lcd panel generations supplier

Flat-panel displays are thin panels of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying text, images, or video. Liquid crystal displays (LCD), OLED (organic light emitting diode) and microLED displays are not quite the same; since LCD uses a liquid crystal that reacts to an electric current blocking light or allowing it to pass through the panel, whereas OLED/microLED displays consist of electroluminescent organic/inorganic materials that generate light when a current is passed through the material. LCD, OLED and microLED displays are driven using LTPS, IGZO, LTPO, and A-Si TFT transistor technologies as their backplane using ITO to supply current to the transistors and in turn to the liquid crystal or electroluminescent material. Segment and passive OLED and LCD displays do not use a backplane but use indium tin oxide (ITO), a transparent conductive material, to pass current to the electroluminescent material or liquid crystal. In LCDs, there is an even layer of liquid crystal throughout the panel whereas an OLED display has the electroluminescent material only where it is meant to light up. OLEDs, LCDs and microLEDs can be made flexible and transparent, but LCDs require a backlight because they cannot emit light on their own like OLEDs and microLEDs.

Liquid-crystal display (or LCD) is a thin, flat panel used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. They are usually made of glass but they can also be made out of plastic. Some manufacturers make transparent LCD panels and special sequential color segment LCDs that have higher than usual refresh rates and an RGB backlight. The backlight is synchronized with the display so that the colors will show up as needed. The list of LCD manufacturers:

Organic light emitting diode (or OLED displays) is a thin, flat panel made of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. OLED panels can also take the shape of a light panel, where red, green and blue light emitting materials are stacked to create a white light panel. OLED displays can also be made transparent and/or flexible and these transparent panels are available on the market and are widely used in smartphones with under-display optical fingerprint sensors. LCD and OLED displays are available in different shapes, the most prominent of which is a circular display, which is used in smartwatches. The list of OLED display manufacturers:

MicroLED displays is an emerging flat-panel display technology consisting of arrays of microscopic LEDs forming the individual pixel elements. Like OLED, microLED offers infinite contrast ratio, but unlike OLED, microLED is immune to screen burn-in, and consumes less power while having higher light output, as it uses LEDs instead of organic electroluminescent materials, The list of MicroLED display manufacturers:

LCDs are made in a glass substrate. For OLED, the substrate can also be plastic. The size of the substrates are specified in generations, with each generation using a larger substrate. For example, a 4th generation substrate is larger in size than a 3rd generation substrate. A larger substrate allows for more panels to be cut from a single substrate, or for larger panels to be made, akin to increasing wafer sizes in the semiconductor industry.

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In both LCD and OLED displays, producing these cells – which are highly complex – is by far the most difficult element of the production process. Indeed, the complexity of these cells, combined with the levels of investment needed to achieve expertise in their production, explains why there are less than 30 companies in the whole world that can produce them. China, for instance, has invested more than 300 billion yuan (approximately $45 billion USD) in just one of these companies – BOE – over the past 14 years.

Panox Display has been involved in the display industry for many years and has built strong and long-term partner relationships with many of the biggest OLED and LCD panel manufacturers. As a result, we are able to offer our clients guaranteed access to display products from the biggest manufacturers.

LG Display was, until 2021, the No. 1 display panel manufacturer in the world. Owned by LG Group and headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, it has R&D, production, and trade institutions in China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Europe.

Founded in 2001, AUO – or AU Optronics – is the world’s leading TFT-LCD panel manufacturer (with a 16% market share) that designs, develops, and manufactures the world’s top three liquid crystal displays. With panels ranging from as small as 1.5 inches to 46 inches, it boasts one of the world"s few large-, medium -and small-sized product lines.

AUO offers advanced display integration solutions with innovative technologies, including 4K2K ultra-high resolution, 3D, ultra-thin, narrow bezel, transparent display, LTPS, OLED, and touch solutions. AOU has the most complete generation production line, ranging from 3.5G to 8.5G, offering panel products for a variety of LCD applications in a range of sizes, from as small as 1.2 inches to 71 inches.

Now Sharp is still top 10 TV brands all over the world. Just like BOE, Sharp produce LCDs in all kinds of size. Including small LCD (3.5 inch~9.1 inch), medium LCD (10.1 ~27 inch), large LCD (31.5~110 inch). Sharp LCD has been used on Iphone series for a long time.

Beside those current LCDs, the industrial LCD of Sharp is also excellent and widely used in public facilities, factories, and vehicles. The Sharp industrial LCD, just means solid, high brightness, super long working time, highest stability.

Since its establishment, Truly Semiconductors has focused on researching, developing, and manufacturing liquid crystal flat panel displays. Now, after twenty years of development, it is the biggest small- and medium-sized flat panel display manufacturer in China.

Truly’s factory in Shanwei City is enormous, covering an area of 1 million square meters, with a net housing area of more than 100,000 square meters. It includes five LCD production lines, one OLED production line, three touch screen production lines, and several COG, LCM, MDS, CCM, TAB, and SMT production lines.

Its world-class production lines produce LCD displays, liquid crystal display modules (LCMs), OLED displays, resistive and capacitive touch screens (touch panels), micro camera modules (CCMs), and GPS receiving modules, with such products widely used in the smartphone, automobile, and medical industries. The LCD products it offers include TFT, TN, Color TN with Black Mark (TN type LCD display for onboard machines), STN, FSTN, 65K color, and 262K color or above CSTN, COG, COF, and TAB modules.

In its early days, Innolux attached great importance to researching and developing new products. Mobile phones, portable and mounted DVD players, digital cameras, games consoles, PDA LCDs, and other star products were put into mass production and quickly captured the market, winning the company considerable market share.

Looking forward to the future, the group of photoelectric will continue to deep LCD display field, is committed to the development of plane display core technology, make good use of global operations mechanism and depth of division of labor, promise customers high-quality products and services, become the world"s top display system suppliers, in 2006 in the global mobile phone color display market leader, become "Foxconn technology" future sustained rapid growth of the engine.

Founded in June 1998, Hannstar specializes in producing thin-film transistor liquid crystal display panels, mainly for use in monitors, notebook displays and televisions. It was the first company in Taiwan to adopt the world’s top ultra-wide perspective technology (AS-IPS).

