Dick Hsieh, managing director of Merck Taiwan, said recently that Merck has been committed to advancing the development of its OLED inkjet printing technology in order to further promote the future development of foldable smartphones.
Hsieh claims that Merck has been developing OLED materials for many years and is currently the only supplier capable of providing a full range of OLED materials for evaporative printing processes and inkjet printing processes.
Technically, the evaporation process is more expensive and the temperature required to implement it is higher. In contrast, the use of inkjet printing technology can reduce the waste of materials, and also reduce the cost of the substrate.
Hsieh revealed that Merck's inkjet printing materials for OLED displays are in place and are currently being validated by customers; and inkjet printing technology is more suitable for large and medium-sized applications such as tablets, displays and televisions. For small size and high PPI products such as smart watches and mobile phones, there are more challenges.
Pointing out that the life cycle of inkjet printed OLED materials can still be extended by 20-30%, Hsieh believes that when the inkjet printing process is ready for mass production, OLED products will explode.
In addition to continuing to consolidate its leadership in the LCD display industry, Merck's Specialty Materials business unit also focuses on developing innovative materials for the electronics industry to address emerging issues such as 5G, AI, Internet of Things, autonomous driving, big data, and AR / VR Demand for technology.