Samsung Display to increase QD-OLED production capacity by 30%

Samsung Display is planning to expand the production capacity of quantum dot (QD)-OLED panels by 30% before the year’s end, TheElec has learned.

The company plans to achieve this by reducing the takt time __ the time it takes to manufacture a product __ without additional spending on equipment, sources said.

Samsung Display’s Q1 line, where it manufactures the QD-OLED panels, currently has a capacity of 30,000 Gen 8.5 (2200x2500mm) substrates per month.

The company is aiming to increase to late-30,000 substrates per month by the end of the year.

Samsung Display has also increased the yield rate of QD-OLED by 85% recently, which will help it to meet its goal, sources said.

LG Display made a similar move for its Gen 8.5 white (W)-OLED factory in Guangzhou last year __ it expanded the capacity from 60,000 substrates per month to 90,000 substrates per month without large additional spending.

Samsung Display will also start to manufacture 77-inch and 49-inch versions of QD-OLED next year with the added capacity.

This means the South Korean company will be manufacturing 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch versions of the panel aimed at TVs and 34-inch and 49-inch versions for monitors.

However, it remains to be seen whether Samsung Display will start the second phase of large investment on its Q1 line to expand its production capacity further.

This will depend on Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display’s main customer, if it decides to launch more QD-OLED TVs and monitors.