The company has three LCD factories and one LCM factory. It has acquired state-of-the-art TFT-LCD manufacturing technology, which enables it to achieve the highest efficiency in the mass production of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display production technology. Its customers include many of the biggest and most well-known electronics companies and computer manufacturers in Taiwan and overseas.

TCL CSOT – short for TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology (TCL CSOT) – was founded in 2009 and is an innovative technology enterprise that focuses on the production of semiconductor displays. As one of the global leaders in semiconductor display market, it has bases in Shenzhen, Wuhan, Huizhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, and India, with nine panel production lines and five large modules bases.

TCL CSOT actively produces Mini LED, Micro LED, flexible OLED, printing OLED, and other new display technologies. Its product range is vast – including large, medium, and small panels and touch modules, electronic whiteboards, splicing walls, automotive displays, gaming monitors, and other high-end display application fields – which has enabled it to become a leading player in the global panel industry.

In the first quarter of 2022, TCL CSOT’s TV panels ranked second in the market, 55 inches, 65 " and 75 inches second, 8K, 120Hz first, the first, interactive whiteboard and digital sign plate; LTPS flat panel, the second, LTPS and flexible OLED fourth.

EDO (also known as EverDisplay Optonics) was founded in October 2012 and focuses on the production of small- and medium-sized high-resolution AMOLED semiconductor display panels.

Tianma Microelectronics was founded in 1983 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1995. It is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the production of liquid crystal displays (LCD) and liquid crystal display modules (LCM).

After more than 30 years of development, it has grown into a large publicly listed company integrating LCD research and development, design, production, sales, and servicing. Over the years, it has expanded by investing in the construction of STN-LCD, CSTN-LCD, TFT-LCD and CF production lines and module factories across China (with locations in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Wuhan and Xiamen), as well R&D centers and offices in Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

JDI (Japan Display Inc.) was established on November 15, 2011, as a joint venture between the Industrial Innovation Corporation, Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba. It is dedicated to the production and development of small-sized displays. It mainly produces small- and medium-sized LCD display panels for use in the automotive, medical, and industrial fields, as well as personal devices including smartphones, tablets, and wearables.

Although Sony’s TVs use display panels from TCL CSOT (VA panel), Samsung. Sony still produces the world’s best micro-OLED display panels. Sony has many micro OLED model such as 0.23 inch, 0.39 inch, 0.5 inch, 0.64 inch, 0.68 inch, 0.71 inch. Panox Display used to test and sell many of them, compare to other micro OLED manufacuturers, Sony`s micro OLEDs are with the best image quality and highest brightness (3000 nits max).

In recent time, China domestic companies like BOE have overtaken LCD manufacturers from Korea and Japan. For the first three quarters of 2020, China LCD companies shipped 97.01 million square meters TFT LCD. And China"s LCD display manufacturers expect to grab 70% global LCD panel shipments very soon.

BOE started LCD manufacturing in 1994, and has grown into the largest LCD manufacturers in the world. Who has the 1st generation 10.5 TFT LCD production line. BOE"s LCD products are widely used in areas like TV, monitor, mobile phone, laptop computer etc.

TianMa Microelectronics is a professional LCD and LCM manufacturer. The company owns generation 4.5 TFT LCD production lines, mainly focuses on making medium to small size LCD product. TianMa works on consult, design and manufacturing of LCD display. Its LCDs are used in medical, instrument, telecommunication and auto industries.

TCL CSOT (TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd), established in November, 2009. TCL has six LCD panel production lines commissioned, providing panels and modules for TV and mobile products. The products range from large, small & medium display panel and touch modules.

Established in 1996, Topway is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the design and manufacturing of industrial LCD module. Topway"s TFT LCD displays are known worldwide for their flexible use, reliable quality and reliable support. More than 20 years expertise coupled with longevity of LCD modules make Topway a trustworthy partner for decades. CMRC (market research institution belonged to Statistics China before) named Topway one of the top 10 LCD manufactures in China.

The Company engages in the R&D, manufacturing, and sale of LCD panels. It offers LCD panels for notebook computers, desktop computer monitors, LCD TV sets, vehicle-mounted IPC, consumer electronics products, mobile devices, tablet PCs, desktop PCs, and industrial displays.

STONE Technologies is a proud manufacturer of superior quality TFT LCD modules and LCD screens. The company also provides intelligent HMI solutions that perfectly fit in with its excellent hardware offerings.

STONE TFT LCD modules come with a microcontroller unit that has a 1GHz Cortex-A8 CPU. Such a module can easily be transformed into an HMI screen. Simple hexadecimal instructions can be used to control the module through the UART port. Furthermore, you can seamlessly develop STONE TFT LCD color user interface modules and add touch control, features to them.

Becoming a reputable TFT LCD manufacturer is no piece of cake. It requires a company to pay attention to detail, have excellent manufacturing processes, the right TFT display technology, and have a consumer mindset.

Now, we list down 10 of the best famous LCD manufacturers globally. We’ll also explore why they became among the top 10 LCD display Manufacturers in the world.

Interface Devises Business includes Display and Senor, Sensor, and Application Solutions. As a leading company in the global semiconductor display industry, BOE has made the Chinese display industry develop from scratch to maturity and prosperity. Now, more than one-quarter of the global display panels are made by BOE, with its UHD, flexible display, microdisplay, and other solutions broadly applied to well-known worldwide brands.

LG Display is a leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) panels, OLED, and flexible displays.LG Display began developing TFT-LCD in 1987 and currently offers Display panels in a variety of sizes and specifications using different cutting-edge technologies (IPS, OLED, and flexible technology).

Founded in 2003, Innolink listed its shares in Taiwan in 2006. In March 2010, it merged with Chi Mei Optoelectronics and Tong Bao Optoelectronics, the largest merger in the panel industry. Qunchuang is the surviving company and Chi Mei Electronics is the company name. In December 2012, it was renamed As Qunchuang Optoelectronics.

