Smartphone OLED Makers Seek to Slash Production Costs
Panel manufacturers are working to reduce the number of photomasks used in premium smartphone screens, aiming to lower costs and improve production efficiency.
The production of high-end smartphone screens is becoming increasingly expensive due to the sheer volume of photomasks required for manufacturing. According to GN technics/mobile (en-US), premium OLED panels currently utilize up to thirty distinct masks to create the necessary circuit structures. This high count drives up processing time, increases equipment demands, and raises the likelihood of defects during the lithography process.
Industry experts argue that reducing this number is essential for maintaining price competitiveness. By simplifying the manufacturing steps, producers can increase overall capacity and improve yield rates. As new features like four-sided bending and biosensors are added to devices, the pressure to streamline existing processes without adding more masks is intensifying across the sector.
Oxide Technology Offers Cost Savings
A significant portion of these masks is dedicated to the thin-film transistor backplane, which controls the screen's power and refresh rate. Current standard technology, known as LTPO, requires between seventeen and twenty-two masks to achieve efficient low-power operation. However, emerging high-mobility oxide technologies aim to cut this number down to just six or eight. This reduction would almost halve the lithography steps required for the backplane alone.
The trade-off has historically been performance. Traditional oxide materials lack the electron mobility needed for high-resolution, high-refresh-rate displays. The new high-mobility oxide approach seeks to bridge this gap, offering the driving performance of complex LTPO structures while retaining the simpler, fewer-mask process of standard oxide TFTs. This balance is critical for meeting the demands of flagship devices without incurring prohibitive manufacturing costs.
Apple Leads Expected Adoption
Market analysts anticipate that Apple will be the first major adopter of these streamlined processes. Forecasts suggest that high-mobility oxide technology will debut in the Apple Watch by 2027, followed by integration into iPhones and iPads in 2028. By 2029, the technology may extend to MacBooks, where it could be used for both driving and switching transistors, further simplifying the production line.
Major panel suppliers are already aligning their R&D efforts with this trajectory. LG Display has reportedly worked with Apple on crystallized oxide technology for several years, targeting a 2027 launch. Samsung Display is also developing similar approaches on its production lines. These investments indicate a broad industry consensus that process simplification is the most viable path to controlling the rising costs of advanced display technology.
Privacy Features Face Streamlining
Beyond the backplane, other features are also undergoing optimization to reduce mask usage. Privacy functions that limit the viewing angle currently require two to three additional black matrix layers. Manufacturers are developing methods to consolidate these layers or integrate them with existing color filter processes. One approach involves overlapping red and green filters to block light, effectively replacing a separate black matrix step and saving further resources.
These adjustments represent a broader shift toward process integration. By combining multiple functions into fewer lithography steps, manufacturers can process more substrates on the same equipment. This efficiency gain helps offset the complexity of adding new features, ensuring that next-generation smartphones remain affordable despite their advanced capabilities.
