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MiniLED-Based Displays Poised for Expanded Presence

6/30/2020

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MiniLED display technology can enable LCD to achieve high brightness, very high contrast, better HDR (High Dynamic Range), thinner form factor and higher power efficiency to compete directly with OLED. MiniLED-based displays were introduced in 2018, but trade issues in 2019, and global pandemic in 2020 have delayed suppliers’ expansion plans and product introductions.  Suppliers are now starting to increase capacities and investments.
The supply chain is evolving. Top consumer brands such as Apple are expected to introduce miniLED-based products by the end of 2020 and in 2021 for multiple applications. Cost is still the biggest challenge.

​MiniLED: Different from microLED

MiniLEDs are very different from microLEDs in terms of manufacturing process and their application markets. MicroLED can be considered as a revolutionary technology that will enable creation of a new self-emissive displays. MiniLED is a more evolutionary technology that can empower LCD backlights by helping in a reinvention process for most applications (high-end tablet, notebooks, monitors, TV, auto display, VR and others). It can also be used as a direct lit RGB LED for commercial applications like digital signage or control rooms.
MicroLED display still needs a technology breakthrough in mass transfer, higher manufacturing yield and significant capital investments to commercialize as reported earlier "MicroLED Display:  Progressing Towards Commercialization". However, miniLEDs can use existing fabs without major investments.


MiniLED: Enables Higher Display Performance

MiniLED-based display products were first introduced in 2018. Compared to microLED, this technology has higher manufacturing yield and is easier to mass-produce.
  • In terms of LED size, miniLED lies between traditional LED and microLED. According to the current general consensus I have heard, microLEDs are mostly <50 microns in size; miniLEDs are generally 100 to 200 microns; and traditional LEDs are generally higher than 300 microns.
  • By the use of multi zone blinking backlights (>10,000 zones), miniLED can enable LCD to have higher brightness (>1000nits), very high contrast (>10,000:1), excellent HDR, better color rendering, ultra thin form factor, superior power efficiency and display performance close to OLED.
  • Due to miniLED’s small size, it can enable curved form factors and narrow bezels.
OLED can have a true black state and excellent contrast being an emissive display, but to achieve >1000nits it requires relatively high current which can impact lifetime. LCD can achieve >1000 nit brightness by increasing the number of LEDs but contrast ratio is very limited. MiniLED can resolve these issues. For HDR, pixel level dimming is best which is possible with microLED technology. MiniLED with multi zone blinking backlight can work as an alternative for higher HDR with >100000:1 contrast ratio and higher peak brightness. HDR is expected to be an essential feature for next generation display products.

MiniLED: Increasing Capacity


Major LED chip companies such as Epistar (Taiwan) and Sanan (China) are increasing capital expenditure to increase capacity. They are installing equipment for high-speed transfer, die testing and sorting to improve manufacturing yield.
Equipment suppliers such as Kulicke & Soffa and AMSPT are focusing on high-speed transfer and bonding while suppliers such as FitTech, Saultech are providing sorting and testing equipment. K&S and Rohinni have co-developed miniLED placement solutions. The development of tools that can increase throughput efficiently and handle smaller dies (<100 micron), can reduce manufacturing costs.
As miniLED technology uses a large number of small size LEDs, the process of testing and repairing is very important to reduce repair costs and improve yield. Testing and sorting companies are starting to report strong growth in demand from Taiwan and China. Driver IC companies such as Taiwan’s Macroblock are focusing on miniLED products this year. Most of the miniLED capacity is expected to come by the end of 2020 and in 2021.


