The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to TrendForce Jibang Consulting's latest display backplane research, OLED has become the mainstream display technology for smartphones, driving the penetration rate of high-end backpanel technologies such as LTPS and LTPO to approach 57% in the smartphone market in 2024; in 2025, the penetration rate is expected to challenge 60% due to increased yield and effective cost control. AMOLED panels, on the other hand, are accelerating their development into other IT markets, and it is estimated that they will further increase the penetration rate of Oxide and LTPO backpanels.

LTPO technology enhances the energy efficiency of display equipment

Display backplane technology not only affects display results, but also determines differences in phone performance, energy consumption, and cost. Since Apple (AAPL.US) introduced retina screens to the iPhone, the industry's requirements for mobile screen resolution have continued to increase, and major manufacturers have successively developed low temperature polysilicon LTPS (Low Temperature Poly-Silicon) backplane technology, which is now very mature. LTPS has high electronic mobility and can provide faster switching speed and higher resolution to meet the display needs of high-end mobile phones. However, the high electron mobility also causes LTPS to have a large leakage current and cannot support low frequency dynamic refresh adjustment, resulting in high overall power consumption.

TrendForce Jibang Consulting pointed out that at present, most flagship phones use low temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane technology, and in folding phones with larger screens, the effects of image segmentation and different refresh rates can be achieved through LTPO, taking into account the multi-tasking mode of the screen and energy saving effects. LTPO technology adds oxide semiconductors to LTPS to optimize display performance, including improving current leakage problems when driving the screen, and adjusting the screen refresh rate according to the display content. However, since the LTPO production process requires more layers to be stacked, the process is complicated, and the manufacturing cost is higher than LTPS.

TrendForce Jibang Consulting said that currently, oxide (oxide) semiconductor backplane technology, which is commonly used in smartphone screens, mainly uses materials such as zinc oxide (ZnO) or indium gallium oxide (IGZO). This technology is also commonly used in high-end displays, such as Apple's iPad and MacBook series of medium-sized products. Oxide's low leakage current will benefit future applications in transparent displays.

Large-generation AMOLED panels prioritize the use of oxide and LTPO technology

In addition to OLED dominating the smartphone display market, AMOLED panels are accelerating their development into other IT markets, including mid-size displays such as tablets and laptops. According to TrendForce Jibang Consulting Research, IT equipment brand customers will comprehensively consider display effects, energy consumption, cost and product positioning when choosing matching backpanel technology. Currently, panel manufacturers are expected to prioritize the use of Oxide or LTPO high-end backpanel technology when preparing new production capacity for large generations of AMOLED panels to meet the requirements of different brands.

For example, BOE A (000725.SZ), a leading display manufacturer, has taken the lead in introducing LTPO backpanel technology into the 8.6 generation line. Although LTPO technology has a high threshold and difficulty in equipment construction in the 8.6 generation line, and the initial production cost is high, with the expansion of production capacity and the maturity of technology after the establishment of large-scale factories, it can help BOE to lock in flagship products and expand its market share. Relatively speaking, although the initial construction cost of Oxide technology is low, improving yield still faces challenges; once these problems are overcome, Oxide technology is expected to be applied on a larger scale in the mainstream product market.

TrendForce Jibang Consulting said that the manufacturing cost of high-end backpanels such as LTPO or Oxide will gradually decrease due to the expansion of production scale, and mid-size AMOLED displays with these technologies will have the opportunity to go hand in hand, thus further expanding market penetration.