Panel Manufacturers Start to Operate Their New 8th Generation LCD Lines

As Chinese and Taiwanese panel manufacturers are operating their new 8th generation and 8.6th generation LCD facilities one after the other in second quarter, industries are interested on whether or not this will impact related markets. Industries are interested on whether or not supply and demand for large TV panels, which are very tight, will be more relaxed as these new facilities will focus on producing panels that are 50 inches or bigger.

According to industries, China’s HKC recently started mass-producing panels from 8.6th generation LCD plant that is located in Chongqing. Although HKC is known as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) business for monitors, it started producing large TV panels for the first time.

Taiwan’s Innolux started operating its 8.6th generation LCD plant, which is located in Kaohsiung, in early this year and is mass-producing 45,000 to 50,000 panels per month.

New 8th generation facilities are set to be operated soon. LG Display finished bringing in equipment to its line located in Guangzhou as part of its second stage of investment and is focused on increasing operation rate of this line. This line has a size that can produce 50,000 panels per month additionally.

BOE is planning to mass-produce 75,000 panels per month from its newly-constructed 8th generation LCD line ‘B10’ that is located in Fuqing. Because it is carrying out second stage of investment at the same time, it seems that areas that correspond to second stage of investment will operate starting from early next year.

New production capacity that is set to operate corresponds to 240,000 panels per month.

Reason why panel manufacturers are expanding their production capacities of LCDs is because there is continuous lack of supplies as demands have shifted towards large TVs. In case of LG Display, although it received requests from Samsung Electronics regarding TV panels, it is currently having difficult time to supply these panels on appropriate time as supplies are very tight. As Foxconn stopped supplying its panels to Samsung Electronics in order to revive Sharp’s TV business, it caused overall supply and demand for LCDs to become even tighter.

Preference of TV size has shifted from 55-inch panel to 65-inch panel and number of demands for 77-inch panel is growing as well. Although size of panels that are supplied is becoming bigger, amount of supplies itself is continuously getting smaller.

Industries are interested on what kind of impact new 8.6th generation LCD lines, which are going operate starting from second quarter, will have on entire supply and demand.

Compared to current 8th generation and 8.5th generation (2250x2500mm), standard for 8.6th generation (2250x2600mm) chosen by Innolux and HKC has better panel ratio that can be obtained from original board for panels with sizes between 45 inches and 58 inches.

According to a market research company called DSCC, while8 panels of 45-inch, 46-inch, 47-inch, and 48-inch panels are produced from 8.5th generation lines, 8.6th generation can produce 10 of each panel. 8.6th generation line (8 panels) can also produce more 50-inch panels than 8.5th generation line (6 panels). For 58-inch panel, 8.6th generation can produce 6 58-inch panels while 8.5th generation can only produce 3 58-inch panels.

Experts from this industries are predicting that problems regarding supply and demand will not be solved completely even when these new facilities start to operate because panel manufacturers from South Korea and Taiwan stopped operating low-generation LCD lines through end of last year and early this year and there is a chance that they will stop operating additional lines by end of this year.

There is a chance that LG Display will convert current 8th generation LCD production line into a production line for large OLEDs in order to increase efficiency of investments towards OLED TV panels. However this won’t have too much impact on output of entire LCDs as it is looking to invest to extend its lines in Guangzhou.

Experts are paying attention towards major TV set manufacturers lowering their goals of TV sales this year as prices of panels continue to be high while demands for TV sets are insignificant. They analyzed that moves made by TV set manufacturers will have more impact on supply and demand for entire panels and their prices than changes in supplies of panels.

“BOE is quickly preparing to operate its 10.5th generation line which is set to operate starting from 2018.” said a representative for an industry. “Before it can mass-produce 10.5th generation panels stably, strategies of TV set manufacturers can have more impact on changes in markets rather than supply of panels.”

LG Display to Foster P10 Plant in Paju as OLED Production Base

In addition, LG Display is considering a plan to shift some LCD production facilities to small and mid-size OLED production lines.

LG Display has confirmed that it will fill the entire P10 plant in Paju, South Korea, with organic light emitting diode (OLED) facilities which will become the company’s next growth engine.

According to electronics industry sources on June 21, LG Display decided to shift the P10 plant to a base that can produce only large and small and mid-size OLED panels and plans to cast a vote for the investment plan at its regular board meeting to be held on the 25th of next month.

An official from LG Display said, “We will make the P10 as the production base for only OLED panels, excluding liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). However, we have to see market conditions, total investments and equipment development in order to decide on how much and where we will invest in large and small and mid-size OLED panels on seven floors. So, we will be able to shape the direction next month.”

LG Display decided to make an intensive investment worth 10 trillion won (US$8.76 billion) in OLED panels at the P10. This is because the company believes that the OLED market will continue to grow every year, though there will be an excessive supply as China will start operating new large LCD production facilities next year.

