Samsung Display – The Big OLED Story Continues…
Last week we noted that Samsung Display has been considering adapting an idle Gen 8.5 LCD fab to the production of OLED displays. While little has changed on an absolute basis, meaning SDC has not made any comments or decisions regarding such a conversion, but in our 08/02/21 note, we mentioned that Samsung and tool vendor Ulvac (6728.JP) had been developing a deposition system that would allow SDC to produce RGB OLED displays on a Gen 8.5 platform, a process that required the use of fine metal masks that were unable to scale above 6. The tool, which is currently under evaluation by SDC, has a vertical deposition chamber, which eliminates the fine metal mask sagging issue that occurs when the deposition chamber is horizontal.
However, the SDC supply chain also seems to have caught the Gen 8 OLED fever as local tool vendors are said to be developing dry etchers that will be used during the TFT process, should it move forward over the next few months, with Wonik (240810.KS), and ICD (040910.KS), both local suppliers and Tokyo Electron (8035.JP) are all competing for such a potential order. Dai Nippon Printing (7912.JP) is said to be developing the Gen 8.5 fine metal masks and Hims (238490.KS) is developing the tensioning frame for the masks.
What makes this a high risk game for all of these suppliers is the fact that Samsung Display has yet to make a final decision on whether to move the project forward, with the financial burden of the development costs resting on these potential suppliers. If SDC does not qualify the Ulvac deposition tool, or at least allow it to move to the next stage of development, it could postpone or end the program, as the deposition tool modification program is the most important part of SDC’s potential for producing larger RGB OLED panels. SDC and parent Samsung Electronics have rejected the concept of WOLED (White OLED), which is used by LG Display to produce its OLED TVs because it is not an RGB process and uses a color filter. SDC has been very successful in producing small panel RGB displays, and is the global leader, but because of size limitations of the fine metal masks, it could not be scaled above Gen 6. If successful with the new deposition process, SDC will be able to produce both OLED IT panels and potentially OLED TV panels under the process, which would have a marked impact on the OLED market.
There are a lot of ‘ifs’ here, and significant risk being taken by tool vendors, but if successful could lead to another Samsung Display equipment cycle that would broaden the OLED market and give SDC an alternative to the development of new technologies, such as QD/OLED or Micro-LEDs. While we expect a final decision before the end of this year, the timeline for this type of project is still convoluted and open to speculation, but we expect that these tool vendors have been in discussions with SDC about the potential for the project’s implementation and have taken the R&D costs under the encouragement of SDC. It’s a risky business, you’ve got to be in it to win it.
However, the SDC supply chain also seems to have caught the Gen 8 OLED fever as local tool vendors are said to be developing dry etchers that will be used during the TFT process, should it move forward over the next few months, with Wonik (240810.KS), and ICD (040910.KS), both local suppliers and Tokyo Electron (8035.JP) are all competing for such a potential order. Dai Nippon Printing (7912.JP) is said to be developing the Gen 8.5 fine metal masks and Hims (238490.KS) is developing the tensioning frame for the masks.
What makes this a high risk game for all of these suppliers is the fact that Samsung Display has yet to make a final decision on whether to move the project forward, with the financial burden of the development costs resting on these potential suppliers. If SDC does not qualify the Ulvac deposition tool, or at least allow it to move to the next stage of development, it could postpone or end the program, as the deposition tool modification program is the most important part of SDC’s potential for producing larger RGB OLED panels. SDC and parent Samsung Electronics have rejected the concept of WOLED (White OLED), which is used by LG Display to produce its OLED TVs because it is not an RGB process and uses a color filter. SDC has been very successful in producing small panel RGB displays, and is the global leader, but because of size limitations of the fine metal masks, it could not be scaled above Gen 6. If successful with the new deposition process, SDC will be able to produce both OLED IT panels and potentially OLED TV panels under the process, which would have a marked impact on the OLED market.
There are a lot of ‘ifs’ here, and significant risk being taken by tool vendors, but if successful could lead to another Samsung Display equipment cycle that would broaden the OLED market and give SDC an alternative to the development of new technologies, such as QD/OLED or Micro-LEDs. While we expect a final decision before the end of this year, the timeline for this type of project is still convoluted and open to speculation, but we expect that these tool vendors have been in discussions with SDC about the potential for the project’s implementation and have taken the R&D costs under the encouragement of SDC. It’s a risky business, you’ve got to be in it to win it.
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