Solus said on the fourth-quarter conference call that Solus Advanced Materials will expand the supply of OLED TVs and other materials besides luminescent materials.
OLED TV may refer to Samsung Display’s Quantum Dot (QD)-OLED display panel.
People familiar with the matter said that Solus is currently developing advanced electron transport layer (aETL) materials for QD-OLED.
The company has provided aETL for Samsung Display's small and medium OLED panels. For eight years, it has been the exclusive material supplier for Korean display panel manufacturers.
The material has been applied to Samsung Display's M11 material combination for the Galaxy S21 Ultra OLED panel. M11 will be used for OLED panels again in the new iPhone released later this year.
aETL is used to improve the luminous efficiency of OLED. The OLED panel emits light by meeting electron holes and electrons in the emission layer. aETL is used to prevent electron holes from quickly escaping through the emission layer to the electron transport layer. It can also be used to increase the brightness of blue OLEDs by 30% and obtain clearer colors.
In addition to aETL, Solus also manufactures materials for the cathode, hole transport layer and electron injection layer.
The company is also increasing sales of the encapsulation layer, which is deposited on top of the cathode of the OLED panel. Despite the market trend, this non-luminescent material has hardly changed, which is different from the luminescent material that changes rapidly according to the market. Therefore, materials such as cover layer can become a stable source of income for Solus.
The protective layer of the small and medium-sized OLED panel of Samsung Display is provided to Samsung Display. This layer increases the refractive index, thereby reducing the power consumption of the panel.
Solus also plans to expand its product portfolio for mobile OLED panels. It is considering green and blue OLED materials and thin film packaging.
The company operates four main businesses: OLED materials, cathode materials for batteries, copper foil for printed circuit boards and biological materials.
OLED materials and biological products are produced in South Korea. The battery cathode material is produced in Hungary, and the copper foil is produced in Luxembourg.
Solus's goal is to have sales of 396 billion won and operating income of 43 billion won this year, 36% and 41% higher than the record in 2020, respectively.