Apple partners with TSMC to develop ultra-advanced displays

TAOYUAN, Taiwan – Apple has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to develop ultra-advanced display technology at a secret facility in Taiwan, Nikkei Asia has 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 using the new technology in its upcoming augmented reality devices, said people. sources informed about it.

Apple is working with its long-time chip supplier TSMC because micro OLED displays are not built on glass substrates like the classic LCD displays in smartphones and TVs, or the OLED displays used in high-end smartphones. Instead, these newer displays are built directly onto wafers – the substrates on which semiconductors are made – allowing for much thinner and smaller displays and using less power, making them more suitable for use. use in portable AR devices, according to familiar sources. with the projects.

The project represents a further deepening of Apple’s relationship with TSMC, the sole supplier of iPhone processors, even as the U.S. tech giant strives to reduce its reliance on other major vendors. The Taiwanese chipmaking giant is also helping Apple build its in-house designed mainframe processors for Mac computers.

The micro OLED project is now in the trial production stage, according to sources, and it will take several years to reach mass production. Displays in development measure less than 1 inch.

“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 really small screen,” a source said. has direct information about 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 Apple is also harnessing the expertise of the panel’s display technology experts.”

Parts of the planned micro-display manufacturing will use TSMC’s existing chip production equipment and processes, sources said.

The project is one of two projects carried out at Apple’s Secret Labs in Longtan District, Taoyuan City, northern Taiwan. In addition to micro OLED displays, the company is also working on micro LED technology and has set up test production lines for both types, Nikkei has learned.

Apple’s complex at Longtan Science Park consists of several unmarked white buildings – there is no company logo or address on the outside, and only a very faint apple symbol could be seen in it. the lobby, saw Nikkei reporters on a recent visit. Apple registered a business in the park in 2014 and expanded it in 2020. The complex is within walking distance of TSMC’s advanced chip conditioning and testing plant, located in the same science park.

Apple has hired dozens of veterans from Taiwanese display maker AU Optoelectronics to work on the micro OLED project, one of the sources familiar with the situation said, along with display experts from Japan and elsewhere. Anyone who signs up to work on the program must sign a strict nondisclosure agreement that prohibits them even from meeting friends or acquaintances working in the tech industry, the source added.

The U.S. tech giant posted on a Taiwanese jobs platform on Monday seeking candidates to work at Longtan who have expertise in operating OLED vacuum evaporation equipment, packaging and testing, and measuring equipment. This is the first time Apple has hired manufacturing-related employees in Taiwan through public platforms.

Apple isn’t the only company pursuing this new line of display technology. Sony Semiconductor Solutions, a longtime supplier to Apple, 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.

China’s national display champion BOE Technology Group has partnered with Yunnan North OLiGHTEK Opto-Electronic Technology and Kopin, a US-based ultra-small display technology provider, on ‘a joint venture to develop micro OLED displays for portable 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.

Just like micro OLEDs, the micro LED project also involves chip manufacturing technology. The components are 100 times smaller than those used in LED lighting products and they don’t need backlight modules like traditional LEDs and LCDs, which means the screen can be much thinner. Micro LEDs also offer high color contrast and can be used to create curved or foldable displays, similar to OLED displays.

Samsung, Apple, BOE Technology, and China’s largest LED maker, San’an Optoelectronics, are all striving to make the technology commercially viable, but finding a way to mass transfer millions of tiny components onto a substrate with precision and precision. affordability remains a major obstacle.

Apple’s drive to develop these new display technologies is part of its efforts to reduce its reliance on Samsung Electronics, the global leader in OLEDs – and the US company’s biggest smartphone rival. The South Korean company is Apple’s main supplier of cutting-edge displays, which are now considered a must-have feature for high-end smartphones. OLED displays are the second most expensive component in the iPhone 12 lineup, after the Qualcomm 5G modem.

“Not all technologies developed by Apple will be introduced or actually used in its products, but the company could strategically apply patents for its own portfolio of patents and technological advancements to better control next-generation technologies,” he said. ‘one of the people.

TSMC declined to comment for this story. Apple did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Eric Chiou, a senior display analyst at research agency TrendForce, told Nikkei that Micro OLED might be the most ideal display technology for next-generation AR screens because it can make a screen ultra-small. , reducing the total weight of the device, but also comes with high resolution. “The technology is a mix of semiconductor manufacturing and display know-how,” Chiou said.

“However, it is currently in its early stage of development. It is unlikely that Apple will immediately be able to introduce its self-developed technology into its first AR products within one to two years,” the analyst added. .