Japanese manufacturer Dai Nippon Printing will triple the output of evaporation masks, a core component in OLED panel production, to take advantage of estimated growth demands from smartphone panel applications and others, reported Nikkei.
The company is to invest 6 billion yen ($54.6 million) in several phases till 2020 t0 expand production and inspection equipment at its Mihara plant in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Dai Nippon Printing has more than 50% share in the global market of evaporation masks and hopes to keep its lead by adding capacity as demand from panel makers increases.
Evaporation masks are used in coating the red, green and blue light-emitting materials of OLED panels on a nanometer scale. Improved mask performance is linked to improvements in display resolution.
Dai Nippon Printing’s patents portfolio covers manufacturing and materials technologies, and aimed at using these technologies to raise its presence in the industry through joint development with panel manufacturers.
The company plans to triple sales in the evaporation mask sector to 30 billion yen by 2020 by expanding its customer base.