As the shift from liquid crystal display (LCD) to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) spreads beyond smartphones to information technology (IT) devices such as laptops and tablets, investment in 8.7th-generation OLED equipment is gathering pace. Following Samsung Display and China's BOE beginning mass production of 8.7th-generation OLEDs this year, Chinese companies are preparing to enter the market with new processes such as photo patterning and inkjet.
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research on the 12th, global display capital expenditures (CAPEX) this year are expected to increase 57% from a year earlier. OLED equipment investment will rise 74%, leading overall growth, and LCD investment is also projected to increase 20%.
Within OLED investment, the share taken by 8.7th-generation (2,250×2,620 mm) lines is expected to reach 61%. Because larger motherglass than the existing 6th-generation for smartphones can place multiple panels for laptops and tablets, it is advantageous for improving production efficiency of mid-to-large-size OLEDs for IT.
In this year's 8.7th-generation IT OLED market, Samsung Display and BOE both entered mass production. Both companies apply the fine metal mask (FMM) method. BOE held a mass production ceremony at its B16 plant in June, inviting Lenovo, Asus, Acer, and others. Samsung Display last month made official its mass production of OLEDs for Apple MacBook Pro.
Counterpoint Research said BOE secured the title of "world's first 8.7th-generation IT OLED mass production" by holding its mass production event about three weeks earlier than Samsung Display, but it projected Samsung Display would maintain an edge in product complexity and production volume.
The expansion of 8.7th-generation OLED investment is also leading to competition in production methods. The FMM primarily used in smartphone OLEDs now is a method that uses a metal mask with microscopic holes at the positions where organic materials are to be deposited. However, as panel sizes increase, it becomes difficult to maintain production efficiency due to mask sagging and reduced precision.
In response, China's Visionox plans to mass-produce OLEDs using photo patterning instead of FMM, and CSOT plans RGB inkjet OLEDs as early as next year. Photo patterning forms the red, green, and blue (RGB) emitting layers with a process similar to semiconductor lithography, while inkjet directly jets emitting materials onto desired locations to create patterns.
Visionox began mass production early this year of OLEDs for smartwatches on its 6th-generation V3 line. CSOT is also producing laptop OLEDs on its 5.5th-generation t5 line since June, using equipment transferred from Japan's JOLED.
China's HKC, which completed its initial public offering (IPO) at the end of June, is reviewing 6th-generation full-size FMM OLED production. LG Display is conducting research and development (R&D) to verify the reliability of photo patterning OLEDs.
Confirmed investments in 8.7th-generation OLED production capacity to date amount to 75,000 sheets per month on a motherglass basis. Converted to the smaller 6th-generation substrate basis, that corresponds to about 150,000 sheets per month. However, it is uncertain whether actual IT OLED demand can absorb all the new capacity. In the early phase, when production facilities expand rapidly, panel makers' utilization rates may remain low.
Lee Jae-ho, a research fellow at Counterpoint Research, said, "In the early OLED smartphone market, there was resistance due to Production yield issues and high prices, but over time the process and yields stabilized and prices fell," adding, "For the time being, each panel maker's utilization rate may not be high, but as technological competition intensifies, companies that survive in the market and those that fall behind will be distinguished." He continued, "Panel makers are pushing product development that uses a variety of technologies as well as the existing FMM," and "Which technology secures an advantage in color reproduction, lifespan, and price competitiveness will be the variable in the future IT OLED market."