The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan have not had significant impact on OLED material supply, but may affect entry-level OLED panel applications, according to Digitimes Research.
Japan-based players have been developing OLED materials for a long time with Sumitomo Chemical and Showa Denko in the polymer materials segment, Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Chemicals in the small molecule segment and TDK Micro Device in the passive matrix OLED (PMOLED) panel segment.
TDK Micro Device's facilities located in Ibaraki Prefecture saw partial equipment damage due to the tremor. But the impact on the PMOLED market may be minimal, as Taiwan-based RiTdisplay is the leading PMOLED supplier worldwide.
Although the quake has had limited impact on the supply of polymer materials from Sumitomo, the company's R&D schedule is expected to be affected. Sumitomo has a total of nine plants in Japan, of which the Misawa and Chiba plants are closer to the disaster areas. Although no damage to building and equipment has been reported, production is expected to be affected by the rolling black-outs.
Sumitomo mainly produces OLED polymer materials at its Osaka plant, which is away from the disaster areas, and supply of OLED materials will be little affected.
Fellow polymer material supplier Showa has been hit more by the quake, and shipments to its clients may be affected.
Idemitsu is seeing more impacts from the transportation and power supply issues, while Mitsui has not been significantly affected by the earthquake. Although more players are adopting small molecule in the current OLED industry, the earthquake will only have limited effects on the supply, as there are other suppliers, such as US-based Universal Display Corporation (UDC).
| Damage to Japan-based OLED suppliers | ||||
| Supplier | Technology/production | Impact on production | Impact on industry | |
| Panel | TDK Micro Device | PM OLED panel | Partial damage to equipment at Ibaraki Prefecture; production suspended | Production mainly for PMOLED; only affects to entry-level applications |
| Polymer Material | Sumitomo | Polymer materials for OLED, mainly for lighting and display application; | Osaka production plant away from the disaster area; | Limited impact on material supply; |
| Showa | Polymer materials for OLED; | Chiba plant suspended from March 14-16, resumed production on March 17; to prioritize production for basic chemical products | Shipments to polymer material users to be affected; but small molecule material is more popular in the industry | |
| Small molecule | Idemitsu | Small molecule OLED materials; | No equipment damage at Chiba plant despite level-5 quake; to be affected by transportation and power supply issues | Company is estimating its material inventory, and may suspend production if material inventory is insufficient |
| Mitsui | Small molecule OLED materials; | Osaka plant is away from disaster areas and not affected | none | |
Source: Companies, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011
| Earthquake impact on TDK's OLED subsidiaries | ||||
| Plant | Location | Production | Situation as of March 15 | |
| Narita | TDK | Narita, Chiba Prefecture | Metal magnet | Ready to restart production, but may be affected by rolling black-outs |
| Kofu | TDK | Minami-Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture | Thin film and silicon component | Ready to restart production, but may be affected by rolling black-outs |
| Technical Center | TDK | Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture | Component development | Operation continues, but may be affected by rolling black-outs |
| Media Tech | Subsidiary | Chuo, Yamanashi Prefecture | Magnet tape for data backup, video for TV broadcasting company | Ready to restart production, but may be affected by rolling black-outs |
| TDK Micro | Subsidiary | Kitaibarai, Ibaraki Prefecture | OLED | Suspended for damage inspection |
Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, March 2011