The growing Mini LED adoption in monitors, notebooks, tablets and even mobile phones, as well as the increasing Micro LED display reveals indicate the booming market of advanced LED applications. Macroblock, the Taiwan-based LED driver IC specialist, might be benefitted from the wave. The company has joined the supply chain of Samsung’s LED cinema and is currently working with the Korean giant on Mini LED and Micro LED technologies. Samsung has expanded its LED cinema screen in worldwide cinemas including China, India, Singapore, US, German...

The next generation display technology Micro LED is on its way to commercialization after years of development. The industry has been working on technology breakthroughs and improvements to speed up the progress of Micro LED. LEDinside has partnered with the Consortium of Intelligence Micro-Assembly System (CIMS), an organization established by Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to push the development of Micro LED technologies and provide the latest trends and updates of the industry. CIMS connects the supply...

Osram Opto Semiconductors announced that it joined a project, SmartVIZ, which aims to explore the principles of high-resolution visualization solutions using Micro LEDs. Focusing on automotive interior applications, the Micro LED project expects to present initial demonstration by October 2021. The purpose of the SmartVIZ project is to provide research basis for future transparent, high-resolution, direct-emitting visualization solutions with Micro LED technologies. Osram will partner with ASM AMICRA and Fraunhofer IISB to carry out researches focu...

Sony announced that it is building up a massive 16K screen with its Crystal LED technology in Japan at National Association of Broadcaster 2019. The size of the giant TV screen is 19.2 meters by 5.4 meters (63 ft by 17ft) with an ultra-resolution of 16K, which uses 16 times the pixel of 4K TVs and 64 times more than 1080p. Sony is currently installing the screen in Yokohama, Japan, for a new research center of Shiseido, the Japanese cosmetic group. (Image: Sony) Sony’s Micro LED technology, called “Crystal LED” by the company, is ad...

The developments and progresses of Micro LED have been under spotlight for years with researchers in the industry and the academic field working in related technologies. Worldwide researchers have also applied patents for their technology achievements and breakthroughs to protect their intellectual properties as well as to secure leading positions in the field. (Image: Samsung) The Korean Intellectual Property Office analyzed the patent applications related to Micro LED technology filed from 2000 to April 2018 across the world and revealed that more than 60 percent of...

UK optoelectronic technology solutions provider Plessey announced its achievement of developing a novel manufacturing method of green LED which does not require color conversion. Plessey has been working on developing Micro LED technology for AR and display applications. The new green LEDs manufactured without color conversion techniques deliver higher luminance that can be used in Micro LED displays. Conventional green LED production usually applies phosphors or quantum dot conversion materials to native Blue LEDs. These materials then convert short wavelengt...

LED driver IC manufacturer Macroblock has targeted the market of Mini LED and Micro LED. It has begun to ship Mini LED backlight module driver IC for gaming displays following the company’s schedule announced by the end of 2018 and expects to enter the supply chain of high-end TV panels by the second half of 2019. Furthermore, it plans release products for wearable Micro LED applications such as AR/VR smart glasses. The consolidate revenue of Macroblock in 2018 hit the record high at NT$ 2.985 billion (US$ 96.69 million), with an on-year incre...

Mini LED products have entered the market since the second half of 2018 with expected acceleration in 2019 and 2020, according to LEDinside’s forecast. Meanwhile, industry players are also speeding up their progress in Micro LED development. Worldwide equipment producers have been intensifying their technologies to meet the demands of the raising market. (Image: Samsung) Semiconductor package equipment producer Kulicke & Soffa (K&S) expects that Mini LED will start to boom by the end of 2019 with drives from Taiwanese and Chinese panel makers. T...

