Display, signages push LCD, OLED market

During 2010, TFT-CD fab expansions had boosted LCD equipment adoption. The intensifying focus on energy efficiency and the gravitation toward environment-friendly products will accelerate demand for OLED displays over the next three to five years.

A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan entitled "LCD and OLED Manufacturing Equipment Market," finds that the market earned revenues of $7300.3 million and $136.7 million respectively in 2009 and estimates this to reach $18,182.5 million and $702.7 million in 2017.

"The tangible advantages of OLED technology, such as sharper images and better contrast ratios, crisp colors and faster refresh rates compared to any existing display technology will be a key driver," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Lavanya Rammohan. "OLED also offers consumers better energy management, as the whole system functions at optimal power and is of organic substrate."

As the benefits of OLED displays become more prominent, the demand for OLED manufacturing equipment will witness a hike in the next three to seven years. Technology innovations, better functionality and falling price are expected to keep up the tempo of demand for OLED displays in mobile phones. The market also expects to benefit from increasing demand for OLED displays used for signage.

Deposition and patterning of large substrates remain major impediments for LCD and OLED manufacturing equipment providers. The use of large substrates complicates the deposition process and incurs high capital costs in terms of material deposition and relevant technical issues with throughput and uniform deposition.

Greater emphasis on design and prototyping will continue to revolutionize the display manufacturing equipment markets. As the consumer industry continues to witness increasing panel sizes, the deposition with high accuracy and throughput (without affecting integrity of material in the OLED market) will be a key challenge.

"LCD and OLED equipment manufacturers are constantly improving design and functionality of equipment to help overcome deposition challenges and battle bottlenecks," says Rammohan. "They are venturing into open collaboration with customers and creating product roadmaps that enable scalability for future generations of display manufacturing."

Innovative deposition techniques, testing and other processes are expected to spike customer interest and elevate purchasing levels. Going forward, there will be increased collaboration between material providers, display manufacturers, equipment providers and technology enablers to optimize material performance and lifetime. Constant innovation of manufacturing processes will be imperative to balance the relentless price pressures that display manufacturers confront.

LCD and OLED Manufacturing Equipment Market report is part of the Surface Mount Technologies Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: Global EMS Provider Market for the Medical Device Industry; World EMS Provider Market in the Aerospace and Defense Industry; Evolving Political and Economic Environment in the United States and its Impact on the Electronic Manufacturing Services Industry; and EMS Provider Regional Migration Opportunities. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.