According to ET News, Japan's Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) has terminated Samsung's exclusivity for the company's fine metal masks (FMM) products. DNP is now offering its masks to other OLED makers, and have already signed up BOE Display as a customer.
DNP has advanced its FMM technology, and is now able to produce masks with high resolution - enough to create QHD (2560x1440) smartphone displays. BOE's current masks only enable it to produce FHD OLEDs, and it will now upgrade its production to higher-end displays using DNP's masks.
Samsung, meanwhile, is said to be developing its own shadow masks, in collaboration with Korean Wave Electronics and TGO Tech. ET News says that Samsung still faces some challenges before it could mass produce its own OLED shadow masks.
BOE recently started producing flexible OLEDs at the company's new 6-Gen fab in Chengdu. BOE's new fab has a capacity of 45,000 monthly substrates - enough to make around 90 million smartphone sized AMOLEDs annually. It's likely that BOE only started pilot production currently, as earlier estimates were that full production will only begin towards the end of 2017.