Veeco Instruments announced today that Aledia, a developer and manufacturer of next-generation 3D LEDs for display applications, has expanded its portfolio of Veeco thin film process equipment to support the development and production of advanced 3D Micro LEDs. Aledia cited Veeco’s proven leadership in compound semiconductor applications, GaN-on-silicon growth performance, and capability to grow a full range of high-quality epitaxial films as key factors influencing its decision. “We have been impressed with the performance of Veeco’s Propel™ ...

Researchers from Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University, China’s Xiamen University and SIJ Technology have developed a monolithic Micro LED which achieves full-color display. The study demonstrates that Micro LED full-color display can be realized without mass transferring and the result was published on Scientific Reports and Photonics Research. The team fabricated the Micro LED full-color display on monolithic epitaxial wafer by combining nanoring (NR) structure and atomic layer deposition. From previous study, the researchers have demonstr...

Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S. proposed a new designed vertical integration of GaN LED which enables improved efficiency of Micro LED displays. Matthew Hartensveld and Jing Zhang from Rochester Institute of Technology published a new study on IEEE Electron Device Letter describing how they managed to vertically integrated nanowire GaN field-effect transistors (FETs) and InGaN LEDs. The novel structure places the transistor below the LED which for controlling and dimming. (Image: Hartensveld and Zhang) Comb...

A Micro LED equipped with 5G connection was showcased at MWC this year by the Fibocom International Alliance (FIA), an organization focuses on 5G IoT devices established by Chinese wireless communication specialist, Fibocom. According to FIA, the 5G Micro LED display, named FIA One, combines the two attention-drawing technologies and integrates existing access devices such as gateways, routers, set-top boxes, or IP TV services into a single display. FIA said the integration opens a door for new digital experiences and IoT innovations. "W...

Samsung Electronics announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year of 2018. The revenue and profit of 4Q18 declined due to global market uncertainty but Samsung still reached its annual goal in fiscal 2018. For 4Q18, Samsung posted a KRW 59.27 trillion (US$ 53.22 billion) quarterly revenue, which decreased by 10 percent YoY. The quarterly operating profit was KRW 10.8 trillion (US$9.7 billion), with an on-year decline of 29 percent. The yearly revenue for fiscal 2018 was KRW 243.77 trillion (US$ 218.9 billion) and operating profit cam...

A research team consists of scholars from Taiwan and China has developed a microscopic imaging system for inspecting Micro LED display surface luminance. Currently the major luminance measurement systems focus on inspecting the total luminance of LEDs which do not meet the requirement of Micro LED as the luminance of each individual Micro LED chips need to be evaluated. To solve the issue, researchers from Xiamen University in China and National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan proposed a method to accurately inspect the luminance of a whole micro-LED array a...

Flexible and foldable panels have created a sensation since Royole and Samsung introduced their foldable phones by the end of 2018. Soon after that, LG revealed a stunning rollable TV at CES 2019. Flexible OLED displays are getting more attentions with products launched in the market in 2019. Samsung is expected to launch its folding smartphone in February 20 while its rival LG is also set to reveal a foldable smartphone soon. Meanwhile, Chinese smartphone makers including Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei have all announced their plans of releasing folding phones in this y...

Unilumin, the Chinese LED application products and integrated solutions provider, announced that it is capable to mass produce 0.9mm Mini LED and will launch Mini LED solution at ISE 2019. Meanwhile, the company also reported that it is investing a new smart manufacturing facility for the development and production of Mini/Micro LED. According to Unilumin, it is the first to mass-produce 0.9 mm LED for high-end applications which is solving previous technical barriers and addressing the issue of the high cost of traditional SMD display. (Image: Unilumin...

Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (OIPT) announced that it has worked with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) by providing multiple PlasmaPro 100 systems including both etch and deposition for ITRI’s Micro LED R&D program. The PlasmaPro 100 ICP process solutions are designed to support leading edge device applications such as Lasers, RF, Power and advanced LEDs. ITRI has been developing Micro LED technology since 2009. In 2018, with the cooperation with Macroblock, Unimicron and PlayNitrid...

