Apple is evaluating a new OLED display backplane technology for future Apple Watch models that would make them more power efficient, according to a new report from Korean publication The Elec.
LG Display is working on a high-mobility oxide (HMO) thin-film transistor (TFT) backplane technology for use in its sixth-generation small and medium-sized OLED production lines.Apple could adopt that technology for future Apple Watch models, using it to replace the currently used low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) TFT technology that allows features like always-on and variable refresh rates.
“HMO technology and related equipment have been deployed to the Gen-6 line for development and verification purposes,” an industry insider told the publication. LG Display is also reportedly using a “sputtering” process that could make the technology easier to integrate into existing production lines.
The exact timing of the project’s launch has not been announced.
HMO is said to improve on conventional oxide TFT displays by increasing electron mobility, which is important for driving OLED panels while keeping power consumption low. The Elec says current mass-produced oxide TFTs typically offer mobility below 10 cm²/Vs (square centimeters per volt-second), whereas the industry is targeting around 30 to 50 cm²/Vs for its next-generation OLED products.
Meanwhile, OLED supplier Samsung Display is reportedly taking a different approach that uses atomic layer deposition (ALD), which involves laying down extremely thin films one atomic layer at a time. While ALD is a slower process, it allow Samsung to create a more carefully controlled oxide transistor layer than HMO allows for.
The report claims the first Apple product to use LG Display’s HMO technology could be next year’s Apple Watch. Apple has a history of first using new display technologies on the Apple Watch before expanding their use to larger-volume products like the iPhone.
LG Display still needs to validate the HMO technology for mass production, meaning commercial adoption is not yet guaranteed.
