Apple has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to develop “ultra-advanced” micro OLED screens at a secret facility in Taiwan, reports Nikkei. Micro OLED monitors will be used in the “next augmented reality devices”.
/article-new/2021/01/Apple-Glasses-Yellow-Feature.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
Micro OLED monitors are built directly on wafers instead of on a glass substrate, which results in thinner, smaller and more energy efficient monitors. These thinner micro OLED screens are ideal for smaller devices, like the smart glasses that Apple is working on.
Development on micro OLED monitors is in the experimental production stage and it will take several years before Apple and TSMC are ready for mass production, which would make these monitors suitable for Apple glasses that they say will be released around 2023. Monitors that are in progress now say they are less than an inch in size, which is where the TSMC experience is useful.
Apple already has a partnership with TSMC on all the A series chips used on the iPhone and iPad and Apple’s new M1 silicon chips that are used in the Apple Mac line.
“Panel players are good at making screens bigger and bigger, but when it comes to thin and light devices like AR glasses, you need a very small screen,” said a source who has direct information about the micro R&D project. OLED. “Apple is partnering with TSMC to develop the technology because the chipmaker’s experience is making things ultra-small and good, while Apple is also leveraging the know-how of panelists in display technologies.”
In addition to working on micro OLED screens in factories located in Taiwan, Apple is also exploring microLED technology, with test production lines for both types of screens. A June 2020 report suggested that Apple had invested $ 330 million in a Taiwanese plant for developing microLED monitors for Apple Watch, iPads and MacBooks together with supplier Epistar.
MicroLED, a technology separate from the micro OLED, uses components that are smaller than those used in traditional LED lighting. These displays do not require backlight modules, so they can be thinner, in addition to offering high color contrast and can be used to make curved or foldable screens.
According Nikkei, Apple owns a number of unmarked white lab buildings in Longtan Science Park in Taiwan with a focus on new display technologies, with the location within walking distance of the TSMC chip packaging and testing plant. Apple has hired veterans of monitor maker AU Optoelectronics to work on micro OLEDs, and employees are subject to strict non-disclosure agreements that prohibit them from “even meeting with friends or acquaintances working in the technology industry”.
Apple’s investments in micro OLED and microLED aim to reduce its dependence on Samsung Electronics in the future. Samsung is Apple’s main supplier for OLED screens used in current iPhones.