Table of Contents
Internal Structure of LCD Displays
1. GLASS
2. Polarizer (including manufacturers and introduction)
3. Color Filter (including manufacturers and introduction)
4. Mixed Liquid Crystal Materials (including manufacturers and introduction)
5. Backlight (including manufacturers and introduction)
6. COG: Glass + Polarizer + Driver IC (including driver IC manufacturers and introduction)
7. FOG: COG + FPC
8. Module: FOG + Backlight (including module manufacturers and introduction)
9. Assembly: Module + Touch Screen (including touch screen module manufacturers and touch IC manufacturers introduction)
Interface Conversion IC for the Screen
Jingmen Technology (formerly Solomon)
Toshiba Japan
Epson Japan
Jichuang North
Longxin Semiconductor
Xingang Coast
Star Micro
LCD Disassembly Structure Diagram
Polarizer
The polarizer accounts for about 11% of the cost of liquid crystal panels and is a major material, and it is also one of the most difficult areas for domestic technology localization in liquid crystal panels. The polarizer is located on both sides of the liquid crystal panel, adjusting pixel brightness and reproducing color by transmitting or blocking the light emitted from the backlight module. Without it, the liquid crystal panel cannot display.
From the image, it can be seen that there are two companies in China: Sanli and Shengbo Optoelectronics, while Japan and South Korea dominate the market.
Main manufacturers of polarizers:
1. Nitto
2. Sumitomo Japan
3. Sanritsu Chemical Japan
4. LG Chem Korea
5. Samsung SDI Korea
6. Chimei Materials Taiwan
7. Lianhua Optoelectronics Taiwan
8. BenQ Materials Taiwan
9. Sanli Optoelectronics Shenzhen
10. Shengbo Optoelectronics Shenzhen
11. Wenzhou Qiaoye
12. Foshan Weida
…
Color Filter
The color filter is one of the most expensive parts of the liquid crystal panel.
Most LCD panel manufacturers in the industry self-manufacture color filters; for example, Samsung’s self-manufacturing rate is 75%, while Chimei and LGD’s self-manufacturing rate is as high as over 90%. Manufacturers like BOE and Tianma in China also have their own color filter factories, but their self-manufacturing rates are not as high as those in Korea and Taiwan, with about 70% needing to be imported, mainly from Japan’s major suppliers: DNP, Toray, and Dai Nippon Printing.
Progress in the localization of color filters is also encouraging; domestic panel manufacturers are continuously increasing their self-manufactured color filter ratios. As domestic LCD panel sales continue to rise, the demand for imported color filters is decreasing, which is a result of the increasing self-manufacturing ratio.
In the professional purchasing sector, the leading enterprise, Eastsun Optoelectronics, has invested heavily in 2015, with 3 billion RMB to open a color filter production line, introducing Japanese DNP technology and production processes.
DNP even transferred its only fifth-generation TFT-LCD color filter production line entirely to Eastsun Optoelectronics, and its market share in China will also shift to Eastsun. Eastsun’s color filter clients have already been fixed as domestic Longteng Optoelectronics and BOE, with mass production expected to begin in the first quarter of this year.
According to the strategic cooperation agreement signed between Eastsun Optoelectronics and Longteng Optoelectronics, just one fifth-generation TFT-LCD panel production line from Longteng can digest over 70% of Eastsun’s fifth-generation color filter production line capacity.
From Eastsun’s large-scale investment, it is evident that the benefits of expanding market share in the LCD panel field are significant. However, it will be difficult for Eastsun’s color filter products to penetrate the supply chain of Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese LCD panels, while it will be much easier to enter the domestic panel supply chain.
However, we must recognize that despite the increase in market share and the large investments from leading enterprises, domestic giants like BOE and Tianma still have an import ratio of over 70%. Furthermore, the production line that Eastsun put into operation in the first quarter of this year is only a fifth-generation line, and there is still a gap in high-generation matching color filters.
Mixed Liquid Crystal Materials
Mixed liquid crystal materials are crucial to the performance of liquid crystal panels.