With innovative and differentiated technologies, QINNOOptoelectronics provides advanced display integration solutions, including 4K2K ultra-high resolution, 3D naked eye, IGZO, LTPS, AMOLED, OLED, and touch solutions. Qinnooptoelectronics sets specifications and leads the market. A wide range of product line is across all kinds of TFT LCD panel modules, touch modules, for example, TV panel, desktop and laptop computer monitor with panels, small and medium scale “panels, medical, automotive, etc., the supply of cutting-edge information and consumer electronics customers around the world, for the world TFT – LCD (thin-film transistor liquid crystal display) leading manufacturers.

AU Optronics Co., LTD., formerly AU Optronics Corporation, was founded in August 1996. It changed its name to AU Optronics after its merger with UNIOPtronics in 2001. Through two mergers, AU has been able to have a full range of generations of production lines for panels of all sizes.Au Optronics is a TFT-LCD design, manufacturing, and r&d company. Since 2008, au Optronics has entered the green energy industry, providing customers with high-efficiency solar energy solutions.

Sharp has been called the “father of LCD panels”.Since its founding in 1912, Sharp developed the world’s first calculator and LIQUID crystal display, represented by the living pencil, which was invented as the company name. At the same time, Sharp is actively expanding into new areas to improve people’s living standards and social progress. Made a contribution.

BYD IT products and businesses mainly include rechargeable batteries, plastic mechanism parts, metal parts, hardware electronic products, cell phone keys, microelectronics products, LCD modules, optoelectronics products, flexible circuit boards, chargers, connectors, uninterruptible power supplies, DC power supplies, solar products, cell phone decoration, cell phone ODM, cell phone testing, cell phone assembly business, notebook computer ODM, testing and manufacturing and assembly business, etc.

Tianma microelectronics co., LTD., founded in 1983, the company focus on smartphones, tablets, represented by high order laptop display market of consumer goods and automotive, medical, POS, HMI, etc., represented by professional display market, and actively layout smart home, intelligent wear, AR/VR, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other emerging markets, to provide customers with the best product experience.IN terms of technology, the company has independently mastered leading technologies such as LTPS-TFT, AMOLED, flexible display, Oxide-TFT, 3D display, transparent display, and in-cell/on-cell integrated touch control. TFT-LCD key Materials and Technologies National Engineering Laboratory, national enterprise Technology Center, post-doctoral mobile workstation, and undertake national Development and Reform Commission, The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other major national thematic projects. The company’s long-term accumulation and continuous investment in advanced technology lay the foundation for innovation and development in the field of application.

VISLCD has been engaged in LCD production and sales for 9 years, and we have met many customers who shared with us that they had encountered unreliable LCD suppliers.

For example, the answer is not what you asked for, the LCD product cannot be delivered on time, the price of the LCD suddenly increases, the LCD module suddenly breaks down during the use of the product, or even the LCD is discontinued after less than 1 year of delivery…etc. In addition, there are many customers who are not sure what type of LCD supplier they are looking for.

In view of all the above, VISLCD has written this article to share knowledge about LCD suppliers and other issues related to LCD. We believe it will be helpful to LCD customers.

To understand LCD suppliers, we first need to know what kinds of LCD suppliers are available. Then LCD customers can find the right supplier based on information such as their product applications, LCD requirements and forecast volume.

LCD original manufacturer refers to the original manufacturer of LCD panel. Originated from the USA in the 1960’s, after more than 50 years of development, the manufacturers are now mainly located in China mainland, Korea and Taiwan. Among them, the Chinese manufacturers in recent years rely on the rapid scale, technology development and price advantage, has gradually occupied the main market share.

The video below is an official video presentation of the BOE display factory and Century Display (CTC), which will give you a more visual understanding of the original LCD manufacturer.

The 5.1 generation TFT-LCD line of Century Display in Shenzhen, China, for example, has been put into operation since 2008 with a cumulative fixed investment of more than $4 billion, and the cost of water, electricity, employee wages and equipment depreciation is as high as $0.5~100 million/month. The monthly production capacity is about 100,000 sheets ( 1300*1200mm/sheet). If all of them are used to produce 7-inch LCD panels, then the monthly shipment volume is up to 9,000,000 pcs. Therefore, a very large monthly shipment volume is required to meet the normal operation of the factory.

This is only the 5.1 generation TFT-LCD line, if it is 8.5 generation line or even 10 generation line or more, then the cost and shipment volume may be several times or even ten times more. It should be noted that the number of generations of LCD lines does not mean that the technology is high or low. The higher the generation, then the larger the size of the LCD can be put into production, of course, the greater the volume of shipments and investment amount.

LCD original manufacturers generally provide mainly LCD panels, but also provide COG (LCD + IC), FOG (LCD + IC + FPCA cable) and other kinds of LCD semi-finished products. Also includes a small amount of the original LCD module. But the original LCD factory will only deal with the famous brand companies directly (such as Apple, Dell, Xiaomi, etc.), or through agents to ship. And the MOQ quantity requirement is very high (generally 1,000,000 pcs/month or more), the unit price of original LCD module is also high and the degree of customization is low.

LCD original manufacturers usually have an order MOQ requirement for their agents, which translates into an LCD unit quantity of no less than 100,000pcs/month. When the LCD demand is high, this will not be a problem; but when the market is low, the agent must buy the agreed MOQ quantity of LCD from the original LCD manufacturer even if there is no customer demand for the time being. So when the low season, if your order quantity is large enough, then you may get a very good LCD panel price from the LCD agent, which may even be lower than the agent’s purchase price.

LCD module manufacturers is to purchase LCD semi-finished products (such as LCD panel, COG or FOG) from LCD agents, then purchase ICs from IC agents, produce or purchase backlight, FPCA cable and touch screen components, and then integrate all the above components into LCD module or touch LCD module. LCD module factories vary in size from tens of millions of pcs to hundreds of thousands of pcs shipped per month.

Medium and large size module factory generally get the semi-finished products are FOG LCD (also known as open cell LCD) from the original LCD manufacturers or LCD agents, and then add the backlight assembly into the finished LCD module. The advantage of doing so is that the quality is relatively stable, but the degree of customization will be much lower. Because FOG LCD already includes FPCA cable, generally speaking, the only thing that can be customized is the brightness of the backlight and the touch panel and cover glass (if needed). The rest are difficult to change, unless the customer’s LCD demand is very large.

