OLED production

JDI announced it will acquire JOLED IP and some of its employees, but will not acquire its production facilitiesand technology

A few months ago we reported that Japan-based inkjet printing OLED developer JOLED has filed for bankruptcy, and that Japan Display (JDI) will take over JOLED's technology and operations. JDI released an official statement regarding JOLED and its plans for the future.

LG UltraFine OLED Pro photo

So indeed on March 7 2023, JDI signed a basic agreement to support JOLED. Since then the two companies held 'extensive discussions', following which JDI decided to form a subsidiary company called 'JDI Design and Development' or JDIDD, that will acquire JOLED’s OLED technology development business and all related operations.

Read the full story Posted: Jun 02,2023

BOE is facing delays in its plan to build an 8.5-Gen IT OLED line

BOE has plans to construct an 8.5-Gen AMOLED production line with a capacity of 30,000 monthly substrates to produce IT displays for laptops, tablets and monitors. The company aims to build the B16 factory in Chengdu, Sichuan.

Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED photo

Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED (BOE panel)

According to Korea's ETNews, BOE is facing delays with its B16 plans. The company is seeking support from the local government, but it has yet to gain support.

Read the full story Posted: May 29,2023

Samsung Display starts ordering equipment for its 8.6-Gen IT OLED production line

According to report from Korea, Samsung Display has established a dedicated organization to head its new 8.6-Gen IT OLED Production line, and has started to order equipment. Samsung is converting an existing LCD line in Asan to OLED production, with an titak estimated cost of $3.1 billion.

Samsung Display 8-Gen IT OLED line slide (2022-08)

According to the report, SDC's decision to have a dedicated organization was made to give that team independence from the company's current small-area (smartphone/wearable) focused business and TV-focused business. 

Read the full story Posted: May 16,2023

China's largest OLED substrate glass production line to reach mass production in August 2023

China's largest OLED substrate (carrier) glass production fab has initiated production, with full production is expected by August this year.

This is the first phase of the production hub planned at the Weifang Optoelectronics Display Materials Industrial Park, in Shandong province. Total investment in this line was 1.4 billion yuan (around $200 million USD), and the construction of the 2nd phase in this project has now started as well. The total investment in the four planned production lines will reach around $720 million USD. 

Read the full story Posted: May 14,2023

Visionox new ViP OLED technology uses photolithography-based patterning to increase display performance

Visionox is introducing a new OLED production technology, called Visionox Intelligent Pixelization (or ViP for short) that enables higher-density display production, at over 1,700 PPI.

The idea behind ViP is to replace the fine metal mask (FMM) method with photolithography-based pixel patterning. The process offers several advantages, mainly the increase of aperture ratio to almost 70% (Visionox says the currently reach 69%). FMM methods usually achieve up to 30%, which means that brightness, efficiency and lifetime can all be increased.

Read the full story Posted: May 10,2023

Omdia: OLED fab utilization remains low at 60% as the OLED industry hasn't yet recovered from the oversupply in 2022

Omdia says that the utilization at display production fabs is on the rise, recovering from 66% in January 2023 to 74% in the second quarter, as demand for TVs, laptops, monitors and smartphones is on the rise.

However, this is mostly true for LCD displays. OLED producers are still facing low demand, and fab utilization remains below 60%. The industry has yet to recover from the oversupply it experienced in 2022. This is true for both mobile AMOLED displays and OLED TV panels.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 18,2023

HKC to start making AMOLED displays in collaboration with JDI using its eLEAP production technology

In 2022, Japan Display (JDI) announced that it has developed a "historic breakthrough in display technology" - a new OLED deposition process which they refer to as eLEAP, that is said to be cost effective and can be used to create freeform OLEDs that are brighter, more efficient, and longer lasting compared to OLEDs produced using mask evaporation (FMM).

JDI eLEAP aperture ratio image

We now hear that Chin-based LCD maker HKC Corp has signed an agreement with JDI to adopt its technology for mass production of AMOLED displays. Under the agreement HKC will invest billions to build AMOLED factories in China, while JDI will provide the manufacturing expertise and technologies, including eLEAP. The plan is to begin mass production in 2025, with the first applications to be in automotive displays and wearable devices.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 12,2023

Samsung Display to invest $3.1 billion to convert an LCD fab to an IT 8.5-Gen AMOLED line

In August 2022, Samsung Display announced that the company decided to build a 8-Gen (2200x2500 mm) production line, which will begin production in 2024. The company now updated that it will convert an existing LCD line in Asan, South Chungcheong province, Korea - and the total cost of the project is $3.1 billion. Samsung Display received government subsidy for this project. 

Samsung Display 8-Gen IT OLED line slide (2022-08)

Samsung says that the new production line will enable it to more than double its AMOLED tablet panel production. The company acknowledges the drop in demand for displays in general, but the company expects that demand for premium mid-sized panels will keep increasing. 

Read the full story Posted: Apr 07,2023

Japan lifts its ban on the sale of several high-purity materials to South Korea

In 2019, following tensions between Japan and Korea, Japan's government decided to restrict some material exports to South Korea, including fluorinated polyimide, resist and high-purity hydrogen fluoride, materials required for OLED production.

The relations between the two countries are warming up now, and a few days ago the Japanese government decided to lift those restrictions, and the sale of these materials to Korean companies are now possible.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 17,2023