Entering the second half of 2022, consumer electronics ushered in the new product season, and a variety of VR devices that have attracted much market attention are also on the horizon. It is worth noting that these VR products generally adopt the Pancake technology route. Since the Pancake route can greatly reduce the weight and size of the headset and improve the user's wearing experience, it is expected to replace the current aspheric lens and Fresnel lens solutions.
For example
(1) Pico Neo 4 and Pico Neo 4 Pro released simultaneously in China and the United States from September to October this year, the display system is equipped with the Pancake solution;
(2) Meta's Project Cambria, which is expected to be released at the Connect conference in October, also uses the Pancake solution;
(3) At the "2022 World 5G Conference", Skyworth's latest VR short-focus product, PANCAKE1, was unveiled, using the Pancake ultra-short-focus folding optics.
The Pancake solution has become the main layout direction of various manufacturers. In addition to Pico, Skyworth and Meta, Apple's MR is expected to adopt the Pancake solution.
The core increment of the Pancake link – optical film polarizer
The Pancake folded optical path solution needs to use polarizers (LP), half mirrors (BS), reflective polarizers (PBS), 1/4 phase retarder (QWP) and other films to achieve the effect of folded optical paths. Optical film is the core incremental component of Pancake, and the cost of optical film accounts for about 70% of Pancake's folded optical path solution.
The multiple optical films in the Pancake module are very important, especially the polarizer, which is also called polarizer, polarizer, which is laminated by polarizing film, inner protective film, pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and outer protective film The composite material can be considered as a "light stabilizer".
TAC films are mainly used to produce polarizers, which account for more than 50% of the total cost of polarizers. Usually, one polarizer requires two TAC films.
TAC films are mainly used to produce polarizers, which account for more than 50% of the total cost of polarizers. Usually, one polarizer requires two TAC films. Therefore, the market trend of TAC film can be calculated according to the development of the polarizer market. At present, due to the rapid growth of the terminal market, the market demand for polarizers continues to climb. It reached about 5.2 billion US dollars, with an annual growth rate of about 20%.
The TAC functional optical film material project started in January 2017. Since the project is a key material for polarizers, it is technically difficult and requires high precision, and the project is the first case in China. Considering the production capacity, delivery time and technology of Japanese equipment manufacturers Due to factors such as personnel training, in order to ensure the quality of the project, the five production lines invested by the funds raised in the "TAC Functional Optical Thin Film Material Project" were constructed in two phases, and the project progressed steadily, and the project construction and commissioning period was delayed accordingly. Two production lines in the first phase will be put into operation in November 2018.
In the global market, TAC film manufacturers mainly include Fujifilm, Konica Minolta, Hyosung, China Taiwan TWHD, China SZXL, China LK, China AEM, etc.
At this stage, the main manufacturers of TAC films for polarizers in China are SZXL and AEM, the output is rising, and the pace of localization is accelerating.