What They Say
The Elec reported on work being done by Samsung to allow a concealment of Apple’s Face ID sensor under the display without a notch or hole. The paper said that the technology would be applied first to Samsung’s own foldable phones in 2023, followed by the iPhone 15 Pro models. The Elec said that Samsung is working with OTI Lumionics on cathode materials to enable this using its cathode materials. On the other hand, Samsung will use laser drilling in its foldable smartphone. LG Display is reported to be working on its own approach that is intended to boost light transmission through the panel to over 40% after 2024.
What We Think
OTI has been working on this for a while and if The Elec is accurate, a win for OTI with Samsung would be good for the firm. One of the challenges for Face ID is that it typically uses infrared illuminators and it’s harder to make the electrodes transparent for the longer wavelength light. Check the article here for a useful backgrounder on approaches. (Materials Remain Important for Under-Display Cameras) At the end of 2021, DSSC was saying that OTI’s materials still needed some work to get to mass production and that could be the reason for the timescales of this development. (BR)
Helander of OTI showed this graphic of the process to use his materials at the SID Business Conference in 2020. Click for higher resolution
