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Samsung Display is working on new OLED panel manufacturing methods that could significantly reduce their production costs in the future. The Korean manufacturer is developing two technologies in parallel that would allow it to do away with traditional metal masks. One of them could deliver savings exceeding 30%.
Samsung wants to ditch metal masks
Currently, many RGB OLED panels are produced using FMM (Fine Metal Mask) technology. It involves depositing organic materials through extremely thin metal masks with microscopic openings. The solution provides precision, but it's costly, consumes a lot of material and makes producing larger panels more difficult.
Samsung Display is therefore testing two alternatives. The first is inkjet printing, that is depositing red, green and blue emissive materials directly onto the substrate. According to Korean ETNews, the company is already in talks with suppliers about building a pilot production line. If it can achieve sufficient production efficiency, the new method could theoretically reduce production costs by more than 30%. However, that would not necessarily translate into an equally large drop in retail prices.
Second technology and 7-inch prototype
At the same time Samsung is developing its own MPO (Micro Patterned OLED) method, which uses photolithography and microscopic structures that separate subpixels. It allows reduced material use and avoids some processing stages of the organic layers. According to The Elec, the company is preparing a prototype OLED panel with a diagonal of about 7 inches. The engineering sample is expected to be ready by the end of 2026, though work could stretch into the first quarter of 2027.
It's worth noting that Samsung is not the only one. LG Display is developing the competing FLiPP technology, while China’s TCL CSOT has already started producing OLED panels using inkjet printing.
For now the most likely applications for the new solutions are laptop and monitor screens. In the longer term, the development of cheaper manufacturing methods could also be important for the OLED TV market. Samsung has not announced a start date for mass production nor decided on its final choice of technology.
Sources: The Elec, Oled-info
