Applied Materials has shown two new systems that enable volume production of high-resolution, thin and lightweight flexible OLED displays, for mobile devices and TVs. The Applied AKT-20K and AKT-40K are plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition tools. They can be used by the display maker to replace rigid front glass, and use flexible materials instead. The 20K can be used on 1,500 x 925mm (around G5) substrates and the 40K on 2,200 x 1,250mm substrates (around G6).
Analyst Comment
Note that these tools are for thin film encapsulation of OLEDs, and can replace the front glass if so desired. The question is what kind of lifetimes could be achieved without front glass; I guess nobody would do a TV or smartphone without front glass at this stage. (NH)
