三星公司(Samsung)日前宣布分割旗下 LCD 事業(yè)群，進一步重組顯示器業(yè)務。三星預計將于今年四月另行成立新的三星顯示器公司(Samsung Display Co.)，除了強化 LCD 業(yè)務以外，也將擴展至 OLED 領域。不過，三星公司仍將持續(xù)掌控新公司的所有股份。 在這次組織重整的過程中，三星還打算在有機發(fā)光二極管(OLED)顯示器技術方面投入更多資源。 OLED 較 LCD 更具優(yōu)勢：OLED可自發(fā)光、更輕且薄、能夠像塑料一樣可撓曲且功耗更低。對于大多數應用而言，OLED簡直就是完美的顯示技術。 然而， OLED 顯示器成本仍然相當昂貴。而且， OLED也缺乏像 LCD 一樣的制造基礎設施，目前只有幾家材料供貨商。IHS iSuppli公司表示，在 OLED 能夠達到一定的制造產量以及發(fā)展出更多的市場競爭以前， OLED 顯示器應用仍將十分稀少且昂貴： “由于制造良率的問題，加上供貨商較少使材料成本高漲，預計在未來幾年內， AMOLED 電視的價格仍將遠高于LCD TV。2012年，55吋 AMOLED TV售價約為8,000美元，相當于同尺寸LCD TV平均價格3,700美元的兩倍。雖然AMOLED TV能夠為用戶帶來比LCD TV更優(yōu)質的視覺體驗，但除非AMOLED價格能夠降低到約比LCD TV高20%左右的范圍，否則消費者不太可能會大量的購買?！?因此，三星在這方面可說是跨出了正確的一步。 近幾年來，LCD面板市場持續(xù)面臨價格大幅下滑以及產能過剩的窘境。盡管去年12月起起價格已趨于穩(wěn)定，但IHS iSuppli的報告指出LCD面板價格在短時間內難以提升： “面板價格自去年12月起止跌回穩(wěn)主要的原因在于供貨商被迫減產以控制供應與遏制財務損失后，整個面板供應鏈庫存去化，以及廠房利用率調整所致?！盜HS iSuppli公司LCD資深總監(jiān)Sweta Dash表示，“美國與中國的銷售回升，有助于進一步帶動市場需求。盡管如此，受到全球經濟持續(xù)不明朗的影響，供貨商想要提高面板價格的機會并不高。” 由于LCD的市場價格越來越具有競爭力，一些主要的顯示器制造商，如東芝(Toshiba Corp.)和夏普電子(Sharp Electronics)等公司等均將生產業(yè)務外包給ODM與EMS，以節(jié)省成本。另一個趨勢是面板的制造越來越接近終端需求所在之處。因此，面板廠不再 積極投資于建造更多的LCD新廠，而是外包給面板OEM在具有需求之處進行建造。 三星將持續(xù)緊握顯示器業(yè)務，這是三星另一項明智之舉。由于三星本身在產品銷售市場就有大量的需求，因而幾乎將使用掉大部份自家所生產的面板。 IHS iSuppli公司期望， AMOLED 顯示器供貨商、設備制造商、材料制造商以及TV制造商能夠望攜手合作，共同開發(fā)出更有效率且具成本效益的方法，從而制造出大尺寸的 AMOLED 面板。如此一來，面板價格才會開始下滑。 “55吋 AMOLED 面板早期可能先在現(xiàn)有的八代非晶硅(a-Si) LCD廠生產，該產線可轉做AMOLED所需的氧化硅背板。未來，LG Display (LGD)和三星計劃未來將在八代線大規(guī)模量產AMOLED，期望在制程術更成熟后，進一步降低大尺寸AMOLED面板的成本。” 到最后，三星很可能成為自家的最大客戶。 編譯：Susan Hong 本文授權編譯自EBN Online，版權所有，謝絕轉載 參考英文原文：Is Samsung LCD Spinoff the Right Move?，by Barbara Jorgensen

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{pagination} Is Samsung LCD Spinoff the Right Move? Barbara Jorgensen, EBN Community Editor Samsung Corp. , the world's biggest maker of the LCD panels used in laptops, notebooks, TVs, and phones, is spinning off its LCD business. Samsung will continue to control all the shares of the new Samsung Display Co., which is scheduled to launch in early April. As part of this restructuring, Samsung intends to devote more resources toward organic-light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. OLEDs have a number of advantages over LCDs: they have their own light source; they are thin; they can be sprayed onto flexible substrates such as plastic; and they consume a lot less power. For most applications, OLED is simply the perfect display technology. OLED displays continue to be prohibitively expensive, however. Unlike LCDs there is no OLED manufacturing infrastructure in place. There are very few materials suppliers. Until OLED reaches volume manufacturing levels and more competition develops, the displays will be rare and costly. IHS iSuppli says: AMOLED TV prices will remain dramatically higher than those of liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs during the next few years because of manufacturing yield issues, combined with inflated material costs due to the small pool of suppliers. A 55-inch AMOLED TV will be priced at $8,000 in 2012, more than twice the $3,700 average expense for an equivalent LCD TV. And although AMOLEDs deliver a dramatically superior viewing experience compared to LCDs, consumers are unlikely to buy large quantities of AMOLEDs until their prices fall to within a 20 percent premium of comparable LCD TVs. Samsung is making the right move. The LCD panel market has been struggling with steep price declines and overcapacity on and off for a number of years. Although prices stabilized in December, IHS iSuppli reports that they are unlikely to increase any time soon: "The firming in panel prices in December can be attributed to lean inventories throughout the supply chain and to lower factory utilization rates, after suppliers were forced to cut production in order to control supply and stem financial losses," said Sweta Dash, senior director for LCDs at IHS. "Sales also picked up in the United States and China, helping to further boost the market. Despite this, there will be little opportunity for suppliers to increase pricing even after the market has evened out, due to continuing uncertainties in the global economy." As massive as Samsung's LCD business is, LCD is increasingly price-competitive. Other major display manufacturers, such as Toshiba Corp. (Tokyo: 6502) and Sharp Electronics Corp. , have been outsourcing some of their production to ODMs and EMS companies to save costs. There has also been a move toward manufacturing the panels closer to where end-demand is. Rather than invest in more LCD factories, outsourcing enables panel OEMs to build where demand exists. Samsung is also holding onto the display business, which is another smart move. Samsung consumes almost as many panels internally as it sells in the merchant market. IHS iSuppli expects AMOLED display suppliers, equipment makers, material makers, and TV makers to cooperate in developing more efficient and cost-effective ways in order to make large-sized AMOLED panels. As a result, prices are expected to decline: Early production of 55-inch AMOLED panels is likely to be conducted at existing eighth generation amorphous silicon (a-Si) LCD fabs that will be converted to make the oxide silicon backplanes needed for AMOLEDs. Both LGD and Samsung plan to move mass production to eighth generation AMOLED lines in the future. And as manufacturing matures, large sized AMOLED panels have the potential of becoming cheaper. Samsung may end up being its own biggest customer.