Corning And Samsung Tag-Team On New OLED Glass Venture

New OLEDs? Oh, yeah, we'll take that. Corning (the makers of Gorilla Glass) and Samsung have teamed up on a new mobile display venture in order to build a new OLED glass. It's called an "equity venture," where the two will work to make specialty glass substrates for the rapidly expanding organic light emitting diode (OLED) device market. The new business will be located in Korea.

It'll combine Corning's Lotus Glass substrate technology and Samsung Mobile Display's OLED display expertise, this new entity will be well-positioned to provide outstanding product solutions for current and future OLED technologies, from handheld and IT devices to large TVs and beyond.


The newly formed entity will supply OLED backplane glass substrates for Samsung Mobile Display, as well as for the broader Korean market.

According to a recent NPD DisplaySearch report, OLED technology advanced rapidly in 2011, setting a trend that is forecasted to continue through this decade. They estimate that OLED display revenues will exceed $4 billion in 2011 (approximately 4% of flat panel display revenues), and will reach more than $20 billion (approximately 16% of the total display industry) by 2018.

Samsung is playing a leading role in this emerging market through its Galaxy mobile device products and Super OLED TV technology introduced in January at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Corning's ongoing advanced glass technology development includes a strong focus on high-performance displays. Most recently, this focus has been demonstrated through Corning's new Lotus™ Glass substrates, which deliver the higher processing temperatures and improved dimensional stability needed to produce the new high performance displays.