China has a liquid crystal materials company, Chengzhi Yonghua, which ranks third in the world in sales, with a domestic market share of 65%. However, it is important to note that liquid crystals include various types, and low-end black-and-white screens can be considered liquid crystals, while Chengzhi Yonghua mainly has an advantage in black-and-white liquid crystal screens.
High-end TFT liquid crystal materials used for smartphones and televisions are monopolized by three companies: Merck Germany, Chisso Japan, and DIC Japan, which together account for over 90% of the global market share.
In China, mainly Chengzhi Yonghua and Jiangsu Hecheng can supply TFT mixed liquid crystals to liquid crystal panel manufacturers. Additionally, a company called Bayi Liquid Crystal has also emerged, becoming the number one liquid crystal supplier in China for BOE in 2017.
In 2016, the global demand for TFT liquid crystal materials was around 700 tons, and the total sales volume of mainland liquid crystal material manufacturers is expected to be around 40 tons, accounting for 5.7% of the global total. In 2015, the shipment of mainland liquid crystal material manufacturers was only 27 tons, indicating that the domestic liquid crystal material shipment increased by 50% in 2016, far exceeding the global growth rate.
Comparing the global TFT liquid crystal material shipment, in 2013 it was 600 tons, and in 2016 it was 700 tons, with a three-year growth of only about 16%. Domestic TFT liquid crystal material manufacturers mainly supply to domestic liquid crystal panel manufacturers, so it is expected that local liquid crystal materials will see significant growth in the next ten years driven by domestic brands.
Taking Hecheng Display as an example, its operating income in 2016 was 385 million RMB, a 73.76% increase year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 79.38 million RMB, an increase of 91.41% year-on-year.
Backlight
The backlight module is one of the most expensive parts of the display panel, accounting for about 20% of the cost, but the technical difficulty is not high, making it a labor-intensive industry. The vast majority of backlight modules are produced in China.
However, about 60% of the cost of the backlight module comes from optical films, including diffusion films, reflective films, and brightness enhancement films. Progress in this area has been quite good, with rapid development.
For example, in the field of large-size reflective films used in LCD TVs, Ningbo Changyang Technology has demonstrated extremely high growth rates, with revenues of 149 million RMB in 2014, 250 million RMB in 2015, and revenues reaching 400 million RMB in 2016. It has achieved a 35% share of the global market, ranking first in the world, surpassing Japan’s Toray and Teijin.
Domestic companies specializing in the production of diffusion films, reflective films, and brightness enhancement films, such as Ningbo Jizhi Technology, are also growing rapidly, maintaining an annual growth rate of 30% from 2014 to 2016, with their market share continuously expanding. According to the financial report released by Jizhi Technology in February 2017, the operating income in 2016 was 613 million RMB, a growth of 29.79%, and net profit was 63.49 million RMB, an increase of 10.75%.
Kangde Xin, a leading player in the optical film market, is one of the largest optical film production companies in the world. According to the financial report released by Kangde Xin in 2017, the annual revenue was 9.225 billion RMB, a growth of 22%, with a net profit of 1.978 billion RMB, an increase of 37.47%. Kangde Xin is a multi-business group, with revenue from optical films accounting for about 70%.
However, in the upstream materials, domestic manufacturers still need to continue their efforts. The main raw material for producing optical films is optical base films. Currently, over 80% of the global capacity for optical base films is monopolized by several giants, including Mitsubishi Chemical, Toray, Teijin, DuPont, Kolon, SKC, and Toyobo. Domestic manufacturers include Lucky Group, Kangde Xin, Yuxing Co., and Nanyang Technology (Dongxu Chemical), among others.
After rapidly growing in the optical film field, Kangde Xin has also begun to independently research and develop optical base films. In April 2016, Kangde Xin started construction on its second phase of the optical film project, which includes the optical base film project, and it is expected to maintain high-speed growth in the future.
Optical base films require PET films (polyester films) as the substrate, and Display Research estimates that global demand in 2016 was 360,000 tons. Currently, Kangde Xin, which is rapidly growing, has about 50,000 tons of capacity to support its own optical film production.
