LG Display has developed FLiPP, a proprietary manufacturing method that removes conventional fine metal masks from OLED production entirely. The photolithography technique boosts screen brightness by 1.6 times while cutting power consumption by 13%. Panels built with this system will scale from 1 inch wearable displays up to 100 inch televisions.
For more than 10 years, OLED production relied on metal stencils to deposit red, green, and blue pixels. These metal plates brought serious headaches for manufacturers. Large sheets of metal sag in the center under their own weight, causing color mixing errors and ruining panels. The old method also forced display makers to slice large 8.5 generation glass sheets in half during processing. LG Display built FLiPP to stop that waste.
Instead of spraying materials through tiny holes, the new process coats the color layers in order and uses precision ultraviolet light etching to wipe away unwanted sections. This allows the company to process full sized 8.5 generation glass sheets in 1 piece. The change improves glass usage efficiency by up to 64% on laptop panels, which translates directly into lower factory production costs.
Removing the metal mask frees up physical space on the panel surface. The aperture ratio jumps by roughly 55%, letting far more light through each individual pixel. Because the subpixels do not have to work as hard, overall screen lifespan increases by 2.4 times under identical test conditions.
The company plans to show the technology publicly at the IMID exhibition in Busan, targeting computer monitors and tablets before moving into other form factors. The process also works for ultra compact virtual reality optics as well as standard consumer screens. Company CTO Choi Young Seok highlighted the strategy during the official product presentation.
We were able to successfully realize FLiPP, a next generation OLED patterning technology referred to as a dream technology, by bringing together our proprietary WOLED know how. Through our participation in IMID, we will lead next generation display technologies and accelerate market differentiation.
Alongside the production update, LG Display picked up the Display of the Year Award at the conference for its Hyper Double Scanning television driving technology. The company confirmed that this driving system is already running across its current commercial TV panel lineup as it prepares to roll out FLiPP hardware to enterprise clients.
