TCO film market scale continues to expand ITO film application proportion is high

TCO film is a transparent conductive oxide film, referred to as transparent conductive film. It is an oxide film with conductive function and high transmittance in the visible light range. TCO films generally have the characteristics of large bandgap, high resistivity, absorption of ultraviolet light, reflection of infrared light, and high transmittance of visible light.

In the early 20th century, TCO films have been developed and developed. In the 1940s, their applications attracted attention. At this stage of development, a variety of TCO film products have been introduced one after another, such as CdO-based TCO films, SnO2-based TCO films, In2O3-based TCO films, ZnO Based TCO films and other oxide films, ITO, FTO, IZO, GZO, AZO and other doped oxide films, as well as polymer-based TCO films, P-type TCO films, multi-component TCO films, high mobility TCO films, etc.

TCO films can use chemical vapor deposition (CVD), sol-gel method, spray thermal decomposition, electroplating and other chemical methods, as well as magnetron sputtering, vacuum evaporation, ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD), pulse laser It is prepared by physical methods such as deposition method (PLD). Among them, magnetron sputtering method and chemical vapor deposition method have a higher application proportion.

TCO film can be widely used in touch screens, LED displays, electronic books, electromagnetic shielding layers, thin film resistors, gas sensors, solar cells, automotive glass, architectural glass and other fields, and has a wide range of uses. Among various TCO films, ITO films have the highest application proportion. ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film is one of the products with the best conductivity among existing TCO films. Due to shortcomings such as scarce raw material indium resources, high product brittleness, high production costs, and the accelerated development of new products, ITO The proportion of thin film applications is showing a downward trend.

According to the “TCO Film Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report 2021-2025” released by the Industrial Research Center, benefits from Consumer electronics, LCD TVs, solar cells and other industries are developing rapidly, and the demand for TCO films is rising. From 2012 to 2019, the global TCO film market had an average annual compound growth rate of 13.1%; in 2019, the global TCO film market size was approximately US$9.24 billion, of which ITO film accounted for 75%, but this dropped compared to 2012 19 percentage points. It is expected that the global TCO film market size will reach approximately US$10.6 billion in 2021.

Globally, TCO film manufacturers mainly include American Cambrios, American Unidym, American 3M, American Kodak, Japan’s Asahi Glass, Japan’s Teijin, Japan’s Fujitsu, Japan’s Fuji, South Korea’s LG, China’s CSG Group, China’s Xinyi Glass, etc.

Industry analysts said that TCO films have both conductive and high light transmittance characteristics and can be widely used in consumer electronics, home appliances, and solar energy. In the fields of batteries, electrical products, sensors and other fields, market demand continues to grow. my country is a major producer of consumer electronics and LCD TVs in the world. The scale of domestic solar power generation installations is rapidly expanding, bringing broad development space for my country’s TCO film industry. The technology of my country’s consumer electronics, solar cell and other industries is still improving, and new products are constantly coming out, which is good for the future development of the TCO film industry.