On September 19, SCXH Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. announced a new strategy and launched a new project, announcing that it will fully launch the layout of lithium-aluminum-silicon glass, ultra-thin glass, New products such as curved glass, automotive and anti-glare glass.
"These new projects are born to lead the industry trend." Said Liu Zaijin, general manager of SCXH Optoelectronics. According to the strategic layout, the company is determined to become a leader in the national touch protection glass industry.
From the perspective of the development of the display industry, flexibility, foldability, and anti-glare are the mainstream trends. For the touch protection glass industry, it needs to be thinner, softer, stronger and more anti-glare. "In the future, mobile phones, back panels and frames will be vitrified." Liu Zaijin said that smart cars are developing rapidly. In addition to dashboards, central controls, and head-up displays, there will be huge demand for in-vehicle displays.
"This is the third new step that SCXH Optoelectronics has taken since its establishment ten years ago. In 2010, the company was established to develop domestic plasma glass. Since 2014, it has actively transformed and developed touch screen glass covers, becoming the first company in China. An enterprise that owns a full set of high-aluminum cover glass technology with completely independent intellectual property rights.
Hu Hengguang, general manager of SCXH Optoelectronics and president of the LCD business department, said that with the advent of the 5G era, there is a need to replace 1 billion domestic mobile phones. It is expected that 5G mobile phones will be listed in large quantities next year, which is a huge market. The popularity of double-sided glass mobile phones will more than double the demand for mobile glass. In addition, single-sided phones will also be replaced with drop-resistant glass screens.
According to him, the company has received strong demand from well-known mobile phone terminal manufacturers. In order to meet the market demand, the existing production line was urgently upgraded and switched. At the same time, a new production line with an annual output of 3 million square meters is planned in Mianyang.
According to Liu Zaijin, general manager of SCXH Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., in addition to 5G communication and wireless charging technology, the rise of flexible OLED screens, smart cars and worldwide protectionism has brought new requirements and opportunities to the display field.
According to Gong Ruhua, director of research and development of SCXH Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., the antenna of the mobile phone is located on the edge of the back cover. 5G communication places higher requirements on the signal receiving capability of the mobile phone. Glass and ceramics will replace the current metal and plastic mobile phone casing materials. Compared with ceramics, glass has better plasticity and is less difficult to process. Therefore, double-sided glass mobile phones with glass front and rear covers are the future development trend of 5G mobile phones.
Flexible OLED screens are commonly used in foldable mobile phones, which require the development of curved, flexible and ultra-thin glass for mobile phones, while taking into account strength.
"The company has begun to develop ultra-thin flexible glass. At present, the thickness of glass can reach 0.06 mm, which is thinner than a sheet of paper (the thickness of a sheet of paper is 0.07 mm), which is an international leading level." He said that the development of dual-fold mobile phones Slow, the screen material currently used is polymer PI material, and the curved ultra-thin glass material has the advantages of no fatigue and wear resistance, which is the future development trend. The industry is expected to reach 75 million foldable phones in 2023.
The rapid development of smart cars and driverless vehicles requires anti-glare displays on vehicles. "The company's anti-glare glass has completed research and development and is solving the problem of yield improvement before mass production. The goal is to reach 80%, which is higher than the market average (60%). It is expected to be put into production by the end of this year." Hu Hengguang said.
SCXH Optoelectronics previously developed and produced high aluminum cover glass with high flexibility, high flexural strength, strong scratch resistance, high impact resistance and other properties. The thickness range is 0.1-6mm. It is mainly used in smart phones, tablets, IPAD, industrial control display , Aerospace, photovoltaic thermal power generation, automotive and other fields, the current production yield is up to 99%. The product-related technical equipment and manufacturing process won the 2018 National Science and Technology Progress Award.
With this product, SCXH Optoelectronics has become one of the important suppliers of well-known brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, LG, VIVO, BOE, etc. In recent years, its production capacity and market share have reached the number one in China and the second in the world.
Different from soda-alumina-silica glass, the drop-resistant glass released this time is lithium-alumina-silica glass. The glass production material has changed a lot. The introduction of sodium and lithium two alkali metal ions is like genetic optimization of soda-alumina-silica glass As a result, this iterative product has greatly improved its impact resistance and drop resistance, and has been widely welcomed by mobile phone manufacturers and other downstream terminal manufacturers using touch screens.
"Compared with one-time strengthened soda-aluminum-silica glass, the surface compressive stress is increased by about 1.2 times, the depth of the stress layer is increased by 2 times, the bending strength is increased by 1.5 times, and the drop resistance height is increased by more than 5 times. The new drop-resistant glass can reach 1.5-2 meters when dropped by gravity acceleration on 180g counterweight 180 mesh sandpaper. It will not break when dropped, which will greatly extend the service life of terminal products such as mobile phones and improve the consumer experience. It is expected to expand the application range of cover glass, "said Gong Ruhua, R & D director of SCXH Optoelectronics.
At present, SCXH Optoelectronics has built the first large-scale high-strength ultra-thin touch screen glass production line in China, with the second largest market share in the world and the first in China. The high aluminum cover glass product independently developed by SCXH Optoelectronics has a thickness of no more than 0.3mm and can achieve 360-degree bending. A 130g steel ball is still intact when it is dropped from a height of 130cm.
This technology and product also won SCXH Optoelectronics won the first prize of scientific and technological progress, the first batch of national "single champion" demonstration enterprises in manufacturing and other honors.
In addition to 5G mobile phones, the fast-growing automotive display market has also created market space for the cover glass market. According to survey data from Sigmaintell, the total number of vehicle display panels shipped in the whole year of 2018 was about 160 million (excluding after-installation), an increase of about 6% year-on-year. In 2019, the automotive display panel is expected to ship 170 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of about 5%.
In April this year, an internationally renowned panel manufacturer and SCXH Optoelectronics signed a "Strategic Cooperation Agreement." SCXH Optoelectronics will supply the company as an upstream company in the panel manufacturing industry and establish a strategic partnership.