LCD industry yet to feel threatened by AMOLED

AMOLED may be the next big thing for the display industry, but players in Taiwan's LCD industry have yet to feel real pressure from Samsung ramping up AMOLED production, industry observers have commented.

If AMOLED becomes the industry mainstream, the LCD supply chain, including makers of backlight units (BLUs), brightness enhancement films (BEFs), diffuser films and LEDs, would be seriously hit, the observers said.

But such an impact is unlikely to happen any time soon because not too many makers have been developing AMOLED technology due to cost concerns, and Samsung alone will be unable to drive the AMOLED market, they said.

But Taiwan's makers need to watch out for the moment when demand for AMOLED applications from international brands start picking up, they added.

Korea is the dominant player in terms of AMOLED technologies, and Taiwan is still miles away from building up a complete supply chain supportiong AMOLED, the observers said. Sintek Photronic is currently the only Taiwan-based maker that supplies touch sensors for SMD's AMOLED panels.

Michael Chiang, chairman of touch panel maker TPK Holding, said it would take two to three years for AMOLED products to reach economies of scale in the market. Production of AMOLED panels is not on the company's roadmap, but it will pay attention to business opprtunities that AMOLED will offer touch panel makers, he said.