MiniLED: Evolving Supply Chain

There are currently more collaborations among suppliers within the miniLED supply chain: substrate, LED epitaxial wafer, packaging, driver ICs, display suppliers and even consumer electronic companies. Panel suppliers are collaborating with their LED subsidiaries: AUO with Lextar and Innolux with AOT and other companies.
Epistar and Lextar announced a recent partnership to reduce overlapping investments and share production capacity for micro and miniLEDs. LED chip company Sanan is working with Samsung, while BOE has joint venture with Rohinni.
MiniLED supply chain companies such as BOE, China Star, AUO, Innolux, Epistar, Sanan, Lextar, Macroblock, ASM Pacific Technology, Nationstar, Refond, Yenrich, and many others are all working to develop better solutions. Consumer electronics companies are also joining in the collaboration and development.
According to published industry news, Apple is reportedly investing over $300 million to produce miniLED and microLED in Taiwan in conjunction with Epistar and AUO. The industry is buzzing with expectations about the possibility of a Apple 12.9” miniLED-based iPad Pro product introduction by end of 2020 or in 2021. Apple is reportedly planning to release six miniLED products by the end of 2021 including 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad and a 7.9-inch iPad mini, including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple’s adoption of miniLED technology will have a very positive impact on the supply chain and growth potential.


MiniLED: Cost Challenge

Cost is a big challenge for miniLED. Cost reduction can be realized through advance chip production and higher throughput for the transfer and assembly process and PCB and driver IC enhancements. Chip production can be improved through reductions in chip size, improvements in uniformity and boosting luminous efficiency.
Epistar is changing the beam angle of LED chips using proprietary reflectors leading to a reduction in the number of chips used. Upgrading transfer and assembly efficiency and accuracy can also improve manufacturing yield. Panel suppliers are switching backlight connection backplanes to use glass with active driving solutions to reduce costs.
Most of the suppliers in the miniLED backplane market are also paying attention to microLED. Some suggest that processes such as faster bonding, faster transfer, precise backplane that are being developed in next few years for microLED can also help miniLED to reduce costs. That could enable miniLEDs to shift from incremental cost reductions to substantial cost reductions. Panel suppliers and component suppliers are expected to focus more on cost reductions in 2021 to support brands’ product introduction of miniLED-based displays to drive growth and expansion plans.
According to the LEDinside research division of TrendForce,
“the manufacturing cost of Mini LED backlight displays is currently higher than that of traditional LCD and OLED displays. However, as manufacturers continue to make improvements in process technology and yield rate, the cost of Mini LED backlight displays is expected to undergo 15-20% YoY deceases and to potentially be lower than the cost of OLED displays by 2022, making Mini LED a cost competitive option in the market. “

MiniLED: Application Market


MiniLED-based products are already being shipped for high-end monitors and TV. Display panel suppliers have shown many prototypes of miniLED-based products at DisplayWeek 2019:
  • Tianma (HDR LTPS LCD smartphone)
  • CSOT (5.99” LTPS LCD smartphone)(15.6” LTPS notebook) (12.3” curved LTPS LCD auto display)(65”, TV 2000 nits, BT2020 color gamut)
  • AUO (17.3”, 4K, HDR, notebook) (12.3”, curved auto display) (2.9”, LTPS LCD, 1688PPI for VR)
  • BOE (15.6, oxide LCD, 240Hz, HDR notebook).
  • TCL was first to introduce miniLED backlight based QD TV in 65”(<$2000) and 75”(<$3000) in 2019.
  • At CES 2020 consumer brands showcased: Acer and Asus (QDLED 4K G-Sync gaming monitor BT 2020).
  • Vizio unveiled a miniLED backlight-based 8K LCD TV
  • MSI announced first 17” 4K laptop with miniLED display
  • TCL showcased Vidrian 8K TV by directly infusing miniLEDs into glass substrate greatly increasing performance.
​MiniLED costs have gone down recently due to increased efficiency and lower chip costs. It still faces cost challenges to become competitive. With Apple’s introduction in tablet and IT products more brands are expected to follow. In the near term, suppliers are focusing more on value-based applications such as high-end tablet, notebook, gaming monitor, TV, automotive and VR.
MiniLED-based products can open up new opportunities for the display market. It can enable LCDs with higher performance, thinner form factors and lower power consumption to compete with OLED and drive replacement demand with higher specs. MiniLED-based products are poised for expanded market presence. Success will depend on its ability to reduce cost to drive demand. (SD)

Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit 
www.dash-insights.com
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MicroLED Display: AnĀ Emerging Application Market

6/1/2020

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microLED is considered by some to be the fourth generation flat panel display technology after plasma, LCD and OLED. It combines the best features of LCD and OLED, with higher brightness, significant increases in power efficiency and reliability and the potential for lower cost. Many working prototypes have come to market but no volume production yet. microLED display is Progressing Towards Commercialization(my last Display Daily article). Can microLED compete with LCD and OLED in the display application market?