Additionally, Nanyang Technology’s 2016 financial report revealed that the company achieved operating income of 1.235 billion RMB, a year-on-year growth of 33.73%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 120 million RMB, a year-on-year growth of 20.3%. Nanyang Technology stated that the main reason for the 33.73% increase in operating income was the commissioning of its “20,000-ton optical-grade polyester film project”.
Driver IC
This is a relatively weak area for China. Currently, driver ICs are mainly from Japanese Renesas and Korean Samsung, with self-manufacturing and self-marketing. The mainland’s panel driver ICs mainly come from Taiwanese manufacturers, including Novatek, Mstar, and Duntai. Domestic manufacturers include Xinxing Micro and GeKe Micro.
1. Renesas Electronics Japan
2. Samsung Korea
3. Novatek Technology Taiwan
4. Mstar
5. Duntai (merged with Spansion)
6. Himax Technology Taiwan
7. Etron Technology Taiwan
8. Realtek Technology Taiwan
9. Silicon Motion Technology Taiwan
10. Tera Technology Taiwan
11. Shanghai Xinxing Microelectronics
12. Shanghai GeKe Microelectronics
13. Jingmen Technology (Solomon)
14. Shenzhen Tianli Semiconductor
…
LCD Panels and Modules
Japan
Toshiba Group (TOSHIBA)
Japan Display Inc. (JDI)
Sony (SONY)
Kyocera Corporation (Kyocera)
Casio (ORTUSTECH)
Epson (Epson)
Panasonic (Panasonic)
Sanyo Electric (SANYO)
NEC Corporation (NEC)
Mitsubishi Electric (Mitsubishi)
Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII)
Fujitsu (Fujitsu)
Futaba Corporation (Futaba)
CITIZEN
Pioneer Corporation (Pioneer)
South Korea
LG Display (LGD)
Samsung Display (Samsung)
Taiwan
AUO (AUO)
Innolux (merged with Chimei Electronics and Tongbao Optoelectronics)
HannStar Display Corporation (HannStar)
CPT (CPT)
AMPIRE Technology Corporation (AMPIRE)
EDT (EDT)
Giantplus Technology (Giantplus)
Data Image (Data Image)
RiTdisplay (RiTdisplay)
WiseChip (WiseChip)
LiteMax (LiteMax)
Powertip (Powertip)
CMEL (CMEL)
PDI (PDI)
Others
Finland’s Beneq (Lumineq)
U.S. Planar Systems (PLANAR)
Domestic
Foxconn/Sharp (SHARP)
BOE Technology Group (BOE)
Hyundai Display Technology (HYDIS) (acquired by BOE)
Tianma Microelectronics (TIANMA)
IVO (IVO) Kunshan Longteng Optoelectronics
China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) Shenzhen
CEC-Panda (Nanjing Zhongdian Panda LCD Technology)
Huike Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
Xinyi Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shantou Ultrasound Electronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Laibao High-tech Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Super Optical Electronics Co., Ltd. (Foxconn subsidiary)
Zhuhai Yuantai Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Yixin Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Yuhua Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Yihua Technology Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Xingzhan Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Juhua Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Sanlong Electronics Co., Ltd.
TCL Display Technology (Huizhou) Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Dijing Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
China Optical Communication Technology Co., Ltd.
Tianyi Electronic Co., Ltd.
BYD Co., Ltd.
Xingyuan Technology Co., Ltd.
Yucai Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Baoruishi Technology Co., Ltd.
Jiangmen Yidu Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Haifei Optoelectronics Development Co., Ltd.
Boyu Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Yixin LCD Display Co., Ltd.
Weituo Technology Co., Ltd.
Yushun Electronics Co., Ltd. (Yashi)
Shenzhen Yashi Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Kaisen Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Lide Communication Equipment Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Xingzhan Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Juri Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Xianchuang Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Longxin Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Baolongda Information Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Yikuaile Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Younasi Technology Co., Ltd.
Desip Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Leyuan Industrial Co., Ltd.
…
Touch Screen
Shenzhen O-film Technology Co., Ltd.
Xinyi International Co., Ltd.
