Yapex of South Korea successfully realized the domestic production of Pad-Open Film technology for manufacturing process protection of flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) used in foldable mobile phones.
According to a Korean media Newsis report, Yapex announced on December 16 that the company has completed a patent application for the production technology of Pad-Open Film made of polyurethane.
As the corresponding material for the protection of flexible OLED technology, it is currently exclusively supplied by a Japanese manufacturer of OLED parts and materials. Therefore, there is a high demand for domestic substitution in South Korea.
The Pad-Open protective film for flexible OLED is the main material that determines the output of the OLED process. Pad-Open Film plays a role in protecting the safety of components in the flexible OLED process, including preventing the bending of the polyimide (PI) layer and preventing external damage to the film encapsulation layer. After the latter process is completed, it is easy to remove, plus there is no residue, and after electrostatic treatment, it is considered to be a special functional protective film that can resist secondary pollution such as external foreign objects.
The mass production technology of Yapex's patent application is different from the existing silicon-based Pad-Open Film. It is based on polyurethane material, so it has an advantage in price competitiveness and is expected to meet the domestic substitution demand of South Korea. The company stated that the traditional silicon-based Pad-Open Film has been rapidly replaced by polyurethane materials in the Chinese and Taiwanese markets due to its relatively high price.
Yapex representative director Cui Shiming said, "The polyurethane material for process protection adhesive film that has been patented so far can achieve clean degumming after manufacturing even with excellent adhesion, so it is favored by the industry", and Said, “In the Korean flexible OLED industry, through the localization of the Pad-Open Film material for engineering protection monopolized by Japanese manufacturers, the field of high value-added materials industry will be expanded, and the new growth momentum will be further strengthened.”