Merck, the German materials maker, said on Thursday that it had started mass production of hole transmission materials (HTM) for OLED panels in smartphones.
According to the Korea Herald, Merk said HTM is used in OLED panels to help improve the efficiency of the panels and extend their life.
The company, which has been supplying LGDisplay, South Korea's largest OLED panel maker, with materials for large-size displays, will expand its business to supply materials for OLED mobile devices in the future.
Merck's hole-transmission material is expected to be used in LGDisplay's products to be launched this year.
LGDisplay produced 31.7 million flexible OLED panels for smartphones in 2020, up sharply from 9.7 million in 2019, and is expected to increase further to 52.7 million this year, according to market researcher Display Supply Chain Consultants.
Merck opened an OLED research and development center in Korea in 2011 and an OLED application center in 2014. In 2020, Merck announced an additional investment of 25 billion won ($21.75 million) to build a next-generation OLED material production plant at the Poseung National Industrial Complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