In particular, the small and mid-size OLED market is expected to grow from US$14 billion (15.99 trillion won) last year to US$23.7 billion (27.07 trillion won) in 2018 to US$29.4 billion (33.57 trillion won) in 2020. Therefore, LG Display decided to mass produce small and mid-size OLED panels first. In fact, the company plans to double its small and mid-size OLED production capacity every year. It will produce 15,000 units at the E5 line this year, 15,000 units of the 6th-generation OLED at the E6 in 2018 and 30,000 units of 6th-generation OLED at either the E6 or the P10 in 2019. In addition, LG Display is considering a plan to shift some LCD production facilities to small and mid-size OLED production lines.

For large OLED panels, it is expected to invest in the 8.5-generation OLED first and then the 10-generation later, according to display industry watchers. An expert in the display industry said, “From business profit point of view, there is doubt that large LCD panels can make a profit. So, it would be better to shift to OLED panels, though they have relatively low yield rates. As Apple, which has close relations with LG Display, plans to use OLED panels in iPads in two to three years, the company needs to accelerate the small and mid-size OLED production.”

CPT China Subsidiary to Start Production

Fujian Hua Chia Cai, a China-based wholly owned subsidiary of TFT-LCD panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT), is constructing a 6th-generation TFT-LCD factory with a monthly production capacity of 30,000 glass substrates in southeastern China, with installation of production equipment scheduled for January 2017 and production to kick off in July of the year, according to CPT.

Fujian Hua Chia Cai will focus first-phase production on 5.0- to 5.5-inch HD handset-use panels based on a-Si TFT-LCD manufacturing process as well as HD and Full HD panels for use in tablets and other devices based on IGZO TFT-LCD technology, CPT said. CPT has undertaken trial production of IGZO TFT-LCD panels at a factory in northern Taiwan, the company noted.

After the factory starts production, CPT will shift production of handset- and tablet-use panels form factories in Taiwan to the factory and then focus production in Taiwan on automotive display panels and touch panels, the company indicated.

For production in the second phase at the factory, CPT plans to produce AMOLED panels based on IGZO back planes, the company noted. In preparation, CPT plans to invest EUR900,000 (US$935,840) to acquire licensing of AMOLED technology from a joint venture established by Netherlands-based research organizations TNO and IMEC, CPT noted.

Umicore Inaugurates New Production Facility in Germany

Umicore’s business unit Precious Metals Chemistry inaugurated its production unit for advanced metal organic precursor technologies used in the semiconductor and LED markets, respectively TMGa (Trimethylgallium) and TEGa (Triethylgallium). The event was attended by European and overseas customers as well as local and regional politicians. The guest of honor was Dr. Barbara Hendricks, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

Umicore’s TMGa manufacturing process is innovative and unique. It offers a more sustainable and ecological production method by minimizing hazardous side streams and material losses and optimizing yield to nearly 100%.

Dr. Lothar Mussmann, Vice-President of Umicore Precious Metals Chemistry said, “I am proud that this patented innovation has now become a world-class and industrial scale manufacturing plant. It will provide benefits for our customers and the environment and underlines Umicore’s position as a pioneer in sustainable technologies.”

Umicore Precious Metals Chemistry is the only European manufacturer of TMGa and TEGa and supplies customers across the world from its Hanau manufacturing base. Umicore Precious Metals Chemistry helps to reduce cost of ownership through its innovative approach to process chemistry and its collaborative approach with customers and end users.

Trimethylgallium (TMGa) is a colorless liquid with very high vapor pressure, which boils at low temperatures. Umicore’s new production process increases the yield of TMGa in comparison with current production technologies. In this way, organic solvents can be completely dispensed with. The TMGa is prepared by chemically reacting gallium trichloride with a more efficient methylating agent in molten salt. This reduces the amount of waste per kilogram of TMGa by more than 50%, with the resulting intermediates being recycled in the process. The finished product is then used in the semiconductor industry, where it evaporates in closed systems onto a substrate. This creates, for example, environmentally friendly LED lamps.

LG Display, BOE, Tianma to Mass Produce Flexible AMOLED Panels

LG Display (LGD), BOE Technology and Tianma Micro-electronics are expected to enter mass production of flexible AMOLED panels starting the second half of 2017, challenging Samsung Display's dominance in the sector, according to industry sources.

LGD will begin volume production of flexible AMOLED panels at its E5 fab in July, with initial production of small-size AMOLED panels shipping to non-Apple smartphone clients, said the sources.

LGD will have a production capacity of 30-50 million AMOLED panels a year by year-end 2017, the sources estimated.

While LGD's P10 fab, which is currently under construction, is designed for production of LCD flat panels initially, the plant's facilities are likely to be switched to ramp up small- and medium-size OLED panel production later, added the sources.

BOE Technology and fellow company Tianma Micro-electronics both stepped into the AMOLED segment in late 2016 by turning their newly built facilities reserved for LTPS LCD panels into AMOLED lines.

The two panel suppliers completed overhauling their respective AMOLED fabs in the first half of 2017, and will be ready for trial production shortly, said the sources.

Meanwhile, BOE is building new AMOLED production lines in Chengdu and Mianyang, Sichuan province, some of which are expected to come online at the end of 2017 or early 2018 at the earliest, the sources added.

With the proliferation of AMOLED plants, AMOLED is likely to become mainstream technology for smartphones in the near future with a penetration rate reaching 50% by 2020.

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