Tianma has been developing AMOLED technologies for a long time, and in August 2010 have decided to build a pilot AMOLED production line (4.5-Gen) in Shanghai. This pilot fab is able to produce around 1,000 glass substrates in a month. I visited Tianma's booth at SID 2012 and saw their direct-emission AMOLED prototypes (3.2" 320x480 and 12.1" 1280x800) made on an LTPS backplane:
Today we learned some more about Tianma's OLED and LTPS program. The company's first step is indeed the pilot line in Shanghai. This pilot line produces 2,000 monthly LTPS substrates. The company uses half for LCD and half for OLED production. Total investment in this pilot line amounted to 500 million RMB (over $82 million USD).
The second step is the company's 5.5-Gen LTPS fab in Xiamen. This is an LCD only fab which currently produces 30,000 monthly substrates. Total investment in this fab reached 7 billion RMB ($1.1 billion USD). This fab is using Corning's Lotus XT glass.
Tianma also announced plans to build a mass production 5.5-Gen LTPS fab in Shanghai. This will be dedicated to AMOLED production and will have a capacity of 30,000 monthly substrates. The investment for this fab will reach 12 billion RMB (almost $2 billion). This line will produce small and medium panels and will not be used for OLED TV production.
