The topic of the display industry for next year is investment in flexible display
The hottest topic in the domestic display market for next year will be investment in flexible display equipment. Both Samsung and LG must start production and shipping this year, and determine whether to increase equipment investment depending on market responses. Public attention is focused on whether there will be a new breakthrough in the stagnant display market.
According to the industry on August 19, Samsung Display and LG Display will ship flexible displays this coming November, and they are considering expanding production capacity thereafter. As the first product will be introduced as an `unbreakable and light’ concept phone, the production capacity of the current pilot lines of the two companies will be enough. However, if the response is good, the production capacity is so insufficient that it cannot handle a single mega-class model.
In terms of the current production capacity, Samsung Display has the upper hand. Samsung Display has the flexible display production capacity enough to input 8,000 5.5G (1300x1500mm) sheets in line A2 line. Even if the yield is assumed to be 100%, however, the capacity is big enough to produce 1 milllion-1.5 million 5-6-inch panels a month. If the fact that R&D must also be conducted on this pilot line is taken into consideration, the capacity is barely enough to ship hundreds of thousands of panels a month. This is why Samsung Display designed the line A2 extension as a rigid and flexible line at the same time. The current equipment is for rigid OLED, but if additional equipment is installed, it can be switched to flexible. Originally, Samsung Display is so aggressive as to plan the entire new factory, i.e. A3, as a factory exclusively for flexible lines.
LG Display is also thinking hard about increasing its small production capacity. It is operating part of the 4.5G (730㎜×920㎜) AP2 line as the flexible pilot line. The entire AP2 line can handle 75,000 sheets a month, and the flexible line can handle 12,000. Even if the yield is 100%, the production capacity is thought to be less than 500,000 a month. LG Display showed a strong will by disclosing its latest flexible display at the Canadian Society for Information Display (SID) last May, but production capacity may drag it down. If production capacity is insufficient, the most promising alternative will be to utilize the Gumi 6G (1500㎜×1850㎜) line. Currently investments are made in the 6G line for conversion to the low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) process. LG Display’s flexible OLED is based on LTPS.
In addition to Samsung Display and LG Display, Japanese and Taiwanese companies are developing flexible OLED, but they seem to have a long way to go until mass production.
The flexible display is not only light and thin, but also unbreakable. As it is very thin, it is possible to increase the capacity of smartphone batteries. An unbreakable smartpad is expected to be very popular in the education sector. A market research firm, HIS Display Bank, forecast that there will be a shortage of flexible display for a few years starting in the first half of 2015. “Key to flexible display is to find applications,” said Kang Min-soo, an HIS researcher. “As it has many advantages, demands will explode if there is a suitable market.”
According to the industry on August 19, Samsung Display and LG Display will ship flexible displays this coming November, and they are considering expanding production capacity thereafter. As the first product will be introduced as an `unbreakable and light’ concept phone, the production capacity of the current pilot lines of the two companies will be enough. However, if the response is good, the production capacity is so insufficient that it cannot handle a single mega-class model.
In terms of the current production capacity, Samsung Display has the upper hand. Samsung Display has the flexible display production capacity enough to input 8,000 5.5G (1300x1500mm) sheets in line A2 line. Even if the yield is assumed to be 100%, however, the capacity is big enough to produce 1 milllion-1.5 million 5-6-inch panels a month. If the fact that R&D must also be conducted on this pilot line is taken into consideration, the capacity is barely enough to ship hundreds of thousands of panels a month. This is why Samsung Display designed the line A2 extension as a rigid and flexible line at the same time. The current equipment is for rigid OLED, but if additional equipment is installed, it can be switched to flexible. Originally, Samsung Display is so aggressive as to plan the entire new factory, i.e. A3, as a factory exclusively for flexible lines.
LG Display is also thinking hard about increasing its small production capacity. It is operating part of the 4.5G (730㎜×920㎜) AP2 line as the flexible pilot line. The entire AP2 line can handle 75,000 sheets a month, and the flexible line can handle 12,000. Even if the yield is 100%, the production capacity is thought to be less than 500,000 a month. LG Display showed a strong will by disclosing its latest flexible display at the Canadian Society for Information Display (SID) last May, but production capacity may drag it down. If production capacity is insufficient, the most promising alternative will be to utilize the Gumi 6G (1500㎜×1850㎜) line. Currently investments are made in the 6G line for conversion to the low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) process. LG Display’s flexible OLED is based on LTPS.
In addition to Samsung Display and LG Display, Japanese and Taiwanese companies are developing flexible OLED, but they seem to have a long way to go until mass production.
The flexible display is not only light and thin, but also unbreakable. As it is very thin, it is possible to increase the capacity of smartphone batteries. An unbreakable smartpad is expected to be very popular in the education sector. A market research firm, HIS Display Bank, forecast that there will be a shortage of flexible display for a few years starting in the first half of 2015. “Key to flexible display is to find applications,” said Kang Min-soo, an HIS researcher. “As it has many advantages, demands will explode if there is a suitable market.”
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