IC materials distributors buoyed by strong e-paper DDI demand

Semiconductor materials distributors are expected to gain profit momentum from brisk sales of COG or COF packaging materials driven by robust demand for e-paper and ESL (electronic shelf label) display driver ICs (DDI), apart from LCD TDDI chips and OLED chips, according to industry sources.

A significant surge in orders for TDDI chips and OLED chips for 5G handset and other consumer applications will continue to promise strong growth momentum for chip vendors and backend partners ChipMos Technologies and Chipbond Technology in 2021, with their order visibility extending into second-half 2021, the sources said.

The two backend houses have also started to take orders from e-paper and ESL DDI vendors including UltraChip and Banner Span with COG or COF technology, the sources said, adding that both technologies are being applied to process LCD DDIs for color e-book reader solutions.

Bolstered by increasing demand for OLED and e-paper DDIs and TDDIs, materials distributors Chang Wah Electromaterials and Niching Industrial are expected to see their shipments stay in high gear for COG or COF packaging materials including embossed carrier tapes, shipping reels, chip trays and tape COF substrates with revenues and profits to ramp up significantly as a result, the sources noted.

The sources stressed distributors will particularly benefit more from increasing demand for color e-book reader and ESL solutions first triggered by the pandemic and further driven by the availability of proliferating digital content.

Leading e-paper solution provider E Ink Holdings (EIH) has teamed up with China’s panel maker BOE Technology to set up an e-paper industry alliance seeking to deepen applications in a variety of sectors including retail, education, office, healthcare, transportation, logistics, aviation and manufacturing, the sources added. DigiTimes