LG Display is going to be shipping hybrid OLED panels to its automobile OEMs, according to The Elec. Hybrid OLED effectively combines glass substrates with thin-film encapsulation (TFE) technologies – elements that have traditionally been used independently in rigid and flexible OLED panels. The hybrid OLED panels merge the advantages of flexible OLED panels, which usually use polyimide substrates, with the reliability of glass-based rigid OLED panels. The new panels incorporate a two-stack tandem structure, with two emission layers, enhancing their longevity. They can be produced at a lower cost than fully flexible OLED panels, which are generally utilized in high-end smartphones.
Revealed as Advanced Thin OLED at CES 2023, LG highlighted that their glass substrate technique makes these panels 20% thinner than competing products.LG’s initial target for these new panels is likely to be European car manufacturers, a departure from their previous focus of supplying polyimide OLED panels solely to specific customers in the auto sector. This may result in more OLED panels ending up in a broader range of vehicles.
LG and Samsung are both engaged in developing hybrid OLED panels intended for future iPads manufactured by Apple. Moving into automotive with hybrid OLED panels could change the landscape for OLED sales into the sector.
Just as interesting, LG Display plans to acquire fine metal masks (FMMs), crucial components for OLED manufacturing, from LG Innotek, rather than from their traditional supplier, Dai Nippon Printing (DNP). LG Innotek is positioning itself for a ramp-up in capacity to support LG’s aggressive moves in the market.
