AUO’s cutting-edge display technologies exhibited at SID Display Week 2021

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up digital transformation for global industries. People are increasingly dependent on human-machine interfaces for remote and contactless communication, which has led to a strong desire for high-end displays. For many years, AUO has been committed to the research and design of innovative display technology. This year, through participating in the online exhibition of SID Display Week 2021, AUO showcased diversified applications of high-end display technologies including micro LED, cutting-edge sensing technology, and A.R.T. (Advanced Reflectionless Technology), reiterating how displays can be applied in the post-epidemic era as the best helper for smoother human-machine communications to meet the once unimaginable needs.

With automotive gradually moving towards intelligence and autonomy, how to convey precise information to the driver while improving its interior design through a better display system has become a major task. AUO takes the demands into consideration and leverages the advantages of micro LED, such as high brightness, high contrast, wide colour gamut, and fast response speed, to comprehensively upgrade the overall driving experience. For example, the 12.1-inch 169 PPI micro LED display utilises colour conversion technology and its high brightness can display driving information clearly even under sunlight; the 9.4-inch 228 PPI flexible micro LED display satisfies the demand of fitting Central Information Display (CID) to interior shape with its dual-panel, dual-curvature stitching into an S-shaped CID. AUO also partners with PlayNitride to develop the 1.39-inch round-shaped display with a pixel density of 338PPI. With AUO’s unique free from technology, it can be used as the electronic knob for the CID, suitable for various automotive dashboard designs. Its ultra-wide viewing angle and high brightness features are also fit for wearable in all sorts of application scenarios, from static to movement, and from sunny to snowy day. Micro LED is able to display crystal-clear information and optimise users’ visual experience substantially.

Digital devices with screens are everywhere in our daily lives, especially after the pandemic. People tend to communicate online more frequently, and that leads to staring at the screen for a long time, which further increases the burden on the eyes. For this reason, AUO has exclusively developed the A.R.T. (Advanced Reflectionless Technology) with anti-glare and anti-reflection features, in the hope of protecting our next generation’s eyesight without compromising display quality. Focusing on the demands of content creator or picture/text editor, AUO has launched the world’s first 32-inch 8K4K professional editing monitor panel, which reduces distractions due to the reflection or glare of ambient light, and shows sophisticated details when drawing, editing the video or viewing photos. The world’s first 21.3-inch A.R.T. medical panel allows medical personnel to make more precise diagnosis and alleviate the damage to their eyesight after reading images for prolonged periods of time.

Furthermore, to achieve a better human-computer interaction, the sensing technology acting like a messenger is also a key factor in addition to display technology. Leveraging the profound TFT display technologies developed over the years, AUO presented cutting-edge sensing technology to meet the various demands in the smart verticals. For example, focusing on smart retail trends, AUO applies special CIAA (Circuits in Active Area) technology to transform the screen into an Near Field Communication (NFC) signal sensor, allowing mutual communication between the consumer and the store system through a single interface; in order to improve smart medical applications due to the pandemic, flexible, a-Si (amorphous Silicon) manufacturing process and Low-Temperature Polysilicon (LTPS) process were applied to develop X-ray sensors respectively to realise the mission of precision medicine.

Displays will soon be everywhere in the future. AUO has combined advanced OLED technology to create a 5.6-inch rollable dual-sided OLED display with double-sided displays when unrolled, which can be viewed by different users from each side. It can also be easily stored or carried around when rolled up. AUO replaces the reflection reduction circular polarizer with a proprietary colour filter (CF), which greatly reduced the thickness of the display module by 50% and maintains the brightness of display. It has passed the 100 000 times rolling test at a radius of 9mm curvature, proving the technology’s durability and reliability. In the future, it allows multiple users to watch different contents simultaneously, inspiring various next-generation display applications.

While pursuing innovation in display technology, AUO commits to energy conservation and environmental sustainability, and continues to develop inkjet printing OLED technology, which has a higher material utilisation rate than traditional evaporation techniques. AUO’s 32-inch UHD 4K inkjet printing OLED panel is driven by an oxide backplane and offers an industry-leading ultra-high frame rate of 144Hz with 4K 140 PPI resolution. The inkjet printing OLED technology will meet the increasing demand for high image quality and high frame rates in both medical and gaming applications. At the same time, AUO showed the world’s first 10.1-inch panel that integrates inorganic wire-grid polarizers into LCD cell, thus increasing the transmittance by 1.5 times while reducing power consumption by 25%. The thickness of in cell inorganic wire-grid polarizer is less than 1um, about 1/600 of the thickness of the traditional polarizers, which greatly reduces the thickness by 120–160µm, and passes the severe environment test of higher than 105°C/1000 hours. This feature is suitable for applications requiring long battery life, lightweight and slim stylish design.

As displays are indispensable in our everyday life, AUO has developed the strategy of “Go Vertical” and “Go Premium,” and the pace of innovation never falters. Recently, AUO unveiled the AUO-NTU Joint Research Center at National Taiwan University, aiming to stimulate comprehensive research on display and sensing technology while working with excellent talents from interdisciplinary backgrounds through further academia-industry collaboration.

Caption: AUO’s 5.6-inch rollable dual-sided OLED display has 2 independent screens on each side, allowing for different viewers to see different contents from each side, and can be easily stored or carried around when rolled up (photo: AUO)