Samsung Display’s LEAD™ technology, the world’s first commercialized polarizer-free OLED, has awarded the Display of the Year as part of the Display Industry Awards (DIA) presented by the Society for Information Display (SID). The award recognizes the most outstanding display innovations launched over the past year and will be formally presented during SID’s Display Week, opening May 11 in San Jose, California.

In announcing the award in its official journal, SID recognized that Samsung Display has overcome the challenge of using a polarizer, an opaque plastic sheet, by implementing on-cell film (OCF) and color filter technology, thereby improving overall luminance while enhancing outdoor viewability in a package that is up to 20 percent thinner.

LEAD™ is the world’s first polarizer-free OCF technology developed by Samsung Display in 2021. By eliminating the polarizer — previously essential in conventional OLED panels — and internalizing its light reflection control function, the technology enhances screen brightness while reducing power consumption.

The removal of the polarizer also contributes to thinner and lighter panels, making LEAD™-applied displays very well suited for slim and flexible designs. First used in foldable smartphones, the technology is now being extended across bar-type smartphones, further reinforcing its commercial value.

Samsung Display is actively promoting this proprietary technology under the LEAD™ brand, which represents its four core characteristics: low power consumption, eco-friendliness, augmented brightness, and design slim and light.

LEAD™ is a revolutionary technology that overcomes the structural limitations of OLEDs to deliver high performance while also being more sustainable. It is expected to be widely used in a variety of products, including smartphones and IT devices, where low power consumption and high brightness characteristics are critical.

This marks the seventh Display of the Year honor for Samsung Display, following previous wins for its 5.68-inch flexible OLED in 2014, foldable display in 2020, ECO² OLED™ applied to a foldable display in 2022, and QD-OLED in 2023.

(Photo credit: Samsung Display)