According to South Korean sources, the other day it became known about new patent applications filed by LG Display and Samsung for technologies that increase the reliability and durability of the foldable part of the displays. There is a long way from a patent to production, but the information in the application allows us to understand where and how each of these companies will move.

According to the LG Display patent, the company’s engineers propose using a certain damping layer (control layer) at the end of the OLED screen (substrate). This layer will help minimize stresses in the substrate during flexion and extension of the display. The compensating layer will also help to avoid folds in the display at the bend. This is a kind of support or crutch.

LG Display’s patent application states, “We have developed a method that can minimize deformation by reducing the stress that can be applied to a specific area when flexing a flexible base. We have confirmed that this method significantly reduces the stress on the flexible OLED substrate. ”

Samsung engineers took a different path. Instead of damping mechanisms that protect the displays at the endpoint, it is proposed to weaken the stresses arising in the OLED substrate, allowing the display to peel off from the base when tension (stress) occurs. To do this, Samsung has developed a pressures sensitive adhesive (PSA) that can reliably adhere to surfaces and peel off even under light pressure.

Today it is difficult to say which technology will be commercially successful. Either way, engineering is working in an interesting direction, and following the evolution of flexible displays is more exciting and exciting.