Seoul, South Korea — LG Display said it will begin mass production of the world’s first flexible OLED panel for smartphones, and it expects its OLED technology to wend its way into automobile displays, tablets and wearable devices.
The company also plans eventually to introduce displays in various sizes that can be rolled and folded.
The company didn’t return a request for information on exactly when mass production would begin, but Dr. Sang Deog Yeo, LG Display’s executive VP/chief technology officer, said the company’s goal “is to take an early lead in the flexible display market by introducing new products with enhanced performance and differentiated designs next year.”
“The flexible-display market is expected to grow quickly as this technology is expected to expand further into diverse applications including automotive displays, tablets and wearable devices,” he added.
To make the panel flexible, LG uses plastic substrates instead of glass and applies a protective film to the back of the panel to make it bendable and unbreakable, LG said. The display is vertically concave from top to bottom with a radius of 700mm.
The display is also only 0.44mm thick, making it the world’s slimmest among existing mobile device panels, the company contended. It’s also promoted as the world’s lightest smartphone display panel, weighing 0.25 ounces even with a 6-inch screen.
