The Thin-Film Encapsulation (TFE) market is projected to experience significant growth, with estimates indicating an increase from USD 92 million in 2024 to USD 223 million by 2027. This growth is driven by the rising demand for flexible and foldable OLED displays, advancements in display technology, and expanding applications in consumer electronics and automotive sectors. Despite challenges such as high production costs, ongoing innovations, and regional market dynamics, particularly in Asia-Pacific, are set to propel the TFE market to new heights in the coming years.

Organic layer deposition to hold a larger share of the thin-film encapsulation (TFE) market during the forecast period.

The TFE market for organic layer deposition is expected to hold the larger share during the forecast period as it plays the key role of saving the OLED panels from humidity and oxygen content. It also enables flexibility in the structure while planarizing the top layer, which improves the quality of the second inorganic layer. Kateeva is the manufacturer of inkjet printing equipment used for TFE. The company has innovated various products in inkjet printing technologies. For instance, it launched YIELDjet FLEX which can produce flexible OLED thin films based on its ink-jet technology.

The flexible OLED display TFE market for smartphones application is expected to hold the largest share during the forecast period.

The flexible OLED display TFE market for smartphones application is expected to hold the largest share during the forecast period. OLED-based smartphones gained instant popularity and are in high demand in the high-end consumer markets. Samsung was the first company to launch a smartphone based on flexible AMOLED display technology and started mass-producing displays in 2014. The company has been utilizing metal foils, glass, TFE, and hybrid encapsulation materials in its display panels. Also, in 2020, Apple used OLED panels for the first time for all the iPhone 12 series, which also continued in iPhone 13 series and iPhone 14 series.

The thin-film encapsulation (TFE) market for North Americas is expected to hold the second largest size during the forecast period.

The high demand for OLED displays from Apple for its smartphone models has boosted the growth of the TFE market in the US. The demand for TFE in OLED display panels for use in smart wearables is expected to increase during the forecast period due to the presence of leading AR/VR vendors, such as Oculus VR, Microsoft, and Google, in North America. According to IRENA, North America would have the second-highest installed solar PV capacity, reaching 437 GW by 2030, with more than 90% of these installations in the United States. This is expected to drive TFE market in North America.

Key players in the thin-film encapsulation (TFE) market are Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (South Korea); LG Chem (South Korea); 3M (US); Toppan Inc. (Japan); Ergis Group (Poland); Veeco Instruments Inc. (US); Universal Display Corporation (US); Applied Materials, Inc. (US); Kateeva (US); Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan); tesa (Germany); Ajinomoto Fine-Techno Co., Inc. (Japan); Coat-X (Switzerland); and Borealis AG (Austria).