While full investment in mass-production of next-generation OLED (organic light emitting diode) panels is underway in the global display market, KPM has unveiled a new FMM (fine metal mask) prototype.
According to KPS on the 4th, FMM is a key material for OLED deposition process, and the market size based on 6th generation alone reaches 1 trillion won per year. However, Japan’s DNP (Diniphone Printing) monopolizes this market and is in urgent need of localization.
CEO Kim Jung-ho, who is in charge of the KPS OLED business, said, “We completed a prototype of FMM for 15.6-inch laptops in 4 years since we started developing equipment and parts for the first time in 2019,” adding, “This achievement is the result of accumulating technology that we have been doing business with global FMM and panel companies over the past 15 years.”
CEO Kim also explained, “FM, which has succeeded in developing in this way, can implement ultra-high definition by assembling masks in cells one by one and can respond to large screens for PCs, making it easier to respond to 8th and 10th generations.”
The resolution of OLED panels for smartphones is limited to about 500 PPI (pixel) due to technical difficulties of FMM. CEO Kim Jung-ho emphasized, “Our FMM is in the same form as the existing stick mask, so it can also be applied in the 6th generation process.”
FMM is a part in which R (red), G (green), and B (blue) fine holes are engraved on Inba, an alloy material of nickel and iron, and as the resolution increases, the thickness becomes thinner and the number of holes increases, significantly deteriorating the tensile and deposition yield. It is pointed out that it is a limitation in miniaturization as high tensile strength is required even if the size of the panel increases.
In order to localize high-definition and large-screen FMMs, KPMS has signed a series of strategic agreements with OLED deposition and global panel manufacturers and released road maps for mass production. 노트북 추천
CEO Kim said, “We plan to conduct mass-production tests for 6th generation with 15.6-inch FMM masks from domestic deposition companies in the first half of this year.” In particular, he added, “As we are conducting cooperative development and mass-production tests with all deposition, panels, and mask companies, we will introduce various solutions for localization of FMM.”