Add preferred source
South Korea’s LG Display has unveiled FLiPP, a next-generation patterning technology that eliminates the fine metal mask (FMM), long considered a core process in OLED manufacturing. The technology forms RGB pixels through photolithography, raising the aperture ratio from 42% to 65%, enabling 1.6x higher brightness, 2.4x longer lifespan, or 13% lower power consumption. By using 8th-generation glass substrates without cutting them, productivity improves by approximately 24% and material efficiency rises 1.9x. The company plans to apply FLiPP first to IT OLED panels such as laptops and monitors, later expanding to wearables and TVs over 100 inches. Mass production timing will be decided in consultation with customers, with existing FMM-based and WOLED production continuing in parallel for the time being.
Key Elements
South Korea’s LG Display (034220.KS) has unveiled FLiPP, a next-generation patterning technology that eliminates the fine metal mask (FMM), long regarded as a core process in OLED manufacturing. The company said the technology boosts productivity by approximately 24% and enables a single process to handle everything from 1-inch-class wearables to ultra-large TVs exceeding 100 inches.
Choi Young-seok, LG Display’s Chief Technology Officer, said at the online “FLiPP Tech Seminar” held on the 8th: “FLiPP is the greatest process innovation in the existing 8th-generation space. It will serve as a moat that makes the display industry feel challenged and daunted.”
FLiPP is a technology that forms red, green, and blue (RGB) OLED pixels through photolithography without FMM. Organic light-emitting materials are deposited across the entire substrate, a protective layer is formed, and unnecessary portions are removed using ultraviolet (UV) light—a process repeated for each color to complete the pixels. The company explained that it is the first in the world to implement an RGB OLED patterning process utilizing the full 8th-generation glass substrate.
Conventional RGB OLED manufacturing has predominantly used FMM—a metal plate with microscopic holes—to deposit light-emitting materials at desired positions. However, as substrate sizes grow, the center of the mask sags, necessitating a “half-cut” process that slices large substrates in half, which in turn reduces production efficiency.
FLiPP fundamentally resolves this problem. By eliminating FMM, the spacing between pixels is reduced, improving the aperture ratio (the proportion of the total display area occupied by light-emitting regions) from 42% to 65%—an improvement of roughly 55%. The enlarged pixel area can be leveraged according to product requirements: 1.6x higher brightness, 2.4x longer lifespan, or 13% lower power consumption compared to conventional methods. Independent control of red, green, and blue elements also benefits color gamut and viewing angle improvements.
Productivity gains come from not cutting the substrate. The 8th-generation FMM process required half-cutting to prevent mask sagging, but FLiPP uses the substrate as-is. For a 23.5-inch panel, panelization efficiency rises from approximately 75% with FMM to over 93%, and organic material efficiency improves roughly 1.9x from 40% to 74%. Deposition process time is reduced by about 40%.
LG Display applied the inline deposition technology previously used for its large-size WOLED production to FLiPP. This continuous deposition method moves substrates while depositing organic materials, eliminating the need for repeated FMM alignment and replacement.
FLiPP’s scalability is another key strength. Without masks, panel size and resolution constraints disappear, and because it uses 8th-generation substrates, it can theoretically produce everything from 1-inch-class smartwatches to ultra-large TVs over 100 inches and AR/VR devices on a single platform. This contrasts with FMM-based production, which is limited to wearables through laptops (1–27 inches). Cho Heung-ryeol, LG Display’s Senior Vice President of Next-Generation Display, said: “FLiPP is the ultimate in scalability. Tandem, touch, and various sensor functions can all be integrated.”
IT OLED Market Penetration Is the First Target
LG Display plans to apply FLiPP first to IT OLED panels such as laptops and monitors. CTO Choi said: “IT product categories with customer demand, such as laptops and monitors, will be the first applications.”
The company has maintained that the market is not yet mature regarding IT 8.6-generation OLED investment. That assessment remains valid, the company said at the seminar. CTO Choi explained: “With current FMM-based OLED, expanding market penetration will not be easy. The difficulty of solving this with existing FMM approaches has been a concern for every display company.” He added: “FLiPP can provide the answer to that problem. We are not entering a mature market—we are determined to open the IT OLED market through FLiPP.”
FLiPP also represents a new option in LG Display’s investment strategy. Unlike competitors building new 8.6-generation production lines in preparation for IT OLED market expansion, LG Display can leverage a significant portion of its existing 8th-generation production infrastructure. CTO Choi said: “With FLiPP, we can produce regardless of product category, size, or application while utilizing existing infrastructure as-is. We can achieve significant results with relatively lower investment compared to new 8.6-generation capacity.”
The company plans to spend the next year classifying existing equipment into three categories: equipment to use as-is, equipment requiring modification, and equipment requiring new fabrication. Senior Vice President Cho explained: “We are devising a strategy to expand market penetration with cost advantages by maximizing use of existing facilities.”
Cost savings from eliminating FMM are also expected. Expert Committee Member Kim Eung-yong explained: “By not using expensive FMM, we can expect savings in FMM fabrication and management costs, as well as elimination of chronic defects associated with FMM use. Producing a new model requires hundreds of billions of won per model.” Senior Vice President Cho added: “It is definitely cheaper than FMM OLED.”
Mass Production Timing Undecided; Existing Technologies to Run in Parallel
FLiPP’s mass production timing has not yet been determined. CTO Choi said: “The path from technology development to mass production is divided into technology development, product development, and mass production stages. FLiPP is currently in the technology development stage. It is too early to determine actual mass production timing.” He added: “Mass production requires customers to be identified, and we will decide in consultation with customers on their desired timing.”
LG Display does not expect FLiPP to replace all existing OLED production methods. Smartphone OLEDs will continue to be produced using the existing FMM method for the time being. CTO Choi said: “For smartphones, we are producing well with existing equipment, so we plan to continue with FMM-based production for now.” He noted, however, that FLiPP’s resolution is technically capable of reaching 1,000 PPI (pixels per inch).
TV WOLED lines will also be maintained. CTO Choi said: “The WOLED line is a core production line that has accumulated years of mass production know-how, high yields, and cost competitiveness. Running WOLED and FLiPP in parallel will allow us to optimize operational efficiency.” He projected that in a few years, OLED patterning technologies such as FMM OLED, WOLED, and FLiPP will coexist.
In the industry, similar FMM-free technologies are under development, including Japan Display Inc.’s (JDI) “eLEAP” and China’s Visionox “ViP.” LG Display emphasized that while FLiPP shares a similar concept, it differs significantly in performance and potential. Senior Vice President Cho said: “FLiPP technology is built from various combinations of processes, materials, and devices. LG Display is the only company implementing FLiPP on 8th-generation glass substrates.”
CTO Choi concluded: “FLiPP is a technology that condenses 22 years of accumulated expertise and know-how since LG Display began OLED research. It will be a turning point that changes the paradigm of the global display industry.”
