Focus on China’s SSOT retaining linear source contracts and Korea’s FINEST defending point source contracts
BOE has begun procurement of evaporation sources for Phase 2 of its Gen 8.6 AMOLED line (B16). The focus is whether the Phase 1 split of product categories between Chinese and Korean suppliers will be repeated.
According to notices on China’s mechanical and electrical products bidding platform, BOE announced an international tender for linear evaporation sources on the 14th, with a November 4 deadline. Point evaporation source tenders were announced on the 19th and 27th, with respective deadlines of November 10 and 17. B16 is designed for 32,000 Gen 8.6 glass substrates per month, with investment divided into two phases of 16,000 substrates each.
Phase 1 contracts were split by product category. China’s Shanghai Shinsee Optical and Electronic (SSOT) won the linear evaporation source contract on February 18 last year. Its parent, Jilin OLED Material Tech, disclosed a winning bid of CNY 655 million (approximately KRW 129.6 billion) for Phase 1 construction. This was 5.9 times the CNY 111 million value for supplying BOE’s Chongqing Gen 6 line in 2021, four years earlier.
Korea’s FINEST secured the point evaporation source contract a month later, on March 12. SUNIC SYSTEM and AVACO had won the contracts for the deposition equipment itself and the transfer system, respectively, in April 2024.
| Disclosure Date | Item | Winning Bidder | Nation |
| 2024.04.30 | Deposition Process
System |
SUNIC SYSTEM | Korea |
| 2024.04.30 | Deposition Transfer
System |
AVACO | Korea |
| 2024.09.26 | Pre-deposition Channel Heating System | Ma’anshan Anma Electronic Equipment | China |
| 2025.02.18 | Linear Evaporation
Source |
Shanghai Shinsee Optical and Electronic (SSOT) | China |
| 2025.03.12 | Point Evaporation
Source |
FINEST | Korea |
| 2025.06.06 | Evaporation Source Monitoring System | Beijing Electronics Inspection and Metrology Equipment | China |
Suppliers for Phase 2 deposition equipment have already been selected. SUNIC SYSTEM won the deposition process system contract and AVACO the transfer system contract on December 31 last year. In a February disclosure this year, SUNIC SYSTEM said the contract covered Phase 2 investment for 16,000 substrates per month and would end on December 21, 2027. Evaporation sources are therefore the only items in the deposition line whose suppliers have yet to be selected.
SSOT was reportedly founded by former staff of a contract manufacturer of linear sources for the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), and effectively monopolizes China’s evaporation source market. Its track record shows an expansion from BOE’s Gen 6 lines in Chongqing and Mianyang to Gen 8.6 supply.
Attention is now on Phase 2 linear evaporation sources. The CNY 655 million disclosed by Jilin OLED Material Tech was for Phase 1 construction only, while Phase 2 orders will be determined separately through this tender. As both phases have a capacity of 16,000 substrates per month, the order size is expected to be similar.
All verified linear evaporation source awards disclosed on the Chinese bidding platform went to SSOT. Beyond Phase 1 of BOE’s Gen 8.6 line, SSOT won three consecutive linear source orders from Xiamen Tianma in 2021, 2023 and October last year. However, its Gen 8.6 track record still consists of just the single Phase 1 contract, so this Phase 2 tender is expected to test its monopoly.
For point sources, competition among Korean suppliers is a key variable. Xiamen Tianma selected FINEST for the same product in December 2022 and ALPHAPLUS in July last year. The key question is whether FINEST, which won Phase 1, can retain its position in Phase 2.
“Korean suppliers have retained the main deposition equipment contracts, but source contracts are being split by product category,” an industry official said. “The outcome of Phase 2 investment will determine the supply chain structure for Gen 8.6 mass production.”