In the current era of diverse display technologies, LCD (liquid crystal display) technology has not stagnated due to the impact of emerging technologies such as OLED and Micro-LED. Instead, it has continuously made breakthroughs in core materials, display performance, green manufacturing, etc., breaking international monopolies through independent innovation and constantly refreshing industry perceptions. Recently, the implementation of a series of significant research results has further highlighted the core value and development potential of LCD technology in the current display industry.
Core material breakthrough: High-generation glass substrates achieve "Made in China" leapfrog advancement
The glass substrate, as the "backbone" of LCD panels, has long been controlled by enterprises from the United States and Japan. It used to be a "critical bottleneck" that hindered the development of China's display industry. However, this situation has been completely overturned - at the 25th China Patent Award Presentation Conference, the patent "A High-Generation TFT-LCD Glass Substrate Production Line" jointly developed by the China Building Materials Glass New Materials Research Institute Group (China Research Institute) and Bengbu Zhongguang Optoelectronics was awarded the China Patent Gold Award, marking China's achievement in this field from "lagging behind" to "parallel running" and even "leading the way".
The core of this achievement lies in the world's first "precious metal channel ultra-thin float casting" process. Through the design of platinum alloy channels, the glass liquid is precisely stretched to a thickness of 0.3 millimeters. Combined with a multi-level clarification system, micro-bubbles are completely eliminated, successfully achieving stable mass production of 8.5-generation substrates (2200mm × 2500mm). It should be noted that high-generation TFT-LCD glass substrates have extremely strict requirements for precision. The thickness error needs to be controlled within 0.1 millimeters, the surface flatness error should not exceed 10 nanometers, and the production environment cleanliness must reach ISO 1 standard. Previously, more than 90% of the global market share was monopolized by enterprises such as Corning of the United States and Nippon Electric Glass of Japan.
With technological breakthroughs comes a rapid increase in production capacity. Currently, the yield rate of this process product has risen from the initial 35% to 82%, reaching the international leading level. In 2025, China's first 8.5-generation TFT-LCD glass substrate production line was officially put into operation in Bengbu, with an annual production capacity of 3 million pieces, which can meet more than 30% of the domestic market demand. Not only does this reduce the cost of the substrate by 38%, but it also directly boosts the gross profit margin of downstream panel enterprises by 5-8 percentage points. What is worth noting is that based on this technology, the 8.6-generation OLED glass substrate has achieved a breakthrough. Its thickness is only 0.1 millimeters and the bending radius is 5 millimeters. The key performance indicators exceed those of similar products from Japan, laying a solid foundation for the development of flexible LCD.
Display performance upgrade: A "two-way pursuit" between picture quality and power consumption
In terms of picture quality, LCD technology is continuously narrowing the gap with OLED through the iterative improvement of its core display technology. BOE's latest released ADS Pro display technology is a typical representative of this. This technology reconfigures the pixel arrangement and light path design, completely solving the problem of side-side white and color change in traditional LCD, achieving full-screen color consistency approaching 180°. In terms of brightness and contrast, relying on the new generation of LED backlight and precise light control technology, its peak brightness easily exceeds 1000 nit. Even in strong light environments, it can display clearly, with purer black performance and a picture level of texture comparable to OLED.
Power consumption control has always been a key area of optimization for LCD technology. Recently, a joint research project by domestic universities and enterprises has achieved phased results with the "Low-Power Liquid Crystal Molecular Orientation Technology". This technology optimizes the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules, reducing the panel driving energy consumption without sacrificing image quality. The related technology has entered the pilot production stage. Combined with BOE's ADS Pro technology, the 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and intelligent backlight control technology, the power consumption of current high-end LCD panels has been reduced by 30% compared to traditional products. At the same time, in combination with the full-range DC dimming technology, the flicker problem has been completely eliminated, achieving a simultaneous improvement in eye protection performance and battery life.
The improvement in color gamut coverage is also worthy of attention. The quantum dot film improvement technology for enhancing LCD color gamut has made new progress. The research team adjusted the particle size distribution of quantum dots, enabling the panel's color gamut coverage to exceed 110% DCI-P3. The color performance has significantly approached professional display standards, opening up new possibilities for the application of LCD in professional fields such as film production and design.
Green Manufacturing Innovation: Upgrading Processes to Promote Low-Carbon Development
Under the guidance of the "carbon neutrality" goal, the green and low-carbon transformation of the LCD industry has been accelerating. A series of low-emission and high-recycling process technologies have become research hotspots. TCL Star Wuhan T3 factory, through process innovation, has obtained the international authoritative "zero-carbon factory" certification. Its unit product energy consumption has decreased by 18% compared to 2021, fully meeting the energy consumption reduction requirements proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for new panel projects by 2025.
Specifically, low-emission processes such as dry etching and fluorine-free cleaning have been widely adopted in the industry, effectively reducing pollutant emissions during the production process. The Jingdongbang Hefei B9 factory has made breakthroughs in resource recycling, achieving a wastewater reuse rate of over 90% and obtaining ISO14064 carbon verification certification. In the glass substrate production process, the "gradient cooling technology" developed by the Institute of Science and Technology has precisely controlled the cooling rate of the glass liquid, reducing the warpage caused by thermal stress to less than 0.1mm/m. This not only improves product qualification rates but also reduces energy waste during the production process, achieving a synergy between technological innovation and green development.
Supporting system is well-established: Patents and standards build core competitiveness
The successful implementation of the latest research results is inseparable from the support of a complete innovation system. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has established a complete patent group covering raw material formulas, melting processes, forming equipment, and testing standards in the field of glass substrates. They have cumulatively applied for 127 patents, with 83% of them being invention patents. Their independently developed online defect detection system uses AI algorithms to identify 3,000 micrometer-level defects per second, with a detection accuracy that is 40% higher than that of imported equipment.
The technological breakthrough has also enhanced China's influence in setting international standards. The "Technical Specifications for High-Generation TFT-LCD Glass Substrate" led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been incorporated into the IEC international standard, becoming the first display material international standard globally developed by a developing country. At the 2025 International Display Technology Conference, the "Testing Method for Bending Strength of Ultra-Thin Substrate" proposed by it was adopted as an ISO standard draft, marking China's transition from a technology importer to a rule-maker, providing a "Chinese solution" for the global LCD industry development.
From the independent control of core materials to the comprehensive upgrade of display performance, and to the wide application of green processes, a series of recent research achievements in LCD technology fully demonstrate the strong vitality of this mature technology route. With the large-scale application of these technologies, LCD will continue to consolidate its advantages in medium and large-sized displays, vehicle-mounted displays, and professional displays, and inject new momentum into the high-quality development of the global display industry.
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