Tianma Orders Kateeva Yieldjet Inkjet Printing System for OLED Display R&D

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Kateeva reporta that Tianma Microelectronics Co., Ltd. has ordered a YIELDjet™ EXPLORE inkjet printing system to expand its research and development (R&D) programs for next-generation OLED displays. China-based Tianma is a leading manufacturer of displays used in smartphones, tablet PCs, medical instruments, and more. The company already uses Kateeva’s YIELDjet FLEX tools to mass-produce mobile OLED displays. The new system, which is built for 200mm glass substrates, will be used to develop devices and materials for various new mobile device applications. The tool will be shipped to the customer’s Shanghai facility later this year.

The installation will bring the number of Kateeva printers at customer sites to 60, making it the world’s largest installed base of inkjet tools mass producing OLED applications.

Kateeva developed the YIELDjet EXPLORE tool at its Silicon Valley innovation center to give display leaders a proven system to develop new OLED devices, evaluate advanced materials, and pilot new processes. The EXPLORE product is based on Kateeva’s YIELDjet platform – the world’s first inkjet manufacturing equipment solution built from the ground up to produce OLED displays in high volume. The first product to emerge from the platform was the YIELDjet FLEX system. It is the market leader for flexible OLED mass production. Since its introduction in 2014, the system has been used to manufacture more than 500M display panels in fabs throughout Asia. Today, the vast majority of high-end mobile phones feature displays that are produced by Kateeva tools.

An executive spokesperson at Tianma called Kateeva a valued technology partner and noted, “Tianma continues to benefit from the company’s innovative inkjet equipment solutions, as well as the team’s broad expertise.”

“Tianma is known for integrating industry-leading technologies into their mass-production lines as they relentlessly innovate new displays,” said Kateeva’s CEO, May Su. “The EXPLORE system lets them stretch their innovation aspirations and evaluate the myriad ways their future OLED mass-production processes can benefit from a proven inkjet deposition solution. We’re proud that our technology continues to enable their roadmap.”