IIT Madras: IIT-Madras launches research centre for AMOLED displays, funded by MeitY, DRDO, Tata Sons

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) on Monday announced that a research centre will develop the next generation of AMOLED displays for smartphones, tablets, watches and wearables. These displays adjust brightness, consume less battery and produce better colours and contrast.The research centre will be called a national Centre of Excellence (CoE)–‘AMOLED Research Centre’ (ARC) which has been funded by MeitY, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Tata Sons. “The aim of ARC is to create a technology that will enable the growth of modular display factories (micro-factories). It has capabilities of both current and next-generation growth processes. The centre currently focuses on small-size displays such as those used in tablets, smartphones, and watches,” IIT-Madras said.

As per data from Statista – a data collection platform, around 46 million smartphone units were shipped across India in the third quarter of 2024, highlighting the growing demand for manufacturing these displays.

Secretary of MeitY, S Krishnan, during the launch, said, “The Centre is working to develop a technique to manufacture AMOLED displays which can be used in digital devices including smartphones, smartwatches and tablets. It is envisioned that the new method, which is based on the ‘economies-of-speed’, will enable a modular micro-factory concept of manufacture of these devices.” He added that the centre is also developing the prototypes of OLED Lighting and OPV power source for mobile phones driving India’s vision for becoming self-reliant and manufacturing it for the global market.

According to IndustryARC– a market research report firm, the market size for AMOLED displays is forecasted to reach $46.5 billion by 2030. The research paper added that the APAC region held the largest market share with 38% in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.9%.

The IIT-Madras centre will comprise researchers from various fields working on developing the displays. It consists of a state-of-the-art cleanroom which houses fabrication and characterization equipment.

ARC’s principal investigator, Dr. Debdutta Ray, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “This is the only centre in India that has the capability to develop smartphone-sized AMOLED displays. The Centre will work towards turnkey solutions, where we plan to develop, demonstrate, deploy micro-factories for smartphone displays.”He added that the goal is to keep the unit fabrication times the same or better where the ‘economies-of-speed’ allow smaller mother-glass size during production. “This will lead to a modular production system.”