2021) while net income was $210 million, up 14% from 2021. The company ended 2022 with $826 in cash and equivalents.

The company expects the OLED industry to begin a new investment cycle in 2024, but in the near term the company sees a "temporary backdrop", and so expects its 2023 revenues to be in the range of $550 million to $600 million.

DSSC says that 3.1 million foldable smartphone shipped in Q4 2022, a drop of 48% compared to the previous quarter (and 26% compared to Q4 2021). This is the first time that the foldable smartphone market contracted.

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DSSC says that the market was "overwhelmed by the launch of the iPhone 14 Series". Worsening global economic conditions also reduced demand. In the full year 2022, 12.9 million foldable phone shipped (a 62% increase over 2021), led by Samsung with a 83% market share.