The small and medium size module factory after years of mature development of the industry, the degree of customization will be much more flexible. The semi-finished products are mainly LCD panels, which means that the backlight size, backlight brightness, FPCA cable design, shape and PIN number, as well as the touch panel and cover glass can all be customized according to the customer’s requirements. But the MOQ requirement is higher for the backlight size. Other parts of the customization generally require LCD MOQ of at least 2,000~5,000 pcs, which varies depending on the LCD size.

Since LCD module manufactures vary in size and quality control(especially small and medium size LCD module factories), and most of the components are sourced, the selection of module factories is particularly important if customers want to buy LCDs with good quality and competitive prices.

For example, if the factory’s customers are mostly low-cost products or repaired product manufacturers, then it can be assumed that the quality of his products is not too good, LCD panels and some other components may be B-grade products, not A, can only meet short-term use.

This is essential to ensure supply. In case of supply shortage, many module factories with insufficient upstream channels sometimes cannot even start production. Because they can not buy raw materials such as LCD panels and ICs.

As the name implies, trading companies do not have their own factories, but directly sell finished LCD products from LCD resellers or LCD modules from module manufacturers. Generally speaking, the LCD prices of trading companies are relatively high and the quality and reliability are a little weaker. However, there is no shortage of good trading companies with good quality management teams and good upstream channel resources. The biggest advantage of trading companies is their flexibility, which can meet the diversified needs of customers.

2) Shenzhen has 3 types of buildings related to lcd (including other electronic products): office buildings, factories and markets. Almost all LCD panel and IC agents are located in various office buildings in Shenzhen, while component factories such as FPCA, Touch panel and backlight are located in various industrial parks in the suburbs. It is possible to find the right components and develop new products in the shortest time. Of course, there is also the famous Huaqiang bei(north) Electronic Market, a very complex place.

VISLCD was a trading company in the early days. But after nearly 9 years of development, it has developed into a combination of LCD module factory and LCD agent. The company is located in LCD base Shenzhen, China and operates in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. We have our own module factory and have direct relationship with Century Display, LG, HKC and other LCD original manufacturers. Our main employees are also from these LCD manufacturers. We also accept all kinds of customized LCD business. Therefore, VISLCD is one of the best choices for medium-sized customers in terms of quality stability, semi-finished parts supply and customization.

In China. The biggest LCD panel manufacturer in the world now.  BOE has G4 (Chengdu), G5 (Beijing), G5.5 (Ordos), G6 (Hefei, Chengdu, Mianyang, Dalian), G8 (Beijing, Hefei, Chongqing), Fuqing, Dalian, Chongqing) and 10.5 (Hefei) production lines.

In Taiwan. One of the daughter company of Foxconn/Hon Hai.  In 2010, it bought the then famous LCD manufacturer, ChiMei, then changed its name to Innolux. It has G7.5 production lines.

In Korea and China. It is used to be the 2nd biggest TFT LCD manufacturers. LG also planned to stop the production but delayed the plan after the price increased. LG has G7.5 and G8.5 (Guangzhou) production lines.

In Korea. It used to be the biggest TFT LCD manufacturers before it was dethroned by BOE in 2019. Because of tough competition, Samsung planned to stop the production in 2021 but delayed because the price increase during the pandemic.  Samsung has G7 and G8.5 production lines.

In Japan and China. The pioneer and queen of LCD industry. Because of high cost and tough competitor, Sharp was acquired by Foxconn/Hon Hai in 2016. Sharp has G8, G8.5(Suzhou), G10, G10.5 (Guangzhou) production lines.

BOE, China’s largest display company, was listed as a major panel supplier in Samsung Electronics’ business report. BOE has filled the vacancy created by Samsung Display’s phased reduction of large LCD panels for TVs.

The business report, which was registered with the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, listed three major display panel suppliers for the company"s consumer electronics (CE) sector in 2021 -- BOE and CSOT of China and AUO of Taiwan. BOE was newly added as a major supplier. BOE surpassed LG Display in 2018 to become the world’s No. 1 LCD manufacturer.

Samsung Display decided in early 2021 to stop producing large LCD panels beginning from 2022. The decision was made to speed up its transition to next-generation QD-OLED panels as the profitability of the LCD business fell significantly due to a price war with Chinese companies.

It stopped the operation of L7 at Asan Campus in South Chungcheong Province, which had produced large LCD panels, in March 2021. An 8th-generation LCD production line at the Suzhou plant in China was sold in April 2021. However, it is still operating some of its large LCD production facilities at Asan Campus at the request of Samsung Electronics. Samsung Display is considering shutting down these facilities within June 2022.

Industry insiders say that Samsung Display"s withdrawal from the LCD business has weakened Samsung Electronics" bargaining power in negotiations with Chinese vendors.

Samsung Electronics’ price burden for TV panels has nearly doubled over the past year. The Samsung Electronics business report says that the company spent 10,582.3 billion won on purchasing display panels in 2021. This was an increase of 94.2 percent from the previous year (5,448.3 billion won). The main factor behind the increase is a rise in LCD panel prices. Samsung Electronics explained that prices of TV panels rose about 39 percent on year in 2021.

Industry insiders say one solution is to accelerate a shift to OLED-based TVs. Chinese panel makers are investing aggressively to develop large OLED panel technologies, but they have not yet reached the volume production stage.

Samsung Electronics is negotiating with Samsung Display and LG Display over the release of OLED TVs. LG Display is the only company that mass produces large OLED panels. It can produce 10 million TV panels annually. Samsung Display started mass production of large OLED panels at the end of 2021. The two Korean OLED panel makers adopt white (W) and blue (B) light sources, respectively.

They filed a Swiss patent for the idea on Dec. 4, 1970. Though it attracted scant attention at the time, the milestone now stands as the birthdate of the liquid crystal display (LCD) – the technological platform which has transformed consumer electronics and presented a brilliant new way to view the world.

