LG Display’s OLED panel plant in Guangzhou, which is supposed to play a key role in helping LG Display to convert its corporate structure to OLED, is currently going through a struggle during an initial phase of operation process. It seems that the fact that LG Display has applied many new technologies to maximize productivity is the main reason. Attentions from the industry are focused on whether LG Display can stabilize its production system by end of this year.
According to the industry, LG Display is having a difficult time as the yield rate of its Guangzhou plant, which started going through initial operation at the end of August, is not at its initial expectation. Although the plant needs to start supplying OLED TV panels starting from this month according to LG Display’s initial plan, it is heard that the yield is still not nearly enough.
“Although LG Display’s goal was to increase the yield in a short period of time as the Guangzhou plant is constructed as same as LG Display’s Paju plant, current yield is between 50 and 60%.” said a representative for the industry.
LG Display’s 8.5th Generation OLED panel plant in Guangzhou mainly produces large high-resolution OLED panels such as 55, 65, and 77-inch panels. LG Display’s goal is to start producing 60,000 panels per month and eventually increase the production capacity to 90,000 panels, which is the maximum yield of the plant, in 2021.
It was heard that LG Display was planning to increase the operation rate and the yield of the Guangzhou plant in a short period of time by constructing it the same way as its Paju plant that has been producing 8th generation OLED panels smoothly.
However, LG Display has applied many new technologies that were never attempted before to the Guangzhou plant. Although this was LG Display’s attempt to maximize productivity, some believe it was a hasty decision when LG Display’s primary focus should had been recovering its performance.
The industry believes that a change in OLED materials supplier is one of the reasons why the yield rate is not at the level that LG Display wants it to be. It is heard that LG Display decided to use some of materials supplied from a new supplier. As a result, it is likely that LG Display has had a difficult time with the yield rate as it was trying to use new materials for initial operation.
It is understood that LG Display has partially changed the current WOLED (White OLED) structure. It is heard that LG Display has applied a method that changes the current stack structure of OLED in order to increase luminous efficiency and productivity at the same time.