IMID Conference and Exhibition at KINTEX
Display panels are what matters in today’s electronic appliances market. In a sense, advancement in display technologies will determine technological progress in electronic displays, and related materials and components. As the old saying goes, “Technology makes life easier.” Display technologies will bring convenience and efficiency to the digital information and content delivery appliances market.
The ninth International Meeting on Information Display (IMID) 2009, Korea’s largest annual international event that introduces display-related resources, materials and ideas, will be held at the KINTEX convention and exhibition center from Oct. 12 to 16. An international conference will be held on Oct. 12-16, and an exhibition on Oct. 13-16. All in all, IMID will be organized jointly by the Korean Information Display Society (KIDS), the Korea Display Industry Association (KDIA), DisplaySearch, and the Society for Information Display (SID) under the joint sponsorship of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Merck Advanced Technologies Ltd., Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, and Korea Tourism Organization.
This year’s IMID will be ninth of its kind since its launch in 2001, a year after the KIDS was established in June 1999. Over the past nine years, the IMID has grown significantly in both quantity and quality. Characteristically, statistics show that the number of papers accepted has increased consistently: 416 papers in 2006, 458 in 2007, and 494 in 2009 (about 500 submitted), with a dip in 2008 (419). These numbers are significant, considering that about 600 papers are submitted to, and about 450 of them are accepted by, the SID each year.
Kwon Oh-kyong, president-elect of the KIDS, and a distinguished professor of electronic engineering and dean of the College of Engineering at Hanyang University, and Park Hee-dong, director of the Information Display R&D Center and chairman of the Executive Committee of IMID 2009, sat down with the Korea IT Times staff in early September to expound on the upcoming IMID 2009 and futuristic display panels and ideas.
“IMID has developed in quantity. So its goal is naturally to improve its quality in the future. It’s true that the IMID is still somewhat lagging behind the SID in quality, but some papers submitted to the IMID have turned out to be superior,” said Kwon. “Until 2009, the IMID has grown up in quantity. By 2010, the 10th anniversary, it will also grow in quality.”
To be specific, a total of 494 papers will be presented to IMID 2009, with the largest number, or 69, on organic light-emitting diode displays (OLEDs), 52 on active-matrix devices, and 49 on flexible and future displays and e-paper, Kwon added. The rejection rate was a mere seven to eight percent.
To open the IMID conference, three distinguished information display society leaders will deliver keynote addresses. They are Chang Won-Kie, president of LCD division of DS Business of Samsung Electronics; Munisamy Anandan, SID president-elect and president of Organic Lighting Technologies LLC; and Juergen Koenig, president of Merck Korea.
The IMID 2009 Executive Committee expected that about 2,500 academics and business leaders will attend this year’s IMID, the largest-ever number compared to a mere 900 at the first IMID in 2001.
Desired Effects
Asked what this year’s IMID is expected to produce, Kwon said, “Despite the lingering recession and fears about H1N1 flu virus, we’ll have more participants and papers this year than last. So we think we should produce more tangible effects than last year.”
Park, as the executive committee chairman in charge of operation of all conferences, said that despite its short history, IMID has won worldwide recognition. He said, “We’re proud of the worldwide recognition the IMID is enjoying. Many papers on new technologies will be presented to the IMID. I think as far as display is concerned, seminars and exhibitions should go together. With Samsung and LG ranking top in the world, we hope new products will be introduced for the first time through IMID. Then seminars will win higher recognition.”
Park, meanwhile, said the upcoming IMID event will give further momentum of cooperation between academia and the industry. He said, “Korea is good at producing quality display panels, which benefits foreign countries. Cooperation with other countries is, of course, important. But to cultivate substantial ability of our own, we should focus on developing our own technologies.”
IMID’s Role and Futuristic Displays
This year, several most important electronics shows, including Korea Electronics Grand Fair (KES) and the International Semiconductor Exhibition (i-SEDEX), will be held during the same period, alongside the IMID. This has IMID organizers worried to some extent. Park said, “As long as ours is an academic event, we’ll try to minimize possible damage to our event.”
In an effort to boost efficiency of the IMID event, the Korea Display Industry Association will take care of exhibitions, and the KIDS will take care of the conference. The IMID organizers hope that the upcoming IMID will provide a chance for the country to compete well with other countries, such as Taiwan and Japan.