Early LCD developers took a few years to figure out that specialty glass, not plastic, was the best stable substrate for the delicate LCD circuitry and the color backplane component. Once they did, they turned increasingly to Corning to supply them with extraordinarily stable, flat, fusion-formed glass, able to preserve the critical properties of the liquid crystal and withstand high processing temperatures.

And LCDs rapidly transformed from “passive matrix” models, mostly used in pocket calculators and digital watches, to “active matrix” LCDs in which each sub-pixel was controlled with an isolated thin-film transistor. AMLCDs enabled wide viewing angles; brilliant, fast-moving images; and high-resolution images that had never been possible before.

Corning Incorporated was a critical player in this development, and eventually became the world’s leading supplier of LCD glass substrates. And Corning® EAGLE XG® Glass, the world’s first LCD substrate with no arsenic or other heavy metals, went on to exceed sales of 25 billion square feet, making it one of the most successful products in Corning’s history.

A substrate that serves as a foundation for display is essential to manufacture a display. ‘Mother Glass’ refers to a large piece of glass that lays the groundwork for display production. The mother glass is classified into different generations depending on their sizes.

Panels that constitute either OLEDs or LCDs are produced through several processes on top of a large block of mother glass. These panels that we are familiar with are not produced respectively, but once fabricated through manufacturing processes, and mother glasses are cut into smaller display sizes.

As such, mother glass, which serves as the bottom layer for a panel, comes in different generations depending on the size of mother glass. Each generation of mother glass is not classified based on the universal standard, but manufacturers usually define similarly sized mother glass as the same generation of mother glass. In other words, the size of respective generations of mother glass may differ slightly by manufacturers.

To compare each generation: Gen 10.5 glass became approximately 100 times bigger than the first generation. The main reason for the increased size of display mother glass is to produce panels more efficiently. Large mother glass allows manufacturers to produce more panels at once or increase the production of larger-sized displays. It is more time-saving to produce a large volume of panels with a single block of mother glass than using several mother glasses since displays require multiple manufacturing steps.

However, just because the size of the mother glass becomes larger, it doesn’t guarantee improved production efficiency. It is critical to make full use of a single piece of mother glass when cutting panels. Unit Per Sheet (UPS), representing a unit of cutting efficiency, refers to the number of panels produced from one mother glass. It is necessary to choose which size of the panel will produce in a single block of mother glass to minimize the wasted portion of the mother glass. And that’s where Multi Model on a Glass (MMG) comes in. For example, in a Gen 8 fab, only three 65” panels can be made, and over a third of the glass is wasted, which the cutting efficiency is only 64%. However, if you make six 32” panels more along one side of the glass, the efficiency goes up to 90%.

With the global industrial transfer and technology upgrade, a group of leading flat display panel manufacturers from mainland China is taking the opportunities and competing in the global market with their predecessors from South Korea and Taiwan.

Flat display panel (FDP) mainly refers to the display technology used for electronic devices such as televisions, desktops, laptops, and mobile phones. Today is the age of information. The role of information display technology in people’s social activities and daily life is increasing rapidly. 80% of human information is obtained from vision, and the interaction between various information system terminal devices and people needs to be realized through information display.

The panel industry has become the leader of the optoelectronic industry, second only to microelectronics in the information industry, and has become one of the most important industries.

Display panel products mainly include liquid crystal panels (LCD), plasma panels, and organic light-emitting diode panels (OLED). At present, plasma panels have been completely withdrawn from the market due to factors such as large thickness, low resolution, and high price.

On the other side, the display panel industry is a particularly typical case of the “Eastward spread of Western Culture ”. The production capacity is transferred from the United States to the Chinese mainland step by step, following the route of “the origin from the United States – the development byJapan – the overtaking by South Korea – the rise of Taiwan area – scale and further development in mainland China”.

In 1962, Radio Corporation of America(RCA) developed the first LCD display model, and then relevant technologies were introduced to Japan, which made a crazy investment in LCD. By the 1990s, Japanese enterprises had almost forestalled the entire LCD market. Enterprises with the spirit of “LCD craftsman” represented by Sharp have made contributions to the research and development of LCD technology.

In the mid-1990s, South Korea took advantage of the trough of the liquid crystal cycle to expand substantially and replaced Japan’s position around 2000. By 2009, BOE from mainland China announced the construction of the 8.5 generation line, breaking the technical blockade of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Subsequently, Japanese and Korean companies such as Sharp, Samsung, and LG finalized the plan to build the 8th generation line in China at an alarming speed. Since then, mainland China’s LCD industry has entered a period of rapid expansion for ten years.

Until 2008, China’s LCD panels were still completely dependent on imports. Even in China’s annual consumption of imported materials, LCD panels ranked fourth after oil, iron ore, and chips.

After development in recent years, China’s panel industry has caught up from behind. In 2015, the LCD panel production capacity accounted for 23% of the world in total. With the Korean manufacturers having announced to withdrawal from LCD and turn to OLED, the global LCD production capacity has further gathered in mainland China. In 2020, China’s LCD production capacity has already ranked first in the world, and mainland produced about half of the – LCD panels global.

At present, Chinese LCD manufacturers are mainly focusing on the further layouts of high-generation LCDs. From 2020 to 2021, in mainland China, BOE, TCL, HKC, and CEC will successively put into production a total of 8 important production lines larger than 7-generation.

In 2020, the outbreak of the global epidemic has led to the adoption of blockade measures around the world. The mode of remote working and learning has led to a consumption surge of laptop electronic terminal products, overlapping the shortage of upstream materials, the global panel entered a new round of price rise cycle in June 2020.

According to WitsView quotes, the average price of 55″W (3840 x 2160) panels has risen from $103 in June 2020 to $176 in early January 2020, up $73 in just seven months.

In order to ensure the normal panel supply to their own terminals, both Samsung and LGD have announced a delay in closing the LCD production line. At present, LG P7 and P8 production lines are definitely delayed to exit completely by the end of 2021. Samsung L7-2 is planned to be shut down in the first quarter of 2020, and has not given a clear exit schedule for the remaining two lines of L8-1 and L8-2.

From the perspective of the regional distribution of enterprises in the panel supply chain, panel enterprises are mainly distributed in coastal provinces.

