A 20-year battle! Unveiling the first "Weixinnuo" conductive silver paste adhesive for flexible screens, ushering in spring

1. A 20-year battle! Unveiling the first stock of flexible screens, "Weixinnuo"

Folding screens are becoming the biggest trend for smartphones in 2022! "Recently, major securities firms' electronic analysts have frequently released research reports predicting this trend.

In the last month of 2021, OPPO released its first foldable screen phone, Find N. Subsequently, Huawei launched its flagship vertical folding screen phone P50 Pocket Box, and Honor also brought the "one-step" folding phone Magic V.

Huawei Vertical Folding Screen Flagship Phone P50 Pocket Box, Image Source: Huawei Official Website

Honor Folding Phone Magic V, Image Source: Honor Official Website

The first year of folding has really arrived!

The real driving force behind this mobile phone revolution is screen manufacturers, who have solved the core technical problem of flexible AMOLED foldable screens. Just like the transformation from keyboards to touchscreens, the form of smartphones has once again opened up a new world.

Vishino flexible AMOLED 360 degree folding terminal

Unlike in the past, domestic manufacturers have departed from the strategy of introducing, digesting, and absorbing the previous generation LCD technology before innovating. In the OLED era, through advanced prediction, independent innovation, and firm adherence, domestic manufacturers have achieved a market pattern of "China South Korea confrontation".

Among domestic manufacturers, Vishino has become a typical representative of independent innovation in the OLED industry. Compared to BOE and Huaxing Optoelectronics, whose main business is more than 90% LCD, which have accumulated production capacity for more than ten years before being realized, Vishino had already predicted and laid out more futuristic OLED display technology as early as 20 years ago, which once caused many people to doubt.

The folding trend of the mobile phone industry transformation has already given a definite answer to whether this persistence is worth it. Imagine if it weren't for the early layout, the situation of competing with each other today would no longer exist.

The 20-year battle from university laboratories to industrialization

As is well known, since the 1990s, the domestic display panel industry has gone through several rounds of technological and market cycles. This includes years of unremitting efforts from manufacturers such as Vishino, BOE, Shentianma, TCL Huaxing, etc., which have basically achieved independent and controllable supply chains.

However, the starting paths for the development of these enterprises are quite different. Compared to the "market follower faction" of BOE and Shentianma, which originated from state-owned enterprise restructuring and market-oriented transformation to the panel industry, Weixinnuo is seen as starting from the "academy faction".

When it comes to the starting history of Visionox, we have to start with the OLED project team at Tsinghua University in the 1990s. At that time, the project team conducted basic research on light-emitting devices based on a second-hand coating machine in the laboratory. At that time, well-known international companies including Kodak, Sony, Fuji Electric, and Japanese Pioneer were also in the early stages of researching this technology. However, with the development of the industry, these large enterprises gradually withdrew from the OLED process.

The reason for withdrawal is also very simple. In addition to OLED, display technologies such as PDP and FED are also research hotspots. At that time, no one dared to predict that OLED would become the mainstream display technology in a few years. But the OLED project team at Tsinghua University has made forward-looking predictions based on scientific mechanisms and has been laying out towards the goal of "industrialization" from the beginning.

In 2001, in order to take the first step towards industrialization of OLED technology, Weixinnuo was registered and established! This also opens up an innovative practice of "moving forward on an industrialization path".

Because it started at the same time as the international big companies, and started from basic research and mastered the most essential understanding of OLED, Wieseno let the panel display in Chinese Mainland gain the right to speak internationally for the first time. In 2002, the development of global OLED standards was officially put on the agenda. In 2010, the Flexible Display Devices Working Group (WG8) under the IEC/TC 110 International Electrotechnical Commission's Electronic Display Devices Technical Committee was officially established, representing the upcoming transition of the display industry from flat panel displays to the era of flexible displays. Subsequently, in 2002 and 2012, Vishino became the first enterprise representing China to undertake the development of OLED international standards and flexible display international standards.

During this period, in addition to promoting the process of industry standards, based on the advantage of conducting basic research at Tsinghua University, Weixinnuo is also synchronously implementing industrialization. At the end of 2005, Vicino got through the "last mile" on the road of industrialization, started to build the first OLED production line in Chinese Mainland, entered the global OLED field competition, and began to maintain the first PMOLED shipment for many years in 2012.

At present, in the four major innovation bases of Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, and Chengdu Chongqing, Weixinnuo has laid out one G5.5 AMOLED production line, two G6 fully flexible AMOLED production lines, two AMOLED module production lines, as well as a Micro LED pilot line for future displays. Its production line capacity and yield continue to improve, and the product variety is rapidly expanding.

Based on 20 years of technological accumulation, Vishino's flexible OLED products have also created multiple world firsts, including the world's first under screen camera phone, the world's first 144Hz refresh rate phone, the world's first 165Hz refresh rate phone, the world's first surround screen phone, the world's first flexible wearable phone, and the world's first transparent A-pillar car.

As of now, Vishino has over 10000 key OLED patents and has participated in leading the development or revision of multiple international, national, and industry standards for OLED. Standing on the high ground of international competition, it has won the right to speak for the development of China's industries.

