Manufacturing equipment - Page 22

Applied Materials announced a new system for LTPS deposition - used to make AMOLED and LCD displays. The AKT-20K PX PECVD system deposits highly-uniform films on 1.95m² glass sheets that are three times larger than the previous standard size. Applied says that these systems can be used to create 7" to 12" AMOLED displays and enable better resolution panels.

Applied says that they already shipped over 100 LTPS deposition systems worldwide and this new system is the result of 10 year of experience in LTPS technology and has already been shipped to major display manufacturers.

Last week we reported about LG Display's pilot 8-Gen OLED TV line, but we didn't have all the details (the original text was in Korean). Now we got a good translation and new info. According to the report, LGD has indeed begun to build the 8-Gen line and is currently installing equipment. Production is scheduled by the end of 2011. The OLED TV line is built in Paju in the same building as LG's 4.5-Gen fab that has started to manufacture AMOLEDs last month.

LG's 8-Gen line will produce 2,200 x 2,500 mm glass substrates which will be cut in two. The monthly capacity will be 24,000 substrates, or 72,000 55" OLED TV panels (although LG also plans to produce 31" panels later on). This of course assumes 100% yield - but the actual yield at first will be much lower.

Update: We got the new translation. LG is indeed building a Gen-8 fab scheduled to start mass production of 55" OLED panels by the end of 2011. But it will make white-OLED backlit LCDs and not true-OLED TVs. Here is the full post.

There's an article over at ETNews discussing LG's upcoming Gen-8 OLED fab in Paju, Korea. The original article is in Korean, so I'm not sure if my translation is right - if anyone can help, please contact me or leave a comment. It seems that the company will soon start to install equipment in that fab and has plans to complete the first line by the end of the year. The Gen-8 fab makes 2200x2500mm substrates, and LG will cut those in half to make 24,000 2200x1250mm substrates a month. The aim is to make 55" and 30" OLED TV panels.

This all sounds very optimistic - it's hard to believe that LG actually plans to mass produce 55" OLED TVs by the end of 2011. All estimates point to 2012-2013 as the earliest time for such TVs...

We've got new details about the resolution of Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus. Super AMOLED Plus drops the PenTile matrix used in Samsung's previous generation AMOLEDs, and so have 50% sub pixels (see explanation here). This causes it to be clearer, but actually each pixel is a bit larger and so a 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus display features the same resolution as a 4" Super AMOLED.

But we were also told that Samsung will produce Super AMOLED Plus at higher resolutions - and achieve over 300ppi. Today we learned that Samsung plans to move from Fine-Metal-Mask (FMM) technology to laser-induced thermal imaging (LITI). This will enable them to achieve much higher resolutions. We do not know when they plan to actually start using LITI, but when they do they'll be able to produce displays with much higher resolutions (on par with Apple's Retina-Display).

There are reports that Samsung developed a new technology that allows them to create larger AMOLED panels from their existing 5.5-Gen (1,300x1,500mm) production lines. Up until now Samsung had to cut the substrate to at least 3 parts and so the largest panel was 32". Now the company can make one 65" panel from each substrate - to make 65" OLED TV panels. This new technology will be implemented in Samsung's second 5.5-Gen line (scheduled for 2012).

Samsung's first 5.5-Gen line (A2 in Tangjeong) is scheduled to start producing AMOLEDs in 2Q 2011. This line will be used only for small panels (for mobile phones, cameras, etc.). The second line (A3, also in Tangjeong) is scheduled for 2012 and using the new technology this line can be used to make large panels - up to 65".

DisplaySearch says that strong demand for Low Temperature Polysilicon (LTPS) based displays (LCDs and AMOLEDs) will drive rapid expansion of LTPS capacity. Spending on LTPS-equipment is expected to reach $2.4 billion in 2011 (and will decrease in 2012 and 2013).

DisplaySearch says that making AMOLEDs and high-end LCDs like the ones used in Apple's iPhone 4 is only currently possible with LTPS. In 2011, supply of both AMOLEDs and LTPS LCDs are forecast to be extremely tight. Leading panel makers are for the first time ever scaling LTPS technology to Gen-5.5 and larger substrates.

TCZ (owned by Cymer) announced a 'volume order' for their TCZ-900B Crystallization System by a 'leading' Taiwanese flat panel display maker. The TCZ-900B, used for Gen-4 plants is used for volume production of small LCDs and OLEDs, but it seems from the press release that this system will be used for producing OLEDs. We do not know who the Taiwanese maker is.

The TCZ-900B is expected to "significantly" reduce the cost and complexity of the OLED manufacturing process". It uses TCZ's patented laser crystallization technology (announced in May 2010).

Euronews visited Philip's Aachen OLED center and produced a nice short video about Philips OLED Lighting research and commercial Lumiblade panels. This video will be aired on Euronews several times in the following week. It's a nice introduction to OLED Lighting technology and how OLED panels are made today:

The video features Kristin Knappstein, Philips' OLED business chief (we posted an interview with Kristin a few weeks ago) and Dr. Stefan Grabowsky, the OLED100.eu project manager (whom we interviewed in 2009) . You can also see the Mimosa interactive artwork and some nice shots from within Philips' labs.

Korea's Research Institute of Standard and Science (KRISS) revealed a new technology that measures the level of moisture in an OLED display during the inspection process. Measuring the moisture is critical for OLED production.

KRISS' new moisture testing technology is based on transmitting the radioactive isotope tritium with a water molecule to a flexible display. KRISS claims that it can measure accurately up to 1/1million g/m2.

Japan's Ulvac says that demand for OLED manufacturing equipment is strong - and it makes up for a fall in the demand for LCD equipment. Ulvac expects about ¥31 billion ($370 million) in OLED related orders for their current fiscal year (which ends on June 2011). OLED equipment amounts to about 40% of their total revenue (up from 10% last year).