Special Consideration
According to industry sources on Nov. 15, Samsung Display is giving positive consideration to expand investment in the flexible OLED display panel sector, which is recently opening the market of smartphones, smart watches and virtual reality (VR) devices, while focusing on the small and midsize OLED display sector with a 90 percent global market share.
Currently, the company mass-produces flexible OLED displays after adopting the bipartite flexible OLED production line, which carries out the process of organic chemical vapor deposition by dividing the sixth-generation substrate (1500×1800 mm) into two substrates (1500×925 mm), in the A3 plant in Tangjeong, South Chungcheong Province, for mass production.
A flexible OLED panel is made of plastic for substrates, instead of glass. Since it has a more difficult coating process than glass, it is hard to secure high production yield. However, it can realize an unbreakable and more flexible smartphone display.
Samsung Display has recently supplied flexible OLED panels to the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 and the BlackBerry Priv. The company hasn’t yet decided whether or not to expand investment in the flexible OLED display sector. However, it needs to expand its production facilities as new markets, other than Samsung Electronics, are recently expanding.
The fact that Motorola and BlackBerry are producing flexible display smartphones is a favorable factor for Samsung Display to diversify the markets. This is because the flexible display smartphone has been considered the exclusive property of Samsung Electronics so far.