LG Display’s plan to invest in OLED on silicon (OLEDoS) production is facing delays.
The company was originally expected to place orders for the equipment needed for production sometime in the third quarter.
But LG Display is yet to do so and a decision is unlikely until December, sources said.
OLEDoS as the name suggests deposits OLEDs on silicon substrates. This allows the panels that are made from them to be small yet have ultra-high definition resolution.
These will be aimed at mixed reality and virtual reality devices. LG Display’s most important customer Apple has already made a request to the South Korean display panel maker to develop OLEDoS with resolutions of 3500 pixels per inch.
The sources said LG Display’s delay is likely caused by worries over when the mixed reality market will open.
The company also needs up to 200 billion won to make production facilities for OLEDoS. Equipment for OLED deposition, color filter formation, and thin-film encapsulation is needed. LG Display will likely procure the silicon substrate from SK Hynix.
There was a difference of opinion between LG Corporation, the holding company of LG Group, and LG Display on how to procure the 200 billion won, the sources said.
Potential customer Apple and other companies such as Meta don’t yet even have mixed reality devices, making it difficult to gauge how much demand for them there will be in the market.
LG Display also recorded an accumulated operating loss of 1 trillion won up to the third quarter.