Super Size Display:  Video wall, Signage, Public display, TV..
Samsung showcased a modular 146-inch microLED TV called “The wall” at CES 2018, and followed it with a 219-inch version in 2019 and a 292-inch in 2020. These products were based on microLED chips where die sizes were larger than 50 microns, and products were based on a passive matrix mode. Very large size self-emissive displays with >50 microns die size are considered as miniLED display rather than microLED
  • At CES 2020 Konka showed a 236-inch microLED technology based large display and LGE showed a 145-inch screen.
  • Samsung’s 75-inch microLED TV with active matrix driver based on Playnitride <50microns chip, modular LTPS backplane, was first showcased at CES 2019.
    • Samsung plans to produce 75-inch and other size microLED TVs by 2021, in partnership with Epistar and Playnitride.
  • Sony first demonstrated a 55-inch FullHD microLED TV based on its crystal LED technology in 2012 but it was never commercialized.
    • Sony has started selling modular crystal LED super size displays targeting applications such as boardrooms, theme parks, museums, retail showrooms, corporate lobbies, studios, and other commercial markets.
    • Sony's display is based on active matrix driving technology integrating RGB microLEDs and micro ICs and provides true black with a high contrast ratio even in a bright environment.
    • The system has scalability: with no bezel they can be tiled up to a large-scale display system seamlessly with free size and free aspect ratio.
These super size commercial displays are very expensive and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The displays are targeted for commercial products and can compete directly with direct LED video-wall products. With very high brightness, true black, very high contrast, design flexibility, microLED super size displays can provide higher performance with low power consumption. But to increase adoption rates, cost has to come down: die size has to go down, but that will reduce efficiency and lifetime.
It will be extremely challenging for microLED TV to compete with LCD, QDLED, OLED and even miniLED TV in the near term. Industry experts believe die size for microLED TVs has to go down to <10microns for 4K TV and <5 microns for 8K TV to be more price competitive.
By the year 2021 and 2022 about eight to ten 10.5 Gen fabs with huge capacity are expected to be in production making LCDs and AMOLEDs. Samsung Display is also working on QDOLED TV products. It will be extremely hard for microLED display to be price-competitive in the 75” and below consumer TV market.


Small Size Display: Wearable, Smartwatch..
Wearable products such as smartwatch and activity tracker have a real need for thinner, lighter, lower powered, flexible displays. Their small size displays need high resolution and higher brightness for outdoor use with longer battery life. microLED can meet these requirements and outperform the currently dominant OLED display.
  • Apple is reportedly working on microLED after acquiring Luxvue and is said to be setting up MiniLED and microLED fab ($334 million investment) in Taiwan in partnership with AUO and Epistar.
  • RiTdisplay & PlayNitride have shown a 1.25" display with a glass substrate and 0.9-inch flexible display.
  • Glo has shown a 1.6" (JDI) and 1.8" (Kyocera) full color microLED wearable display (LTPS backplane).
  • Apple is currently using 1.57-inch and a 1.78-inch AMOLED display for Apple watch products. Apple may be introducing microLED wearable in 2021.
If Apple does shift to microLED from OLED for smartwatch it will have a significant impact on the display industry. Apple could also follow the strategy of using microLED only for premium models and OLED for others. To reduce costs,  a die size design of <20 microns is needed for microLED. Its high brightness and significantly lower power consumption ability can be a real benefit for battery-powered devices like smartwatches.