From the achievements of 20 years of development, Vishino has successfully predicted its development direction based on its fundamental understanding of OLED and years of accumulation, from PMOLED to hard screen AMOLED, and then to flexible AMOLED. And by laying out in advance and facing difficulties on the road of independent innovation, we are firmly moving forward, constantly improving the level of self-reliance of the information technology industry, and enhancing the confidence and confidence of China's display industry in coping with external environmental uncertainties.

The Difficult but Correct Path: Targeting the Global Top Three

Although this may seem like a relatively clear technological path today, for Vishino, the past 20 years have not been so easy. From key equipment and materials to process and yield, every step is very difficult to take.

Li Leiguang, Chief Analyst of the Display Industry, said, "Technologically speaking, in the past 20 years, China's LCD panel companies have mostly followed innovation and basically followed the mature technology direction verified by Japan and South Korea, with a slow pace. However, the entry of Vishino into the OLED field is synchronized with the start time of the global OLED industry, starting from scratch. It can be said that there is no successful experience to learn from. From materials to devices, from scientific research to pilot testing and mass production, behind every step taken by Vishino is countless accumulation of failures and unremitting persistence

Not only in terms of technology, but also in the face of market uncertainty. Whether this path can be realized, when the industry will explode, and when capital recognition can be obtained and sustained investment can be guaranteed are all pressures on the management and R&D personnel of Weixinnuo, "said Li Leiguang.

Fortunately, in the past 20 years, Weixinnuo has made the right predictions time and time again, and has also "endured" the market uncertainty period.

Standing at the milestone of 20 years, Vixinno once again made his own prediction. At the 20th anniversary celebration of Visionor on December 7, 2021, they publicly outlined their "medium - and long-term development strategy" for the first time: within five years, the company will focus on the emerging OLED and Micro LED display businesses, achieving product capabilities covering full-size application areas from small to large, and ranking among the top three OLED panel shipments in the world. Through ten years of hard work, the company has achieved coordinated development of the industrial ecosystem and become a global leader in the emerging display industry.

These strategies were already evident in their technological layout. According to the author's understanding, Vishino attaches great importance to the research and development of OLED technology, and currently has core technological advantages in extreme small hole, under screen camera, narrow border, high refresh rate, foldable screen, low power consumption, wide frequency conversion refresh rate, no polarizer, screen integration, and other aspects. Especially in the field of under screen cameras, Vishino is at the forefront of the industry.

At present, Vishino has supplied Honor, Xiaomi, ZTE, Nubia in the field of smartphones Motorola、 Lenovo and other brands are the main models of customers, providing folding products from many mobile phone manufacturers, HONOR 60, 50 series, V40, 30 Pro, Pro series products; The upgrade plan for the under screen camera has been released and is being promoted for application implementation by collaborative terminal manufacturers. In terms of ultra-high refresh rate screens, 165Hz and 144Hz are supplied to Nubia Red Devils and Lenovo Legion gaming phones.

In the field of smart wearables, we have achieved full supply of top brands such as Fitbit OPPO、vivo、 Huami, Xiaomi and other customers exclusively supply OPPO flexible screen smart watches OPPO Watch and Watch 2 series; Exclusive supply of Huami Amazfit X smartwatch; Supply of Xiaomi Band 6, Xiaomi Watch, Vivo Watch, etc. in the first half of this year.

With the introduction of more brand customers by the company, the revenue scale of Weixinnuo has significantly increased in recent years. In the first three quarters of 2021, Vishino achieved a revenue of 2.733 billion yuan, of which OLED product revenue was 2.623 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 94.61%. Its shipment volume also remained among the top four in the world.

In terms of the new production line being put into operation, Weixinnuo has also made rapid progress. Since 2021, the production capacity of Kunshan 5.5 generation production line and Gu'an 6 generation flexible production line controlled by the company has been continuously released, and the yield and utilization rate have further improved. The products have been continuously delivered to first-line brand customers, and the shipment volume in the first three quarters has increased by over 100% year-on-year. In addition, the 6th generation flexible AMOLED production line in Hefei and the flexible module line in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, which it has invested in, have achieved mass production and delivery to brand customers, and production capacity has steadily increased.

It is worth mentioning that Weixinnuo has signed daily operating orders with Honor Terminal Co., Ltd. for twelve consecutive months, with a cumulative amount of 2.2485 billion yuan. The products purchased by Honor this time are mainly shipped from Weixinnuo Gu'an's 6th generation flexible AMOLED panel production line. Industry insiders pointed out that the orders signed with customers for 12 consecutive months fully reflect the release of production capacity and the improvement of delivery capabilities of its various production lines, which can further consolidate the market competitiveness of Visionor.

In addition to further enhancing competitiveness in the field of small-sized AMOLED, Visionor is also actively expanding its layout in mid size application areas such as tablets, laptops, and cars. In the direction of new technology, Chengdu Chenxian Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., a joint venture of the company, has built a micro LED pilot line, completed the opening of the whole process line, developed the first 326PPI, 1.84 inch micro LED wearable sample in Chinese Mainland, and the first spliceable micro LED single screen sample for high-end TV, accelerating the improvement of the company's strategic layout in the field of new display industry, and is expected to further enrich the company's product structure in the future.