From the perspective of competitiveness, BOE and Tianma are currently more competitive in the panel industry both accounting for more than 98% of panel-related business.

BOE97.36%The business revenue of mainland China accounted for 48.13%, and other Asian countries accounted for 40.50%, the Americas 7.64%, and the rest of the region less than 5%.For TFT-LCD: 55,628 thousand square meters;

While in the TFT-LCD market, leading manufacturers include BOE, HKC, TCL, Innolux, AUO, Tianma Panda, CAIHONG, and IVO. Among them, BOE, TCL, Innolux, and AUO lead the Chinese TFT-LCD market due to their production capacity advantages.

► When the leading Korean players Samsung Display and LG Display exit LCD production, BOE will be the most significant player in the LCD market. Though OLED can replace the LCD, it will take years for it to be fully replaced.

► As foreign companies control evaporation material and machines, panel manufacturers seek a cheaper way to mass-produce OLED panels – inkjet printing.

When mainstream consumer electronics brands choose their device panels, the top three choices are Samsung Display, LG Display (LGD) and BOE (000725:SZ) – the first two from Korea and the third from China. From liquid-crystal displays (LCD) to active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED), display panel technology has been upgrading with bigger screen products.

From the early 1990s, LCDs appeared and replaced cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens, which enabled lighter and thinner display devices. Japanese electronics companies like JDI pioneered the panel technology upgrade while Samsung Display and LGD were nobodies in the field. Every technology upgrade or revolution is a chance for new players to disrupt the old paradigm.

The landscape was changed in 2001 when Korean players firstly made a breakthrough in the Gen 5 panel technology – the later the generation, the bigger the panel size. A large panel size allows display manufacturers to cut more display screens from one panel and create bigger-screen products. "The bigger the better" is a motto for panel makers as the cost can be controlled better and they can offer bigger-size products to satisfy the burgeoning middle-class" needs.

LCD panel makers have been striving to realize bigger-size products in the past four decades. The technology breakthrough of Gen 5 in 2002 made big-screen LCD TV available and it sent Samsung Display and LGD to the front row, squeezing the market share of Japanese panel makers.

The throne chair of LCD passed from Japanese companies to Korean enterprises – and now Chinese players are clinching it, replacing the Koreans. After twenty years of development, Chinese panel makers have mastered LCD panel technology and actively engage in large panel R&D projects. Mass production created a supply surplus that led to drops in LCD price. In May 2020, Samsung Display announced that it would shut down all LCD fabs in China and Korea but concentrate on quantum dot LCD (Samsung calls it QLED) production; LGD stated that it would close LCD TV panel fabs in Korea and focus on organic LED (OLED). Their retreats left BOE and China Stars to digest the LCD market share.

Consumer preference has been changing during the Korean fab"s recession: Bigger-or-not is fine but better image quality ranks first. While LCD needs the backlight to show colors and substrates for the liquid crystal layer, OLED enables lighter and flexible screens (curvy or foldable), higher resolution and improved color display. It itself can emit lights – no backlight or liquid layer is needed. With the above advantages, OLED has been replacing the less-profitable LCD screens.

Samsung Display has been the major screen supplier for high-end consumer electronics, like its own flagship cell phone products and Apple"s iPhone series. LGD dominated the large OLED TV market as it is the one that handles large-size OLED mass production. To further understand Korean panel makers" monopolizing position, it is worth mentioning fine metal mask (FMM), a critical part of the OLED RGB evaporation process – a process in OLED mass production that significantly affects the yield rate.

Prior to 2018, Samsung Display and DNP"s monopolistic supply contract prevented other panel fabs from acquiring quality FMM products as DNP bonded with Hitachi Metal, the "only" FMM material provider choice for OLED makers. After the contract expired, panel makers like BOE could purchase FFM from DNP for their OLED R&D and mass production. Except for FFM materials, vacuum evaporation equipment is dominated by Canon Tokki, a Japanese company. Its role in the OLED industry resembles that of ASML in the integrated circuit space. Canon Tokki"s annual production of vacuum evaporation equipment is fewer than ten and thereby limits the total production of OLED panels that rely on evaporation technology.

The shortage of equipment and scarcity of materials inspired panel fabs to explore substitute technology; they discovered that inkjet printing has the potential to be the thing to replace evaporation. Plus, evaporation could be applied to QLED panels as quantum dots are difficult to be vaporized. Inkjet printing prints materials (liquefied organic gas or quantum dots) to substrates, saving materials and breaking free from FMM"s size restriction. With the new tech, large-size OLED panels can theoretically be recognized with improved yield rate and cost-efficiency. However, the tech is at an early stage when inkjet printing precision could not meet panel manufacturers" requirements.

Display and LGD are using evaporation on their OLED products. To summarize, OLED currently adopts evaporation and QLED must go with inkjet printing, but evaporation is a more mature tech. Technology adoption will determine a different track for the company to pursue. With inkjet printing technology, players are at a similar starting point, which is a chance for all to run to the front – so it is for Chinese panel fabs. Certainly, panel production involves more technologies (like flexible panels) than evaporation or inkjet printing and only mastering all required technologies can help a company to compete at the same level.

Presently, Chinese panel fabs are investing heavily in OLED production while betting on QLED. BOE has four Gen 6 OLED product lines, four Gen 8.5 and one Gen 10.5 LCD lines; China Star, controlled by the major appliance titan TCL, has invested two Gen 6 OLED fabs and four large-size LCD product lines.

Remembering the last "regime change" that occurred in 2005 when Korean fabs overtook Japanese" place in the LCD market, the new phase of panel technology changed the outlook of the industry. Now, OLED or QLED could mark the perfect time for us to expect landscape change.

After Samsung Display and LGD ceding from LCD TV productions, the vacant market share will be digested by BOE, China Star and other LCD makers. Indeed, OLED and QLED have the potential to take over the LCD market in the future, but the process may take more than a decade. Korean companies took ten years from panel fab"s research on OLED to mass production of small- and medium-size OLED electronics. Yet, LCD screen cell phones are still available in the market.

