Canon Beats China In OLED Displays By Using Lead Rather Than Indium, A Rare Metal

Indium is a soft, malleable rare metal discovered by Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymous Richter in 1863 but it is now produced mostly in China, Nikkei Asia reported.

Photo Insert: Canon has developed a material made with lead for OLED displays that is cheaper than what Samsung Electronics uses.

Indium is expensive and has a low melting point for metals. Above its melting point, Indium burns with violet or indigo flame, as its Latin name “indicium” suggests.

Lead, meanwhile, can be recycled from readily available electronic waste. Replacing one with the other could prove a coup in the display supply chain and Canon may have done it, beating China and other competitors in the OLED displays market.

The company has developed a material made with lead for OLED displays that is cheaper than what Samsung Electronics uses, Nikkei reported.

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