Displays are without a doubt the largest market for transparent conductors and this is a situation unlikely to change.  Displays are also a safe haven for ITO, since, despite constant grumbling, the display industry has been unwilling to switch to ITO alternatives.  This is understandable, given the huge commitment of the dominant LCD sector to ITO in time and money.

However, if the firms offering ITO alternatives are ever to move past their status as a cottage industry, they will have to take a measureable share of the display industry. The two big strategic questions for the transparent conductor business going forward are therefore (1) how can the LCD industry be persuaded to shift away from ITO?  And (2) are there sizeable segments of the display industry that are particularly open to ITO replacement?

In this report, we provide forecast how the use of transparent conductors in the display industry will change over the next eight years and who will be the winners and losers as the result of these trends.  The report also analyzes the money making potential that the display industry provides for both ITO suppliers as well as for suppliers and developers of alternative transparent conductors. Some alternatives have been commercially successful in other industries; is it now the display industry’s turn?

In this report, we explore the characteristics of the display industry that have contributed to its long-time reliance on ITO above all other transparent conductors.  The coverage includes conventional LCD FPDs in addition to touch-screens, flexible displays, OLED displays and electrophoretic displays to offer NanoMarkets’ clients the best insight into where ITO will remain king and where alternative transparent conductors can make money.

This report provides an analysis of the opportunities for manufacturers of each type of transparent conductor – ITO, other oxides, polymers, and nanomaterials – and looks at the roadmaps for adoption of each type of material by display makers.  We also examine the strategies that ITO firms will employ as they try to ensure that they retain the vast majority of this market as long as possible.

We also include an eight-year forecast of transparent conductor markets for display applications, broken out by type of transparent conductor and type of display.  We believe that this report will be essential reading for suppliers and developers of transparent conductors of all types, as well as for executives in display-manufacturing firms.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary
E.1 What Will it Take for Display Makers to Give Up Their ITO Habit?
E.1.1 LCD, ITO, and the Future
E.1.2 Will Next-Gen Display Makers Love ITO Alternatives?
E.2 Opportunities and Threats for ITO Suppliers in the Display Industry
E.3 Opportunities for Other TCOs
E.4 Opportunities for Nanomaterials and Conductive Polymer Firms
E.4.1 Nanosilver Films
E.4.2 Carbon Nanotube Films
E.4.3 Conductive Polymers
E.5 The New Prospects for OLEDs, Touch Screens, and Flexible Displays—and Their Transparent Conductor Needs
E.6 Summary of Eight-Year Forecasts of Transparent Conductors for Displays
 
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background to this Report
1.1.1 Conventional Flat-Panel Displays: How Long Can They Tolerate  ITO’s High Cost?
1.1.2 Other Display Technologies: When Will They Pull the Trigger?
1.2 Objectives and Scope of this Report
1.3 Methodology of this Report
1.4 Plan of this Report
 
Chapter Two: Transparent Conductors and How They Impact the Display Market
2.1 The New Indium Scare: China and Its Price Expectations for Indium
2.1.1 Impact on Mainstream Display Makers
2.2 Other TCOs: Can They Provide a Lower-Cost Alternative to ITO?
2.2.1 Tin Oxide and Plasma Displays
2.2.2 Are Other TCOs Really a Drop-In Replacement?
2.3 Other Types of Transparent Conductors for Displays
2.3.1 Transparent Conductive Polymers: Can They Match ITO in Performance?
2.3.2 Nanosilver-Based Materials: Can They Beat ITO in Performance?
2.3.3 Carbon Nanotube Films: When Will They Be a Realistic Alternative?
2.4 Key Points Made in this Chapter
 
Chapter Three: Display Markets and Opportunities for Transparent Conductors
3.1 Conventional FPDs
3.1.1 Impact of LCD Economies of Scale on Transparent Conductor Choice
3.1.2 Plasma Displays: Do they Have a Future? Should Transparent  Conductor Firms Care?
3.2 OLED Displays and Transparent Conductors
3.2.1 Transparent Conductors in Passive Matrix OLED Displays
3.2.2 Transparent Conductors in Active Matrix OLED Displays
3.2.3 The Quest to Get Rid of ITO in OLEDs
3.3 Touch-Screen Displays
3.3.1 Analog Resistive Touch Screens: ITO’s Brittleness and Cost Issues
3.3.2 Projected-Capacitive, No-Flex Touch-Screens: A Better Fit for ITO?
3.3.3 Transparent Conductors for In-Pixel Touch Panels
3.4 Electrophoretic Displays: A New Growth Market for Transparent Conductors
3.5 Flexible Displays: What Kind of Transparent Conductor Will They Need and When Will They Need It?
3.6 Key Points Made in this Chapter
 
Chapter Four: Eight-Year Forecasts for Transparent Conductors in Displays
4.1 Forecasting Methodology
4.1.1 Data Sources
4.1.2 Scope of Forecast
4.1.3 Alternative Scenarios
4.2 Forecasts of Transparent Conductor Use by Display Type
4.2.1 LCD and Plasma Displays
4.2.2 OLED Displays
4.2.3 Touch Screens
4.2.4 Electrophoretic Displays
4.2.5 Flexible Displays
4.3 Forecasts of Transparent Conductor Use by Material Type
4.3.1 ITO
4.3.2 Other TCOs
4.3.3 Conductive Polymers
4.3.4 Nanosilver-Based Materials
4.3.5 Carbon Nanotube-Based Materials
4.4 Summary of Forecasts
 
Acronyms and Abbreviations Used In this Report

List of Exhibits

Exhibit E-1: Summary of Transparent Conductor Markets in Displays.
Exhibit 4-1: Transparent Conductor Use in Small LCD Displays.
Exhibit 4-2: Transparent Conductor Use in Large LCD Displays.
Exhibit 4-3: Transparent Conductor Use in Plasma Displays.
Exhibit 4-4: Transparent Conductor Use in OLED Displays.
Exhibit 4-5: Transparent Conductor Use in Touch Screens.
Exhibit 4-6: Transparent Conductor Use in Electrophoretic Displays.
Exhibit 4-7: Transparent Conductor Use in Flexible Displays.
Exhibit 4-8: ITO Use in Displays.
Exhibit 4-9: Other TCO Use in Displays.
Exhibit 4-10: Transparent Conductive Polymer Use in Displays.
Exhibit 4-11: Transparent Nanosilver-Based Conductor Use in Displays.
Exhibit 4-12: Transparent Carbon Nanotube Film Use in Displays.
Exhibit 4-13: Summary of Transparent Conductor Use in Displays by Material Type.
Exhibit 4-14: Summary of Transparent Conductor Use in Displays by Display Type.