LG Display Begins Installation of New LTPS Line

Seoul, Korea; August 12, 2009. LG Display Co., Ltd., a leading innovator of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal-display (TFT-LCD) technology, has begun installation of equipment for its new LTPS (Low Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) production line to target the high-end display market for mobile applications.

The company plans to invest a total of KRW577.1 billion, excluding building costs, into the new fourth-generation LTPS line (730 x 920 mm glass substrate), with a monthly capacity of 20,000 input sheets of glass substrate. The mass production is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

The company's new LTPS line will mainly produce high-end, small- to medium-size displays for mobile products, and will target the mobile market, including smartphones. The smartphone market is forecast to grow at an annual rate of approximately 30%, from 171 million units in 2008 to 366 million units in 2011, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.

LG has also commenced installation of equipment for the 3.5-generation AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) line. With the company investing approximately KRW90 billion, excluding building costs, the line is scheduled to start mass production of AM OLED panels for small mobile devices from its 730 x 460 mm glass substrates in the first half of 2010. The line is expected to achieve monthly capacity of 8,000 input sheets by the year's end.