Reports from Korea state that Samsung is planning to take the plunge and invest in a factory from the wide scale production of flexible OLED panels.
Flexible smartphones The company's A3 facility, located in Asan, will produce Gen 6 (1500x1850mm) OLED sheets. These will be fitted to give a flexible 5 or 6 inch screen for Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy S6 smartphone and Galaxy Note 5 tablet computer, both of which are set for release early in 2015.
To meet this schedule the new plant will need to be functioning by November or December 2014, with two months of test runs predicted before full scale production can begin. It is estimated that it will take at least until November for Samsung to receive the necessary production equipment from suppliers and set up the manufacturing lines. In time, these are set to produce 15,000-20,000 units each month.
Booming market
Market research from IHS iSuppli in 2013, estimated a 334% leap in the global market for flexible OLEDs in 2014 - rising from €16.6 million in 2013 to €69 million.
Though some industry insiders have suggested that the market for flexible OLEDs will not reach maturity for more years, commercial pressure from rivals are believed to be one reason Samsung has chosen to invest in the site now. Coverage in Business Korea reports that some potential Samsung customers were losing patience with the firm and threatening to take their business elsewhere; including to Chinese suppliers who are striving to catch up with market leaders in Korea.
By making the decision to use flexible OLEDs in its own products, Samsung has assured that there will be an initial market for the panels it makes. Success will de dependant on how flexible the screens actually are and to what extent they are seen as a game-changer by smartphone users. However in the longer term, it is believed that the OLED sheets will also be sold on to other equipment manufacturers for use in the burgeoning field of wearable electronic devices too.
A wider trend
Ultimately the Asan factory will also support Samsung's display products allowing cheaper production of large size curved or flexible televisions. It is not the only company that has recently decided to invest in moving to wider scale production to capitalise on the potential of OLEDs.
LG is set to cement its lead over the rival Korean firm in screen production later this year when it opens a Gen8 (2,200x2,500mm) OLED production line at its Paju factory. At optimum performance this will be able to turn out 26,000 such panels per month.
Across the Sea of Japan, Konica recently made a similar commitment to mass-produce OLED lighting panels. It has committed €70 million to the factory at Chuo-shi, which will be able to produce 1 million white-light and colour-tuneable panels each months.
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