In-cell touch panel will become the mainstream

In-cell touch panels will be popular. Compared to external film touch control, in-cell touch panels such as In-Cell and On-Cell are not only more efficient, but also meet the requirements for thin and light products and low-cost design, and have been rapidly adopted by smart phones, tablets, and notebooks. Manufacturers adopt, after the increase of its supply volume and the price decline, the penetration rate will be further expanded.

The in-cell touch panel has attracted attention due to its advantages such as thinness, good light transmittance, and simplified supply chain. Following the well-known case of Apple's iPhone adopting In-cell touch panel and Samsung Galaxy smart phone adopting organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) On-Cell touch panel, the recent Taiwan panel Manufacturers have also made significant progress in LCD On-Cell touch panels, and their products have been introduced into smart phone applications and have been mass-produced.

High difficulty in process integration

The embedded touch screen is a touch sensor manufactured inside a panel. Compared with an external touch panel in which the touch sensor is placed outside the panel, the in-cell touch panel is embedded. The touch panel has three advantages: First, since the in-cell touch panel does not require a glass or film substrate outside the panel, the thickness can be reduced. Second, because the glass or film substrate outside the panel is reduced, the ambient light can be reduced. Reflecting, and if the indium tin oxide (ITO) layer existing in the panel is used as a touch sensor, the light transmittance can be higher than the external touch panel, thereby improving the display performance; and third, the system. Manufacturers who use in-cell touch panels do not need to purchase touch sensors, which simplifies purchasing or supply chain management.

In addition, although integrating the touch sensor into the existing panel process is difficult, the initial yield of the in-cell touch panel is low and the cost is high. However, if the bottleneck of the process is overcome, the follow-up process can effectively improve the quality. Rate, in-cell touch panels still have considerable advantages in terms of cost because they save material for external touch sensors. In this context, panel makers have invested in the development of in-cell touch panels.

Attacking high-end market In-Cell supply stability becomes the key

The in-cell touch panel can be classified into two types: In-Cell and On-Cell. In-Cell is a touch sensor in a TFT array. On-Cell is a touch-sensitive device. The sensors were fabricated on CF glass, and the touch sensors were separately fabricated on the hybrid architecture of TFT array and CF Glass. This paper classifies them as In-Cell.

Due to the high difficulty of In-Cell touch technology, the production yield, touch IC design and other aspects are challenging, so the imported brands and terminal models are still small, only Apple, Sony, HTC and Google, etc. Adopted by the manufacturer. Specifically, currently mass-produced In-Cell touch panels are mainly manufactured based on technologies developed by Apple or Sony. Among them, Apple's iPhone 5 is submitted to Lucky Gold Display (hereinafter referred to as LGD), Japanese Display (Japan Display), and Sharp. (Sharp) production, Sony's technology is produced by JDI after its panel division merged with Toshiba and Hitachi panel divisions into Japan Display (hereinafter referred to as JDI).

It is worth noting that JDI announced in April 2014 that its In-Cell touch panel (HD resolution) has been included in the reference design of MediaTek's smart phone solution, demonstrating its intention to actively introduce this product to Chinese mainland brands. . The In-Cell touch panel is quite appealing to mainland Chinese brands that have already planned for "ultra-thin-body" products, but it is the focus of follow-up observations when prices and availability are stable.

Price competitive LCD On-Cell import in low-end mobile phones

On-Cell touch technology is applied not only to LCD panels but also to AMOLED panels. Samsung Display uses the Encapsulation Glass of the AMOLED panel to make a touch sensor (single sided double layer) on its surface, making it easier to make an On-Cell touch panel than an LCD panel. Since 2012, the AMOLED On-Cell touch panel has been introduced into the mass production of the Galaxy series of Samsung's high-end smart phones, becoming the main On-Cell touch panel shipment.

In terms of LCD On-Cell touch panels, it is an area where Taiwanese panel makers are actively developing. For smart phone applications, panel makers in Taiwan consider that the "one-sided and two-layer" touch sensor is more complex in the production process (to bridge the bridge insulation), and the time scale for increasing the yield rate may be slower. In order to seize business opportunities, In cooperation with touch IC manufacturers, we developed a "single-sided single-layer" touch sensor with a touch IC to support two-to-five-finger multi-touch low- and mid-level solutions.

Since the price of On-Cell touch panel solutions from Taiwan's panel makers is relatively competitive with that of thin-film touch panels, the low-cost smart phone products that are sensitive to the cost of components constitute procurement incentives and they have also sought It is adopted by smart phone manufacturers such as Motorola, ZTE and Coolpad. Since the fourth quarter of 2013, on-cell touch panels from Taiwan's panel makers have been launched in volume with customers' products.

However, because the number of suppliers (including panel and touch ICs) of On-Cell touch panel solutions from Taiwan's panel makers is still low, and some products are even supplied by a single manufacturer, the system vendors must consider the supply stability. Introducing On-Cell touch panels to their products is conservative. On the other hand, thin-film touch panel makers are sticking to market share, and also lower prices to compete with On-Cell touch panel makers, making On-Cell touch solutions still quite challenging in the short term.

In addition to smart phone applications, Taiwanese panel makers have also developed On-Cell touch panels for tablet and notebook applications. In terms of flat panel, the panel size is 7-inch and 8-inch, and the touch sensor with single-layer and double-layer structure has been adopted by manufacturers. From current schedule planning, it is expected to be launched in volume production with the customer's products in 2014.