Taiwan, Japan and South Korea are three leading display makers in the world. Until 2008, Taiwan had made more displays than Korea. But now Korea has a greater market share. To cope with this, Korean academics and industry leaders are trying to overtake rival countries both academically and technologically.
As for the future trend in the display industry, inorganic compounds are used as materials for TFT-LCD glass panels. But the tendency is to replace the inorganic matters with organic ones and focus on making flexible displays. Many experts predict that by around 2012, flexible displays will be put on the market. Another futuristic display is a system display with several integrated Smart functions, which will prove to be a more efficient device.
E-book based on the TFT-LCD glass panel is the only flexible display device in the market now. But creation of new applications with the flexible display is also under consideration. Characteristically, a total of 41 papers on 3D displays were submitted this year, compared to a mere 10 that were submitted three years ago. Scientists agree that the process for developing and commercializing 3D displays is going fast.
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Details from the interview with Drs. Kwon Oh-kyong and Park Hee-dong follow:
Q: Tell us about some papers submitted to the IMID 2009. What role will the upcoming IMID play
Kwon: Of the 494 papers accepted, the largest number, or 69, of papers are about organic light-emitting diode displays, followed 52 on active-matrix devices, 49 on flexible and future displays, and e-paper, 46 on display materials, components and equipment, and 41 on 3D displays.
Much progress has been made in new technologies, such as LCD, OLED, AMOLED technologies. Large TV panel production lines will eventually be outsourced to China. Under these circumstances, we should keep staying ahead technologically after the development of the eighth-generation LCD production line. We hope that upcoming IMID will be a forum for cooperation among industry, academia and think tanks in Korea and cooperation with foreign countries.
Park: The KIDS will screen and select outstanding papers in two categories -- basic original technology awards and Merck awards. The selection of the award-winning papers will be based on quality, originality and creativity, and technical advancement.
Q: Are outcomes of research reflected by the industry How can you maintain comparative advantage vis-à-vis foreign countries
Kwon: Yes, lots of them are reflected by the industry. Technology is not everything. We should also think of cutting costs. We’re seeking innovative technologies, or technologies we can develop at low costs, and maintain advantage in general technologies. Korea’s advanced technologies are the key to maintaining the industry’s comparative advantage over other countries. The point is how to produce goods at lower costs. We are learning from Japan’s experience. Despite advanced technologies, Japan has difficulties maintaining production due to high prices and low competitiveness.
Q: What desired effects do you expect from the IMID 2009
Park: We’re proud of the worldwide recognition the IMID is enjoying. Many papers on new technologies will be presented to the IMID. I think as far as display is concerned, seminars and exhibitions should go together. With Samsung and LG ranking top in the world, we hope new products will be introduced for the first time through IMID. Then seminars will win higher recognition.
Q: Can you give a comparison between IMID, and SID of the United States and IDW of Japan
Kwon: We’re in cooperative relations with SID and IDW. We have many advantages: We have two top-ranking display makers, Samsung and LG – more specifically, Samsung Electronics' LCD Division, Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) and Samsung SDI’s PDP Division, and LG Display and LG Electronics’ PDP Division. We’re confident that IMID can do better than SID in the future because of the strong industry-academia relations in Korea. Many Koreans are taking part in IDW, with the second largest number of participants after Japanese.
This year’s IMID is being held at the same time with KES and i-SEDEX. This makes it difficult to distinguish IMID from the other electronic shows. Since 2008, the government has made sure that such events are held together to present a massive integrated electronics show like CES or TES of the United States. But it is necessary to hold separate exhibitions to show the unique display technologies to promote the display industry better.
Q: Would you elaborate on next-generation information displays
Park: Two new special sessions are added to this year’s IMID – photovoltaics and device design to make the IMID more substantial.
As for the future trend in the display industry, inorganic compounds are used as materials for TFT-LCD glass panels. But the tendency is to replace the inorganic matters with organic ones and focus on making flexible displays. Many experts predict that by around 2012, flexible display will be put on the market. Another futuristic display is a system display with several integrated Smart functions, which will prove to be a more efficient device.
E-book based on the TFT-LCD glass panel is the only flexible display device in the market now. But creation of new applications with the flexible display is also under consideration.
Kwon: The concept of liquid crystal display was broached in the United States in the 1940s for the first time. People began thinking of turning it into commercial use in the 1960s. it was actually produced and put on the market in Japan in the 1980s. The concept of OLED was presented in the late 1980s and made for commercial use only a decade later. But such a period will be shortened in the future.
