Compensation film (phase difference film) is widely used in the field of liquid crystal displays. The level of localization in the Chinese market needs to be improved.

Compensation film, also known as retardation film/retardation film, refers to a multi-layer composite film used to compensate for the phase difference of the liquid crystal material inside the liquid crystal display, and to improve the contrast, viewing angle, color correction, etc. of the liquid crystal display. It belongs to One of the subcategories of optical films. According to different materials, compensation films can be divided into TAC compensation films, PMMA compensation films, and COP compensation films.

Compensation film is mainly used in the field of liquid crystal displays. In this field, it is mainly used as a raw material in polarizer production scenarios. Polarizers are mainly composed of polarizing film (PVA), protective film (TAC), pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, release film, optical compensation film and other materials. Compensation film is one of the key materials for synthetic polarizers. It mainly plays the role of color correction, increasing viewing angle, increasing brightness, and improving image contrast.

According to the “2023-2028 Compensation Film Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Analysis Report” released by the Industrial Research Center, polarized light Polaroid film is one of the three key materials for LCD panels. Currently, against the background of the rapid development of the domestic LCD panel market, the demand for polarizers and their key material compensation films continues to increase. In 2022, the domestic LCD panel market size will exceed 28 billion yuan. As a result, my country’s polarizer demand will exceed 400 million square meters in 2022, which will bring a broad demand space for the compensation film market, and the industry development prospects are broad.

There are high barriers to the core production technology of compensation films. At present, domestic demand mainly depends on imports. Fujifilm, Okura Industrial, Sumitomo Chemical, Nitto Denko, Konica Minolta, Zeon, etc. are the main suppliers of my country’s compensation film market. All are Japanese companies. Among them, the compensation film products of Fujifilm and Konica Minolta are mainly TAC series compensation films; Japan Electrician’s compensation film products include birefringence compensation film, wide viewing angle compensation film, visual compensation film, etc.; Zeon’s compensation film products are mainly COP compensation film; the compensation film products of Okura Industrial and Sumitomo Chemical are mainly PMMA compensation films.

Due to technical limitations, there are not many companies in my country with the capacity to mass produce compensation films. They mainly include Taiwan Dahui Optoelectronics, Taiwan Lite Optoelectronics Technology, Anhui Hemei Material Technology, Hengmei Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Polyester Material Technology, Mianyang Longhua Phase New Materials, Fuzhou Hengmei Optoelectronic Materials, Jiangxi Shengbaolai Optoelectronic Technology, Sichuan Longhua Optoelectronic Film, Wuxi Heyu Optoelectronic Technology, etc. In the future, as local companies continue to improve their technical levels and accelerate production capacity construction, the localization level of my country’s compensation film market is expected to continue to improve.

Industry analysts said that the compensation film is one of the key materials for polarizers in liquid crystal displays and plays a major role in It can reduce the amount of light leakage in the dark state of the LCD and improve the contrast and brightness of the LCD. Currently, driven by the rapid development of the domestic LCD panel market, its demand is continuing to increase. However, due to technical limitations, the number of domestic companies with mass production capabilities for compensation films is currently relatively small, and the level of localization is still relatively low. In the future, local companies will need to continue to improve their technology and promote the continuous improvement of localization levels.