In terms of laptops, Microsoft's specifications impose strict requirements on touch performance, and touch sensors must adopt a single-sided, double-layered structure that is more difficult to produce, and the panel size is expanded to 14 inches and 15.6 inches. To make production and production more challenging, the actual development status remains to be observed.

Rio Tinto LCD On-Cell Market IC/Panel Factory Collaborates

In terms of On-Cell touch (because AMOLED On-Cell is unique to Samsung, the following analysis is based on LCD On-Cell). Obviously, the touch IC manufacturer's partner is made up of touch sensor manufacturers and touches. Control module manufacturers, transformed into panel makers.

The touch IC manufacturers develop products according to the specifications of the panel manufacturer On-Cell touch sensor, such as the pattern and pattern. After the IC is completed and adjusted with the On-Cell panel, the solution includes On-Cell. The touch panel and touch IC are jointly promoted to system customers.

Although touch-control ICs and driver ICs of On-Cell touch panels cooperate with panel makers, the difference is that system makers usually do not dominate the purchase decision of the driver ICs, but are instead given to panel makers; touch ICs are It is a key component of human-machine interface related to user experience. System manufacturers (especially first-line brands) are accustomed to lead to ensure product reputation. In other words, in the On-Cell touch field, although touch-control IC makers are closely cooperating with panel makers, in reality, customers are still system manufacturers (as well as plug-in touch panels). Therefore, it is very important to obtain system manufacturer approval.

Since On-Cell touch products have been put into the market for a short time, there is little application experience of system manufacturers. If they want to import On-Cell touch panels, it is preferable to use touch ICs recommended by panel makers to make panel makers to touch ICs. Sales have a certain influence. However, with more panel makers and touch IC manufacturers investing in On-Cell touch to increase the supply of related products, while system vendors continue to accumulate application experience, it is expected that On-Cell touch is expected to develop in the future as an external touch controller. , evolved into a touch panel and touch IC can be free to match the situation.

In-Cell Market Touch/Drive IC Grabs Each Other

In the In-Cell (including In-Cell Hybrid) touch, the supply chain relationship is significantly different from the on-cell touch and On-Cell touch. Since In-Cell touch panels are based on the same system considerations for touch ICs and driver ICs, each panel maker has its own design technology. Therefore, In-Cell touch panels can only be used with specific touch ICs. System manufacturers cannot individually select touch panels and touch ICs, and can only take overall considerations and checks on the solutions proposed by suppliers. This also makes In-Cell touch ICs behave like driver ICs. Panel makers are not only partners for IC manufacturers, but also more direct customer relationships.

For IC manufacturers, in the On-Cell touch field, touch ICs and driver ICs are independent of each other. At the same time, the motivation for providing the above IC products is mainly to increase single-user revenue and bargaining power. However, in the area of ​​In-Cell touch control, since touch ICs and driver ICs are related to each other, even the specifications are mutually exclusive, it can be said that the relationship is "cooperative and opposite," regardless of touch IC manufacturers or driver IC manufacturers. Both have stronger intentions and want to master both.

In this way, the three-way relationship between the more complex panel factory, touch IC factory, and driver IC factory can be transformed into a simple panel factory and an IC factory. At the same time, it can also meet the overall requirements of display and touch, slightly Adjust the specifications of the two ICs to increase the flexibility of the design.

LCD On-Cell Development Depends on Supplier Input

Taiwanese panel makers have developed low-, medium-, and high-end touch-enabled (LCD) On-Cell touch panel solutions for smart phone applications. The demand for competitive prices will occupy the mainstream plug-in thin-film touch panel market. The above plan has already won the introduction of the companies that are mainly Chinese brands and white card manufacturers, and will be listed in the fourth quarter of 2013.

At present, there are still few suppliers of On-Cell touch panels and touch ICs. Some of the solutions are even supplied by a single manufacturer. However, there are many related suppliers of thin film touch panels, and touch panels and touch ICs can be purchased freely. At the same time, prices have been adjusted downwards in response to On-Cell competition. Therefore, many system manufacturers still hold a conservative attitude toward adopting On-Cell touch solutions. Therefore, On-Cell touch panels will not be able to achieve significant market share in smart phone applications in the short term.

In-Cell supply chain closed IC / panel plant sales difficult to break through

Relative to the supply chain relationship of On-Cell touch panels, the trend is expected to be the development of plug-in touch (in addition to becoming a touch panel manufacturer by the panel manufacturer), the relationship between In-Cell touch supply chain and plug-in On-Cell touch has significant differences, including the touch IC manufacturers to panel manufacturers as customers, touch IC can only match the specific customer's panel, touch IC and driver IC interrelation.

Among them, In-Cell touch ICs can only be matched with the panels of specific customers, plus the required technology and manufacturing capabilities will be more difficult than On-Cell touch, and will make In-Cell touch panels and touch IC suppliers quite limited. And, the In-Cell touch solution is not as easy to develop as On-Cell, but it forms a relatively closed industrial chain.

In addition, due to the high difficulty of In-Cell touch technology and manufacturing, the input costs of the In-Cell are relatively higher than that of on-cell touch and On-Cell, and the time taken to increase the yield rate is also longer, if it is unable to accumulate more sales. , it will be difficult to profit. Therefore, for panel makers and IC manufacturers who are investing in the In-Cell touch field, how to obtain a strong exit is a more important issue than the technical layout.