Burn Optical Co., Ltd.
China Yili Enterprise Group
Xiamen Chanhong Technology Group (TPK)
Shenzhen Shenyue Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Helitai Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Yiji Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shantou Ultrasound Electronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Laibao High-tech Co., Ltd.
Zhejiang Star Technology Co., Ltd.
Yanghua Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Beitai Display Technology Co., Ltd.
Jiangxi Lianchuang Electronics Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Shengda Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Junhua Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Depute Optoelectronics Display Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Dijing Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Junhua Display Devices Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Rongna Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Yushun Electronics Co., Ltd. (Yashi)
Jinlong Electromechanical (Huaibei) Co., Ltd.
Nanjing Huairui Chuan Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Hongfa Development Electronics Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Xudong Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Huaxingda Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Jiangxi Tianyi Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Oledent Technology Co., Ltd.
Huizhou Hangtai Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Wangjing Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Pingbo Electronics Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Xingzhan Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Zhonghai Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Deren Optoelectronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Dixian Electronics Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Qiu Tian Microelectronics Co., Ltd.
Guangdong Deyi Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Duzheng Technology Co., Ltd.
Dongguan Weiguangjun Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Qingtong Technology Co., Ltd.
…
Touch IC
Synaptics USA
Cypress USA (merged with Spansion)
Atmel USA (acquired by Microchip)
Novatek Electronics Taiwan (acquired by Xuyue)
Mstar Taiwan
Shenzhen Huading Technology
Shanghai Silimicro Electronics Technology Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Better Technology Co., Ltd.
Himax Technology Taiwan
Shenzhen BYD Microelectronics Co., Ltd.
Beijing Jichuang North Technology Co., Ltd.
Junyuan Technology Taiwan
Silicon Motion Technology Taiwan
Shenzhen Xunjun Technology Co., Ltd.
Novatek Technology Taiwan
Yili Technology Taiwan
Meifasi Korea
Shenzhen Zhida Technology Co., Ltd.
Hong Kong Jingmen Technology Co., Ltd.
Elan Taiwan
…
Interface Conversion IC for the Screen
Below is an introduction to screen interface conversion chips, but first let’s look at the screen resolution comparison table:
Screen Interface Conversion Chips
Jingmen Technology (formerly Solomon)
Toshiba Japan
Epson Japan
Jichuang North
Longxin Semiconductor
Xingang Coast
Star Micro
…
1. Jingmen Technology (formerly Solomon)
2. Toshiba Japan
3. Epson Japan
4. Jichuang North
ICN6211 (MIPI DSI to RGB chip)
Features
• Supports 1-4 flexible configurations of MIPI DSI signal input
• MIPI link single-channel maximum support rate of 1Gbps
• Supports RGB565, RGB666, and RGB888 packed formats
• MIPI link supports P/N signal swap within the group
• Supports RGB565, RGB666, RGB888 output formats
• Supports VESA and JEDIA standards
• RGB PCLK supports 2MHz-154MHz
• RGB output supports inter-group swapping
• Power supply voltage can be flexibly designed according to screen interface voltage
• Extremely low standby power consumption and working power consumption
• Chip ESD protection 2KV
• QFN48 package
Chip pin diagram
Application block diagram
ICN6202 (MIPI DSI to LVDS chip)
Features
• Supports 1-4 flexible configurations of MIPI DSI signal input
• MIPI link single-channel maximum support rate of 1Gbps
• Supports RGB666 and RGB888 packed formats
• MIPI link supports P/N signal swap within the group
• Single LVDS link, supports 6/8bit output mode
• Supports VESA and JEDIA standards
• LVDS maximum clock supports 154MHz
• LVDS link supports group intra-P/N swapping and inter-group swapping
• Maximum resolution supports 1920*1200
• Extremely low standby power consumption and working power consumption
• Chip ESD protection 2KV
• 1.8V single power supply
• Package: QFN40
Chip pin diagram
Applications
Mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs
GPS/game consoles
Portable/tablet computers
Mobile Internet devices
Home entertainment devices
Application block diagram
5. Longxin Semiconductor
6. Xingang Coast
Source: ittbank
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