On November 4–5, the 2026 World Display Industry Innovation and Development Conference was held in Chengdu, hosted by the Chengdu Municipal Government, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology, and the Sichuan Provincial Economic Cooperation Bureau. At the opening ceremony, Ma Yuguang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Director of the National Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, delivered a keynote speech. Ma systematically outlined the evolutionary logic and core bottlenecks of display technology, stating that for China's display industry to transition from "catching up" to "leading," it must strengthen fundamental research from "0 to 1" and promote deep collaboration among industry, academia, and research.
"From black-and-white cathode ray tubes to color LCDs, and then to OLED and Micro LED, every technological shift has reshaped information transmission and spawned new application scenarios such as smartphones and automotive displays," said Ma. In the digital era where displays are ubiquitous, he noted that competitive dimensions have shifted from "clarity sufficiency" to "color refinement and energy efficiency." Ma pointed out that current quantum dot TVs still cover less than 80% of the color gamut, and it is difficult to simultaneously achieve high color purity, luminous efficacy, and device lifespan—a challenge known in the industry as the "impossible triangle."
In his speech, Ma emphasized that breaking the "impossible triangle" requires returning to the fundamentals of materials and principles to develop new materials and mechanisms. He stated: "We were the first internationally to propose the new principle of 'electrophosphorescence,' which broke through the exciton utilization rate limitation of OLEDs (increasing efficiency from 25% to 100%). Currently, phosphorescent OLED material systems have become mainstream."
Acknowledging achievements in fundamental research, Ma also addressed current industrial challenges—specifically, the low efficiency, short lifespan, and high energy consumption of blue organic light-emitting materials. To tackle this, Ma's team proposed the "thermally activated delayed fluorescence" (TADF) mechanism in 2012, utilizing high-energy excited states to achieve 100% exciton utilization, particularly for blue and deep-blue systems. This principle has since become one of the primary mechanisms for next-generation purely organic light-emitting materials.
"However, to further solve the 'impossible triangle' problem, we need to find material systems with higher efficiency and stronger stability. Recently, we have been proposing new principles from the most fundamental level," Ma introduced. His team has laid out plans for next-generation "soliton semiconductor" novel luminescent materials. This mechanism possesses universality and can simultaneously achieve narrow spectra, high stability, and short excited-state lifetimes, potentially breaking through the performance limits of traditional organic semiconductors.
Ma stated that the technology has currently completed construction from concept and microscopic principles to theoretical models, and is now advancing toward material development.
Discussing the innovation landscape of China's display industry, Ma frankly admitted: "There are not many instances of work going from '0 to 1'; breakthroughs in underlying principles rely on the role of scientists' fundamental research." In his view, fundamental research cannot be conducted in isolation. "We must also seek problems within enterprises and help them solve issues." He believes that real-world difficulties faced by enterprises serve both as targets for technical breakthroughs and important sources for research topics.
Finally, Ma called on business leaders and academics present to join hands: Scientists should delve into enterprises to identify problems, while enterprises should proactively engage with cutting-edge technologies. Only through synergistic efforts between fundamental research and industrial innovation can we continuously break through the physical limits of display performance and truly propel China from a major display country to a strong display nation.
Authors | Gu Yue, Li Jiaqi (Intern)
Editor | Wu Lilin
Art Editor | Ma Lijia Supervisor | Zhao Chen