Flexible display, which has already been developed, can be put into commercial use in two to three years, only if mass production is possible.
Q: Explain to us about other technologies.
Kwon: Characteristically, a total of 41 papers on 3D displays were submitted this year, compared to a mere 10 that were submitted three years ago. Scientists agree that the process for developing and commercializing 3D displays is going fast.
By the way, TV still has merit. Many Chinese homes still use CRT TVs and will switch to flat panel display TV monitors sometime in the future. Because of its large population, marketing in China is very important. Next market will be India, I guess. So Korean firms are considering building LCD plants in China. So I believe there still is a strong TV market. Outdoor advertisement displays should also be flat panel displays. There are also e-book and e-paper. Besides, we should keep trying to find new markets and new fields of application for new technologies.
If produced cheaply, flexible displays can be used as wallpapers. It would be good to produce quality displays at reasonable prices.
How to manage human interface between humans and machines well will be a key. The most important thing is "touch" in this concept, and then "recognition of movement." "Voice recognition" is already in use. Then "thought recognition interface" is under development. Transparent displays that can function only with touch too are possible technically.
Park: It is only a matter of time before displays move to 3D. Despite technical advancement, it is still too early to say 3D displays have come into commercial use. When 3D displays are installed at all home appliances, then we can say they have come into commercial use.
Since 2000, flat panel display has come into common use, replacing CRT. It grew by more than 20 percent from 2000 to 2008. Many predict, however, that from 2008 until 2016, it will grow only 2 to 3 percent. This means notebooks, PCs, and TV have some limits. This needs creation of a new market.
Until now, display devices have played the leading role, but in the future flexible displays and their materials will play a very important role.
Q: Isn’t there any difficulty securing raw materials
Kwon: We have had no much difficulty yet. Merck is a large supplier of liquid crystal to Korea. Korea relies 100 percent on imports of liquid crystal. Yes, it is important to develop materials. It will take much time. Nearly all raw materials are imported. Many second, third-stage materials are developed here. We have been asking the government to spend much money developing materials and components to improve competitiveness.
We import raw materials, like liquid crystal, from Merck or Chisso of Japan. But we make polarizing plate with our own technology, while importing polyimide. Consistent investment is needed. As it turned out, we don’t have much profit after paying patent fees for such raw materials.
Q: Do you need to improve the system of cooperation between academia and the industry
Kwon: No question about academia maintaining good relations with the industry. But unfortunately, compared to sales amount of displays, the government budget for R&D funds is too small. The government urgently needs to improve the environment where academics and industrialists can conduct research jointly.
The state has provided many places for joint experiments for semiconductors, like Seoul National University’s Inter-University Semiconductor Research Center, the Nanofab Center in Daejeon, and the NanoElement Specialized Fab Center in Gyeonggi Province. But there is nearly no joint test center for displays. The government should do something by earmarking a huge budget, including building display manufacturing facilities for joint use.
Q: How about the international cooperation
Kwon: We maintain good relations of cooperation with SID and IDW. Conferences on manufacturing technologies are held annually in Taiwan, with some of them held once in a while held in Korea. Taiwan keeps good fab facilities. For example the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan has 1st and 2nd-generation facilities for joint use.
Park: Korea is good at producing quality display panels, which benefits foreign countries. Cooperation with other countries is, of course, important. But to cultivate substantial ability of our own, we should focus on developing our own technologies.
Q: What are Korea’s strengths and weaknesses
Kwon: Korea is strong on the manufacturing of LCD, PDP, and OLED, but weak on some materials and components. The United States, Japan and Europe are strong on developing materials. Of course, each country is strong on certain fields of components.
The most important thing is to train outstanding manpower. The main reason why we lag behind Japan is that we haven’t invested in training talented manpower, Korean or foreign. In contrast to the United States, Japan is a country where foreigners, for examples, talented Indian engineers, find it hard to live in. Korea is a harder country for them to find jobs.
Let me add just one more thing about Korea’s chronic weakness: we have less and less students who want to study science and engineering. It is extremely important to train engineers and scientists in the country. At the moment, the ratio of high school students, who wish to major science and engineering at college, is a mere 10 percent to those who want to study humanities and social sciences. Based on this, I can predict the future of Korea’s industry is gloomy. A remedy for this weakness would be to give better treatment to scientists and engineers.
