Samsung Display has secured another supply chain partner that will be instrumental in manufacturing future Gen 8 OLED panels. South Korea's Chemtronics will soon start constructing a new factory to support Samsung exclusively.
Reports say that Chemtronics will etch 8 Gen OLED substrates for Samsung Display at its new fab. Chemtronics spent 94.9 billion won ($68.7 million) on this project so far, but Samsung Display also invested:
- 15.9 billion won ($11.5 million) in June 2023.
- 57.6 billion won ($41.7 million) in November 2023.
- 21.4 billion won ($15.4 million) in August 2024.
All this money went into the planning and building of Chemtronics' new large-scale Gen 8 OLED etching facility, and Samsung will have exclusivity rights over the supplier's Gen 8 OLED etching services once the factory is up and running.
The Korean media (via The Elec) says that the construction ceremony for Chemtronics' new facility will be held on November 15. It's location: Sejong City. The city's mayor and Samsung executives will attend.
Making Samsung AMOLED panels extremely thin
This partnership with Chemtronics will reportedly allow Samsung Display to create thinner AMOLED panels, which will lead to thinner consumer devices.
The new etching method for Gen 8 OLED panels is expected to reduce the thickness of future Gen 8 AMOLED displays from 0.5mm to only 0.2mm.
This advancement in technology manufacturing will allow Samsung Display to supply panels for thinner tablets and laptops. Apple is expected to become one of Samsung's major Gen 8 OLED clients. Other potential buyers are HP and Dell.
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Earlier rumors said Samsung would be able to supply Apple with Gen 8 OLED panels for iPads before the end of 2024, but that hasn't come to pass.
More realistically, industry watchers expect Samsung to reach a production capacity of 10 million Gen 8 OLED panels per year by 2026. Still, plans can change.
The list of other companies in Samsung Display's Gen 8 OLED manufacturing chain is said to include Hijura, Wonik IPS, Pine Solutions, and ICD.
