Samsung Display introduces QD-OLED Penta Tandem, boosting brightness and lifespan for TVs and monitors. Learn about the five-layer structure and its impact.
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Samsung Display has introduced a new premium brand called QD-OLED Penta Tandem, based on its proprietary five-layer organic light-emitting material structure. The company has already registered the trademark and plans to use it to promote next-generation TV and monitor panels. The name Penta refers to the Greek word for "five" and highlights the key technological shift from a four-layer to a five-layer emitting structure.
The technology centers on an enhanced blue emitting layer, which serves as the light source in QD-OLED panels, with color generated through quantum dots. Adding a fifth organic layer and using new materials has boosted light efficiency by 1.3 times and doubled the lifespan compared to the previous generation. As a result, TVs using QD-OLED Penta Tandem achieve peak brightness up to 4500 nits, while monitors reach up to 1300 nits.
This multi-layer approach has become particularly crucial amid rising resolutions and pixel densities. Higher PPI reduces the area of each subpixel, making it harder to maintain high brightness and stability. Last year, Samsung Display became the first in the industry to mass-produce a 27-inch UHD QD-OLED panel with a density of 160 PPI—the highest among self-emitting gaming monitors. The Penta Tandem technology was key to this achievement.
The new panels also meet the requirements of the VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 standard, which demands a black level no higher than 0.0005 nits alongside a peak brightness of 500 nits over 10% of the screen area. Currently, the only 31.5-inch UHD monitor with this certification is built on Samsung's QD-OLED Penta Tandem panel.
By 2026, the company aims to extend this technology across its entire size range. In the TV segment, Penta Tandem panels are already being used in flagship models from partners starting in 2025, with broader adoption expected to follow.