Are you aware that producing certain colors is more challenging in OLED displays? Among them, blue poses the greatest challenge compared to its red and green counterparts. The key issue lies in the materials: red and green utilize phosphorescent substances that are significantly more energy-efficient. Conversely, blue relies on an older technique known as fluorescence. This inefficiency has hindered advancements in display technology, as blue’s limitations affect the overall performance. Though there is a proposed solution known as blue phosphorescent OLED (or blue PHOLED), it tends to be unstable and short-lived. However, if a company can effectively address these challenges, OLED TVs could become brighter, more affordable, and more durable.
A South Korean company, Lordin, is reportedly nearing the solution. According to The Elec, Lordin has developed the necessary production capabilities to mass-manufacture its version of blue phosphorescent OLED, branded as ZRIET, which stands for zero radius of intramolecular energy transfer. The company has already dispatched evaluation kits to global OLED manufacturers for their assessment.
CEO Oh Young-hyun mentioned in an interview with The Elec that Lordin has also established a supply chain for deuterium in India, which is a stable non-radioactive hydrogen isotope used as a stabilizer in nuclear reactors and has similar benefits for OLED materials, enhancing their longevity and stability, thanks to India’s nuclear energy program.
The Challenges of Blue in OLED Technology
Returning to the issue of blue in RGB LED technology, the challenge primarily revolves around energy. Blue light has the shortest wavelength among the RGB spectrum, necessitating the highest energy input for its production. In contrast, red and green phosphorescent OLED screens can derive energy from both singlet and triplet excited states, translating to an ideal luminous efficiency of 100%, as they account for 25% and 75% of the energy respectively. On the flip side, blue fluorescent OLEDs are limited to merely singlet energy, capping their efficiency at around 25%. Consequently, manufacturers must layer three or four blue fluorescent materials, complicating the design and increasing costs, which impacts both WOLED and QD-OLED technologies currently available.
Lordin’s ZRIET proposal aims to overcome this limitation by integrating the energy host and dopant into a single molecular structure. In classical OLED designs, energy transfer between molecules can be inefficient due to distance; Lordin’s method minimizes this distance to nearly zero, substantially reducing wasted energy.
With these innovations, Lordin asserts that its blue emitters can achieve over 20% external quantum efficiency and approximately 60% longer life compared to traditional fluorescent blue. The emitters are also expected to enhance color precision on finished displays, reaching a peak wavelength of 456 nanometers with a narrow spectral width.
Lordin Faces Competition in the Market
Currently dominating the OLED material landscape is Universal Display Corporation (UDC), a U.S. firm that holds essential patents for red and green dopants utilized by notable companies like Samsung Display and LG Display. Nevertheless, UDC has not yet commercialized a blue phosphorescent emitter. Lordin’s CEO emphasizes that his company’s technology employs a fundamentally distinct structure, which could play a significant role when the market for these technologies ultimately opens up.
To support its progress, Lordin is currently in the midst of a $25 million funding round, with plans to finalize it by the end of 2026 and pursue a public offering in South Korea the following year. However, Lordin is not alone in this race; LG Display has revealed advancements towards commercializing blue PHOLED for smaller devices, such as tablets and smartphones, marking a significant milestone for the industry. As competition intensifies, the demand for alternatives that are not reliant on a single supplier is expected to grow, making the prospect of a diversified market appear increasingly attainable.