LCD will not disappear until OLED/QLED"s cost control can compete with it. The low- to middle-end panel market still prefers cheap LCD devices and consumers are satisfied with LCD products – thicker but cheaper. BOE has been the largest TV panel maker since 2019. As estimated by Informa, BOE and China Star will hold a duopoly on the flat panel display market.

BOE"s performance seems to have ridden on a roller coaster ride in the past several years. Large-size panel mass production like Gen 8.5 and Gen 10.5 fabs helped BOE recognize the first place in production volume. On the other side, expanded large-size panel factories and expenses of OLED product lines are costly: BOE planned to spend CNY 176.24 billion (USD 25.92 billion) – more than Tibet"s 2019 GDP CNY 169.78 billion – on Chengdu and Mianyang"s Gen 6 AMOLED lines and Hefei and Wuhan"s Gen 10.5 LCD lines.

Except for making large-size TVs, bigger panels can cut out more display screens for smaller devices like laptops and cell phones, which are more profitable than TV products. On its first-half earnings concall, BOE said that it is shifting its production focus to cell phone and laptop products as they are more profitable than TV products. TV, IT and cell phone products counted for 30%, 44% and 33% of its productions respectively and the recent rising TV price may lead to an increased portion of TV products in the short term.

Except for outdoor large screens, TV is another driver that pushes panel makers to research on how to make bigger and bigger screens. A research done by CHEARI showed that Chinese TV sales dropped by 10.6% to CNY 128.2 billion from 2018 to 2019. Large-size TV sales increased as a total but the unit price decreased; high-end products like laser TV and OLED TV saw a strong growth of 131.2% and 34.1%, respectively.

The demand for different products may vary as lifestyles change and panel fabs need to make on-time judgments and respond to the change. For instance, the coming Olympics is a new driving factor to boost TV sales; "smart city" projects around the world will need more screens for data visualization; people will own more screens and better screens when life quality improves. Flexible screens, cost-efficient production process, accessible materials, changing market and all these problems are indeed the next opportunity for the industry.

Suppliers showcased their NextGen display products at CES giving a glimpse of what to expect in 2023 and beyond. Technology innovations on display panel drive product innovations in the consumer TV market. This year, display suppliers such as LG Display, Samsung Display, TCL China Star and others showcased ranges of technology developments for TV display panel. Technology innovations are very important for the growth of TV market specially in a slow demand growth environment.

OLED TV from LG Electronics with LG Display panels dazzled CES this year with hundreds of white OLED 55-inch TV display. LGE showed products with enhanced features, performance and sizes reaching 97-inch. LG Display unveiled their third generation OLED TV display technology based on “META Technology” at CES. META Technology comprises a ‘Micro Lens Array’ that maximizes light emission from the OLED panel and ‘META Booster,’ a brightness-enhancing algorithm. According to LGD based on META technology, their latest OLED displays can achieve 60% brighter images and 30% wider viewing angles than conventional OLED displays. It can also achieve improved energy efficiency. Using Meta technology TV can have 2100nits peak brightness. Last year LGD introduced its deuterium technology and personalized algorithms to enhance brightness by up to 30% compared to previous generation products.

META technology maximizes light emission from the OLED panel and enhances energy efficiency by 22 percent compared to that of the same brightness. META Booster, improves both screen brightness and color expression by analyzing and adjusting the brightness of each scene in real time. This also enhances HDR (High Dynamic Range). Meta also helps to deliver wide viewing angle of 160 degrees which can deliver pictures at any angle without image distortion. LGD plans to apply Meta technology to its 55”, 65”, 77” 4K and 77”, 88” 8K OLED TV panels with the strategy of focusing on ultra-premium TV market. LG display is the sole supplier of white OLED TV panels. White OLED TVs are sold under several brands including LG Electronics, Sony, and others. WOLED TV has experienced strong growth path and gained dominance in the premium market. The technology is still evolving and capacity is expanding helping it to gain higher market shares.

QD OLED, display technology was introduced at CES last year by Samsung Display. It dazzled audiences with superior display performance and received great reviews. The company introduced QD-Display for the home entertainment market in two TV sizes, 55” and 65”, along with a 34” curved gaming monitor. The display integrated printed Quantum Dots with blue self-emitting pixels. QD Display can provide superior color performance as it does not rely on color filters like WOLED or LCD. This year Samsung Display unveiled QD OLED 2023 with addition of 77” TV and 49” ultra-wide monitor. The 2023 lineup products used advanced optimization algorithm InteliSense AI and new OLED HyperEfficient EL material improving color brightness of each RGB according to the company information. As a result, maximum brightness of combined RGB color brightness achieved more than 2000 nits. Image quality and panel efficiency has been greatly increased with advanced AI technology.

According to the company QD OLED 2023 has reduced power consumption of 2022 models up to 25% by applying high efficiency organic materials and more advanced AI technology. Samsung Display is the only supplier for QD OLED display panel. Further investment in QD OLED technology to increase capacity is expected in 2023. Sony and Samsung Electronics are already selling 55” and 65” QD OLED TVs from last year. Samsung followed some aggressive pricing strategy towards the end of 2022, especially for black Friday that resulted in higher sales. More suppliers including TCL are planning to join in which will result in higher shares for QD OLED TV in 2023.

TCL CSOT unveiled their 65-inch 8K IJP-OLED display, the world’s first 65” 8K printed OLED. It is jointly developed by TCL CSOT and JOLED. The new 8K product with up to 33 million ultra-high pixels has highest resolutions and refresh rates developed by an ink jet printing OLED technology. It boasts an improved refresh rate, higher brightness and a narrower border compared to previous model according to company information. IJP for RGB OLED printing has been challenging due to material issues and manufacturing complexities as it needs OLED materials compatible with solution printing. New generations of products are leading to performance improvements. A technology showcase prototypes will take longer time before it can be commercialized.

More brands have adopted miniLED and QD TV technologies for their product offerings. Cost is still a challenge for miniLED TV. LED costs are coming down. Suppliers are also increasing more dimming zones per driver ICs, improving transfer throughputs and transfer yield rates and integrating supply chain to reduce costs and improve performance. Drastic panel price reduction for LCD in the first 3 quarters of 2022 will contribute to reduce costs for MiniLED based products in 2023. MiniLED QD TVs have increased shares and shipments with higher display performance, higher resolutions (4K and 8K), larger screen sizes (higher production from 10.5 Gen fabs)) and more product options in 2022 and expected to increase shares and shipments in 2023. It is still lagging OLED TV shipments.

