MagnaChip and ELAN Micro join forces on next-gen OLED capabilities

As described in a press release this week, one goal of the partnership is to capitalize on the recent growth and market penetration of OLED displays in areas such as smartphones, mobile devices, tablets and automotive applications, including navigation and infotainment screens, and brake light and interior lighting systems. OLED technology enables screens to display rich and highly saturated colors while emitting low power consumption. Flexible OLED display driver ICs (DDIC) enable curved screens for smartphones, tablets and other devices. MagnaChip will also collaborate in bringing ELAN's stylus technologies to both rigid and flexible OLED displays. Currently, ELAN supports pen protocols defined by Microsoft, Wacom, and Huawei and has enabled stylus features on smartphones, tablets, and notebook PCs for Out-Cell, On-Cell and In-Cell LCDs. MagnaChip believes it will enhance its leadership position in OLED DDIC by co-developing with ELAN new protocols with advanced features for the future. Specifically, MagnaChip expects the collaboration with ELAN to improve its OLED DDIC technologies for next-generation applications by supporting ELAN's development of de facto industry standard stylus solutions optimized for its OLED display drivers. MagnaChip CEO Yj Kim said, "By working with industry leaders such as ELAN, our goal is to create combined hardware offerings that provide industry leading product features and benefits for our customers. And by collaborating with other industry leaders as part of our broader industry initiative, we believe MagnaChip can help accelerate product innovation, shorten time to market, and provide compelling OLED display solutions to the consumer, communications, computing, industrial and automotive markets." On partnering with MagnaChip, ELAN Chairman and CEO I. H. Yeh said, “we believe we can develop optimized OLED display solutions that can become de-facto industry standards. OLED displays across multiple product sectors have shown impressive growth in recent years and we believe integrating our advanced fingerprint and touch IC technology with OLED DDIC technology will create compelling benefits for consumer and industrial product manufacturers. It is my honor that MagnaChip, the largest independent supplier of OLED DDIC, and ELAN, the leader in stylus touch controllers, can collaborate to bring advanced stylus features to the world of OLED." MagnaChip is a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. ELAN Microelectronics Corporation is an IC design house founded in Tokyo in 1994.