LG Display has been evaluating the deposition process for Gen 8.5 (2200x2500mm) OLED panels since December last year and is currently doing it at its supplier Sunic System’s plant in Paju, the sources said. The facility is equipped with Sunic System’s Gen 8.5 half-cut and vertical deposition equipment.
Other suppliers of LG Display have also provided the Paju plant with the equipment and materials needed for the evaluation, TheLec reported. YAS provided the deposition source; Hansong Neotech provided the tensioner for holding the mask; Avaco’s logistics equipment and LG Innotek provided the mask needed for the deposition process.
LG Display’s Gen 6 (1500x1850mm) OLED panel production line uses etching fine metal masks to deposit red, green and blue organic materials. In addition to this, LG Display is looking for methods for various deposition processes, and LG Innotek is providing precision metal masks and related solutions.
LG Display plans to use its Gen 6 OLED line for two OLED sports iPads (12.9-inch and 11-inch), which are expected to hit the market earlier than the OLED MacBook.
Since the OLED panels that will be used on the MacBook and iPad are larger in size than the previous two OLED tablets, LG Display has an economic advantage in using larger substrates (like Gen 8.5) because more can be cut per substrate panel in less time.
The evaluation of LG Display takes about 1 year. Competitor Samsung Display started evaluating the Gen 8.5 OLED deposition process earlier and is working with Japan’s Ulvac to test Gen 8.5 full-cut/vertical deposition equipment. In addition to Apple, Samsung Electronics is also a customer of Samsung Display, so it is likely to be the first to commercialize Gen 8.5 OLED panels.