Quantum Dot display technology is continuously evolving with new materials and new processes. Most of the top TV manufacturers such as Samsung, LGE, Sony, TCL, Hisense, Vizio, and Skyworth have already adopted QD (QDEF) display technology in their TVs. It has enabled LCD technology to reinvent itself and has created growth opportunities in the TV market especially when combined with miniLED backlights. It has also empowered OLED with the introduction of QD OLED displays.

At CES 2023, Nanosys and Eyesafe, the leading blue light mitigation technology company jointly introduced Eyesafe QD. Eyesafe QD is a new type of QDEF quantum dot technology for LCD screens based on an all-new heavy metal free quantum dot developed by Nanosys. Each Eyesafe QD component contains trillions of quantum dots that absorb blue light from a standard LED, converting it into a perfectly optimized red, green and blue spectrum designed for human health without compromising color or efficiency performance. Eyesafe QD guarantees advanced blue light protection, with a minimum rating of RPF50. It delivers full DCI-P3 color volume and +58% increased perceived improvement in blue luminance. Eyesafe QD will be certified by TÜV Rheinland. Nanosys and Eyesafe will begin sampling Eyesafe QD to display makers in early 2023 for inclusion in 2024 products.

Innovation and technology developments in display materials and components will empower next generations TV. Universal Display, the leading OLED material company has announced recently that their development of commercial phosphorescent blue emissive system remains in schedule and they met their preliminary target specification in 2022. This should enable their introduction of all phosphorescent RGB stack into the commercial market in 2024. This can help next generation products for both white OLED and QD OLED TV as more efficient blue OLED will bring down cost and increase performance.

“LCD glass substrate” is a generic term for the special glass used for thin-film transistor (TFT) LCDs which form the display area of products including LCD televisions, personal computers and mobile phones. An LCD panel consists of various components stacked in a number of layers. These components include a polarizer, a color filter and a liquid crystal layer, with the glass substrate being the most important. Glass substrates are extremely thin – typically about 0.3-0.7 mm – and 8th-generation glass substrates (2,200 x 2,500 mm) are as large as three tatami mats in size.

In order to accurately display beautiful, high-definition images, LCD glass substrates must have super-smooth surfaces with irregularities reduced to the nano-level. It is also necessary to avoid the formation of internal bubbles and the intrusion of foreign matter (dust) too minute for the naked eye. Smooth and scratch-free glass substrates with the ultimate precision represent the maximum quality AvanStrate aims for.

For over 30 years, we"ve been doing our small part to drive technology forward. We deliver high performance light emitting diode and liquid crystal display products to manufacturers in industries as demanding as Automotive and Medical Devices. From Ford and OTIS to small local manufacturers, we make LEDs & LCDs for today"s most advanced and consequential applications. What can we do for you?

As display panels get bigger, thinner and more expensive, manufacturers look to the semiconductor industry for guidance on how to get particle contamination under control

In the beginning, consumers were happy with boxy 30-inch TVs and would tolerate a few blank spots on an otherwise working screen, but today expectations are much higher. Liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which offer several advantages over traditional cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays, are becoming the norm for today’s TV and computer screens. Since 2000, glass substrate size has approximately doubled every 1.5 years. It took ten years for the display industry to migrate from Generation One glass sizes to Generation Four, but it took only four years to get from Generation Four to Generation Seven glass sizes. Generation Five and larger size substrates are expected to account for nearly 80 percent of all glass substrates produced by 2007.

This fast migration to larger-generation glass is driven both by product applications, such as bigger, flatter TVs and desktop monitors, and by economies of scale. Large generation glass offers dramatic manufacturing efficiencies, allowing display makers to produce more panels at lower costs with less waste. While a typical Generation Four sheet yields four 17-inch panels, a Generation Five sheet increases that yield threefold, to twelve 17-inch panels. A Generation Six substrate can produce eight larger panels of 32 inches, and a Generation Seven substrate can produce twelve 32-inch panels.

The industrywide migration by LCD manufacturers to large-generation substrates is expected to reduce prices to consumers, further driving the adoption of LCD technology in the desktop monitor and television market segments. LCD desktop monitors accounted for more than 50 percent of all monitors sold in 2004 and are projected to account for nearly 80 percent in 2007, which is twice the penetration rate of 2003. In 2004, LCD TVs represented only 5 percent of the color television market, but new screen sizes, falling prices and expanding availability are expected to drive market penetration to approximately 20 percent by 2007.

Contamination control, for example, is becoming more critical, and the need for standards to manage the production process is increasing, just as it did for the semi industry several years ago. As a result, display manufacturers often look to the semi industry for guidance, says Mark Merrill, vice president of Photon Dynamics, a San Jose, California-based yield management company that offers test, repair and inspection tools throughout array, cell and module fabs for the display-panel manufacturing industry (see Fig. 1). “The display manufacturing process is a lot like the semiconductor manufacturing process, it’s just simpler and bigger.”

Figure 1. Photon Dynamics offers a full suite of yield management solutions for the FPD industry, including test, repair and inspection of LCDs. Photo courtesy of Photon Dynamics, Inc.Click here to enlarge image

As in the semi industry, where one particulate can destroy an entire chip, in large-display manufacturing one unfortunately placed particle can ruin an entire large, flat screen, which is a much more costly yield loss than the smaller panels of previous generations.

If the manufacturer is making smaller displays, a single panel of glass might be cut into 16 individual panels, whereas if it’s making larger displays, it may only be cut into four panels. “Imagine 100 particles falling on that piece of glass, and five of them cause pixel damage,” Merrill says. “That might kill five of the 16 smaller panels, but it could kill all of the four larger panels. That has a huge impact on yield.”

Managing yields through process control is an essential component of optimizing costs and time-to-market throughout the electronics industry. In the flat-panel display sector, the industry’s migration toward high-volume production of larger display