QD-OLED Penta Tandem, Samsung Display brands five-layer organic light-emitting structure
Samsung Display has announced “ QD-OLED Penta Tandem”, a new technology brand for its QD-OLED panels. The company says the branding covers a proprietary five-layer organic light-emitting structure used in QD-OLED panels shipped into monitors and TVs. Samsung Display also says it has completed trademark registration for the new name.
The difference between QD-OLED, Tandem OLED and Penta Tandem OLED
QD-OLED, tandem OLED, and penta tandem OLED are related but not the same thing. QD-OLED is a panel approach that uses an OLED light source, then uses quantum dots to produce color, rather than relying on a conventional RGB OLED stack or color-filter approach.
“Tandem OLED” is a general term for stacking multiple OLED emission layers or panels to raise brightness and improve efficiency and lifetime, with two-stack designs being the most common in consumer devices. “ Penta tandem OLED” is Samsung Display’s specific implementation of that stacking idea inside QD-OLED, moving the blue emitting stack from four layers to five layers.
Source: SAMSUNG Display
Penta Tandem coming to 2026 lineup
Samsung Display says the move from a four-layer to a five-layer stack is paired with newer organic materials. Compared with last year’s four-layer QD-OLED, the company claims 1.3x higher luminous efficiency and 2x longer lifespan. It also lists peak brightness figures of up to 4,500 nits for TV panels and 1,300 nits for monitor panels, measured at 3% OPR (pixels that lit up at the current moment), which basically defines as the ratio of active pixels on the screen.
The company is also positioning the five-layer stack as an enabler for higher pixel density panels. Samsung Display refers to its 27-inch UHD (3840×2160) QD-OLED monitor panel, which it says reaches 160 PPI and is currently the only mass-produced 27-inch UHD self-emissive display at that pixel density. The firm says energy dispersion becomes harder as pixel density rises because each pixel’s emitting area shrinks.
Samsung Display says panels using QD-OLED Penta Tandem can support VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 targets. Samsung Display says it will expand the technology across its size lineup during 2026, supplying it for flagship products from major customers. It lists last year’s 27-inch UHD panel, plus 31.5-inch UHD and 34-inch WQHD products introduced earlier in 2026, with a 49-inch Dual QHD (5120×1440) model also planned.
Source: Samsung Display PR
