Taiwan makers of flexible PCBs are gearing up to develop niche board products for mini LED and COF (chip on film) applications, which are expected to become their new growth drivers next to handsets, IoT devices and antennas, according to industry sources.
Among the makers, Zhen Ding Technology (ZDT) has successfully developed COF substrates and is expected to complete product validations at clients and start small-volume shipments by the end of 2019.
ZDT chairman Charles Shen said COF substrates will become strategic products in the near future, as COF technology will be increasingly applied to process chipsets for handsets, smartwatches, and even TV sets and notebooks. He continued that it is good timing now to tap into the segment of COF substrates, though it will still take a long time for the products to reach a balance between supply and demand.
Another major FPCB maker Flexium Interconnect is moving to develop mini LED control modules, and upstream material supplier Taiflex Scientific also chooses to venture into the mini LED market with cover layers needed for mini LED substrates.
Flexium chairman MC Cheng said mini LED, though regarded as a transition technology in migration towards micro LED, now boasts strong competitiveness in the display market, involving much lower cost than OLED technology and without color decay problem facing OLED.
Cheng estimates that mini LED will see significant application growth in 2020, when many electronics devices are expected to incorporate the technology to fit their slim and lightweight designs.
Industry sources said that FPCBs had been applied to backlight modules for MacBooks and iPads, and therefore application to the display segment is not a difficult job for FPCB makers, and market demand for FPCBs will continue expanding as more and more slim IoT devices will be fitted with display modules.
Article translated by Willis Ke