Very Small Size Display: AR, VR,..
The extremely high brightness capabilities of microLED can be a major advantage for devices such as AR, VR and HUDs (Heads Up Display) where waveguides are commonly used to place images in a headset or in glasses in front of the eyes (due to light loss issues). Even though microLED has many advantages for micro-display applications, there are also challenges such as efficiency, full color technology, and better control of defective pixels.
The VR/AR market is expected to grow in the next five years.
VR - Companies such as HTC and Oculus have developed more stand-alone, all-in-one devices for VR with lower prices. OLED display has been gaining higher acceptance in the VR market due to its high refresh rates, higher resolutions, and higher contrast for either direct view or micro display. microLED can match and exceed OLED performance. Its lower power consumption and lower battery size capability can transform bulky VR sets to lighter versions.
AR - microLED with high brightness, high resolutions and low power consumptions can enable flexible design and light weight AR glasses. Apple is expected to introduce AR smart glasses within a few years. AR adoption has been slow due to high prices and low consumer acceptance. Products such as Microsoft Hololens, Google’s Glass seem to be more accepted in the enterprise and vertical market rather than the consumer market.
  • Jade Bird Display - 0.31" monochrome green micro-display for AR/VR (3 million nits, 5,000 PPI) and a 0.3" monochrome blue micro-display (150K nits, 10K PPI)
  • VueReal - 30K PPI, 100K nits MicroLED microdisplay
  • Glo - full color microLED for AR/VR head set based on RGB LED
  • Plessey - 1080P microLED for AR/MR, 0.7inch blue monochrome MicroLED displays (using JDC’s silicon backplane)
  • Plessey and Compund Photonics - co-developed 0.26-incg integrated MicroLED display module for AR/MR application
  • Pleassey - GaN-on-Si technology. It recently announced its agreement with Facebook/Occulus for product development
As it can be seen from the above, monolithic microLED microdisplays can achieve very high brightness and resolution. Many consumer electronic companies are evaluating GaN-on-Si LED epiwafer (better cost than GaN-on-sapphire) for their microLED production. It can reduce cost and increase yield in manufacturing scalable to 200mm and even 300mm and also by using current CMOS facilities.
For a full color solution, sometimes QDot color conversion technology can be beneficial. Nanosys and DIC corporation have jointly demonstrated the possibility of inkjet-printed QD as the color conversion layer on microLED array. MicroLED has the potential to challenge OLED in the wearable and VR/AR market.


Medium Size Display: Automotive..
At CES 2020 many companies showed end-to-end design solutions for AR head-up displays (HUDs) including Altia, BMW and Futurus Technology. Futurus was showing MR (Mixed Reality) technology for safe and immersive experiences in next generation vehicles. Technology can move towards smart window-shielsd in future, combined with safety and entertainment info. MicroLED can provide higher brightness and higher reliability for HUD applications.
AUO and Playnitride have co-developed a 9.4-inch flexible microLED display, with a PI- backplane geared towards auto display market. The company used same technique as flexible OLED to remove PI from a substrate after transferring the display devices. AUO has also demonstrated 12-inch microLED display with LTPS glass backplane for auto applications. The auto display market with its long design cycles may take a few years before mass production.


Transparent Displays
VueReal has shown a MicroLED array with>60% transparency and 200 ppi resolution using a micro-printing process. Tianma exhibited a 7.56- inch transparent full color microLED with a LTPS glass backplane with Playnitride chips. China Star has shown a 3.5-inch transparent IGZO glass-based backplane. Application targets for these displays are still evolving. Some believe this can help microLED to provide product differentiation in the market to compete with traditional LCD and OLED.
Implications for the Application MarketThe LCD and OLED industries and products are moving targets, both still improving in performance and reducing their costs. Can microLED potentially match the price and performance of LCD and OLED? In theory, it can. But as history has shown, theoretical potential takes years to be realized and sometimes never gets there.microLED display has the potential to be successful in many different application markets. (SD)



Sweta Dash is the founding president of Dash-Insights, a market research and consulting company specializing in the display industry. For more information, contact sweta@dash-insights.com or visit www.dash-insight.com
 
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    Sweta Dash, Founder/President, Dash-Insights

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