LG will set up a new production method to start “inkjet printing” OLED displays in the first half of 2017. This will allow the company to produce larger and more affordable OLED TVs, according to ETNews.
Larger and more affordable OLED TVs
LG is currently mass-producing OLED displays using a vacuum deposition technique. In the first half of 2017, LG will start setting up “inkjet printing” equipment that can bring down productions costs.
This is a pilot production line that will be used primarily for testing before LG scales up inkjet printing for mass production purposes. The pilot production will handle so-called 8-gen substrates that are optimized for 55 to 65-inch displays. LG is planning to switch to 10-gen substrates later, which will allow the company to mass-produce 70-90-inch OLED displays – possibly even larger ones.
With inkjet printing the organic material can be deposited very effectively with virtually no waste. Besides bringing down fixed production costs, it can increase the yield rate, meaning that fewer OLED panels have to be discarded during production.
Korea’s Samsung and China’s TCL are also showing interest in setting up inkjet production lines. TCL previously announced that it has started construction of the world's most advanced LCD factory that will be capable of producing OLED, at some point in the future.
It is not clear if we will see the fruits of the new initiative in 2017 or later. LG will unveil the 2017 OLED TV line-up in January at CES in Las Vegas.
- Source: EtNews
