CNETAnalysis: There’s been a lot of hubbub surrounding flexible displays this past year, but now it looks like one of the technology’s main advocates may have hit a snag. According to the Korean site etnews , Samsung Display’s efforts to get flexible displays out to market have been stalled by problems with the displays’ encapsulation technology. Encapsulation technology helps protect displays from damage from moisture and air, but the encapsulation process patent that Samsung purchased from a company called Vitex Systems in 2011 reportedly takes too long in the manufacturing stage. Samsung is looking to replace the technology with a more efficient process, etnews said this week, which means it could still be a while before flexible displays take off commercially. Flexible displays: the future? According to the Korean site, Samsung’s biggest flexible screen obstacle previously was related to its plastic substrate technology, but that problem is a thing of the past. The encapsulation manufacturing problem is an unforeseen complication, though, and Samsung is looking to replace its current Vitex Systems technology, according to this week’s report. Samsung began pushing its flexible phone agenda in earnest this year, introducing its Youm brand flexible OLED displays at CES in January. Since then, rumors have emerged that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 will be the first commercial flexible smartphone , though more recent leaks could contradict that. Oddly, etnews published a statement from Samsung Display that appears to contradict its own report: “As we have accumulated expertise in this field, progress is being made in substrates as well as encapsulation technology. We have developed a new technology than sic can shorten the encapsulation process to less than 2 minutes by using the Vitex System-developed encapsulation technology.” We’ve asked Samsung to clarify that stateme! nt, but so far we haven’t heard back.
