TAOYUAN, Taiwan – Apple partners with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to develop state-of-the-art display technology in a secret facility in Taiwan, Nikkei Asia learned.
The California tech giant plans to develop micro OLED displays – a radically different type of display built directly on chip wafers – with the ultimate goal of leveraging the new technology in its upcoming augmented reality devices, sources commenting on the matter have been informed.
Apple is partnering with its old chip supplier TSMC because micro OLED screens are not built on glass substrates like the conventional LCD screens in smartphones and TVs, or OLED screens used in high-end smartphones. Instead, these new displays are being built directly on wafers – the substrates on which semiconductors are fabricated – allowing for displays that are much thinner, smaller and use less power, making them more suitable for use in portable AR devices, according to well-known sources with the projects.
The project further deepens Apple’s relationship with TSMC, the sole supplier of iPhone processors, as the US technology giant works to reduce its reliance on other major suppliers. The Taiwanese chip maker is also helping Apple build its in-house designed central processors for Mac computers.
The micro-OLED project is now in the production phase of the trial, sources said, and it will take several years to reach mass production. The displays under development are less than 1 inch in size.
“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 on the micro OLED R&D. project. “Apple is partnering with TSMC to develop the technology because the chipmaker’s expertise makes things ultra-small and good, while also leveraging the know-how of panel experts in display technologies.”
Some parts of the planned microdisplay production will use TSMC’s existing chip manufacturing equipment and processes, sources said.
The project is one of two projects being carried out in Apple’s secret labs in Longtan District in Taoyuan’s northern Taiwan city. In addition to micro-OLED displays, the company is also working on micro-LED technology and has test production lines for both types, Nikkei has learned.
Apple’s complex in Longtan Science Park is made up of several unmarked white buildings – there is no company logo or address on the outside and only a very faint apple symbol in the lobby, Nikkei reporters noted on a recent visit. Apple registered a company at the park in 2014 and expanded it in 2020. The complex is within walking distance of TSMC’s advanced chip packaging and testing facility, which is located in the same science park.
Apple has hired dozens of veterans of Taiwanese display manufacturer AU Optoelectronics to work on the micro OLED project, one of the sources familiar with the said situation, as well as display experts from Japan and elsewhere. Anyone who signs up to work on the program must sign a strict nondisclosure agreement that prohibits them from even meeting friends or acquaintances who work in the tech industry, the source added.
The US tech giant posted on a Taiwanese job posting platform on Monday applicants to work in Longtan who have expertise in using OLED vacuum evaporation equipment, packaging and testing equipment, and measuring equipment. It is the first time that Apple has hired production-related workers in Taiwan through public platforms.
Apple isn’t the only company pursuing this new line of display technology. Sony Semiconductor Solutions, a long-time Apple vendor, says it has developed micro OLED display technology that can be used in AR and VR glasses, as well as other industrial and consumer products.
Chinese display champion BOE Technology Group is partnering with Yunnan North OLiGHTEK Opto-Electronic Technology and US based Kopin, a supplier of ultra-small display technology, in a joint venture to develop micro OLED displays for wearable and AR devices.
Apple’s other display project on the Longtan campus focuses on micro-LED technology, which the company hopes to eventually use in the Apple Watch, iPads and MacBooks. Apple has partnered with Taiwanese LED company Epistar to co-develop the technology.
Like micro OLEDs, the micro LED project also includes chip manufacturing technology. The components are 100 times smaller than those in LED lighting products, and they don’t require backlight modules like traditional LEDs and LCDs, meaning the screen can be much thinner. Micro LEDs also provide high color contrast and can be used to create curved or foldable screens, similar to OLED screens.
Samsung, Apple, BOE Technology and China’s largest LED manufacturer San’an Optoelectronics are all working to make the technology commercially viable, but finding a way to accurately and affordably transfer millions of small components to a substrate remains a major hurdle. to bring.
Apple’s drive to develop these new display technologies is part of its efforts to reduce its reliance on Samsung Electronics, the world leader in OLEDs, and the US company’s biggest rival in smartphones. The South Korean company is Apple’s main supplier of the very latest displays, which are now seen as a must-have for high-end smartphones. OLED screens are the second most expensive component in the iPhone 12 range, after the Qualcomm 5G modem.
“Not every technology Apple develops will be introduced or actually used in its products, but the company could strategically apply for patents for its own patent portfolio and technological advancements to gain greater control over the next generation of technologies,” said one of the people.
TSMC declined to comment on this story. Apple did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Eric Chiou, an experienced display analyst at TrendForce research firm, told Nikkei that Micro OLED could be the most ideal display technology for the next generation of AR displays, as it can make a display ultra-small, reducing the overall weight of the device. but also comes with high resolution. “The technology is a blend of semiconductor and display manufacturing know-how,” said Chiou.
“However, it is currently at an early stage of development. It is unlikely that Apple will be able to immediately introduce its proprietary technology into its first AR products within one to two years,” added the analyst.