The next-generation display technology – Micro LED, has remained a spotlight of the industry. NEPCON Japan 2019 has invited Chih-I Wu from ITRI and Paul Schuele of eLux to share their insights of the technology at the key note conference focusing on Micro LED. Wu and Schuele both began their lecture by comparing Micro LED with LCD and OLED and addressed the advantage of Micro LED. Micro LED, as considered to be the next generation display technology, is featured with high brightness, long lifetime, and low power consumption. Wu highl...

Companies in LED and display industries are keen on investing in the development of Micro LED displays because this emerging display technology has strong potentials in a wide range of applications and spans across many industries. However, entrants in the Micro LED market still face huge barriers in terms of key technologies and equipment. LED companies have thus turned to Mini LED, of which the manufacturing technology is relatively mature, in order to explore emerging markets on one hand, and to prepare for further progress in Micro LED on the other. NEPCON...

Globalization and the rapid changes taking place in industries have raised the importance of R&D in the upstream sections of electronics supply chains (i.e. materials and equipment). Results of R&D in the upstream in fact constitute a critical driver behind technological breakthroughs and the advancement of an entire industry. Hence, manufacturers and solution developers are constantly searching for innovations in process and material technologies that can serve as the basis for developing new industrial applications. At NEPCON Japan 2019, LEDinside has spotted some...

Micro and Mini LED specialist Rohinni announced that it will be forming a joint venture with Chinese panel producer BOE. The collaboration will focus on the production of micro LED lighting solutions for display backlights. The BOE-Rohinni joint venture will be based in China and controlled by BOE, combining BOE's LCD design and manufacturing expertise with Rohinni's Micro LED placement technology. Supported with Rohinni’s placement technology which is capable of placing 50 die-per-second (dps) with 10 micron accuracy at 99.999% die yields...

Chinese LED maker Sanan Optoelectronics announced that the company has supplied Mini and Micro LED chips to several panel manufacturers in the products unveiled at CES 2019. Sanan noted that its LED chips have been adopted in TVs, digital displays, smartphones, smart watches, AR/VR glasses, and gaming notebooks. Mini LEDs, with its compact unit size between 100 to 200 micrometers, allow for high density backlight designs with local dimming capabilities. Sanan has begun large-scale production of RGB Mini LEDs and offers a family of RGB display and bac...

AIXTRON announced that it has signed a Joint Collaboration Agreement with PlayNitride to accelerate technical and commercial breakthroughs of Micro LED. AIXTRON’s AIX G5+ C MOCVD system will be adopted by PlayNitride for the manufacturing of GaN-based (gallium nitride) Micro LEDs. PlayNitride has presented Micro LED displays with high resolution and supplied its Micro LED chips to Samsung for the 75-inch Micro LED display demonstrated at CES 2019. By signing a joint collaboration agreement, AIXTRON and PlayNitride ...

Plessey Semiconductors announced that it has worked with Nanoco Technologies, the UK-based cadmium-free quantum dot (CFQD) provider to shrink the pixel size of monolithic Micro LED displays. By combining Nanoco’s CFQD semiconductor nanoparticle technology and its existing monolithic process, Plessey will integrate the quantum dots into selected regions of blue LED wafers to add red and green light. The process could shrink the practical pixel size by 87 percent, from today’s 30µm to 4µm. The advance enables the production of smaller Micro...

2018 has been a tough year for panel producers due to the dropping panel price caused by oversupply. Chinese panel makers are still expanding their production capacities for LCD and OLED displays, putting pressures on other industry players. Samsung is closing its 8.5 generation production line in 2019 and shifting the focus to QD-OLED panels in response to the price competition. LG Display also plans to expand its OLED production capacities in China and Korea targeting large sized TV displays. It is estimated that by 2020, the OLED investment of LG Displ...

Having looked back at the industry updates of Micro LED technology, let’s keep on reviewing the technology breakthroughs of Micro LED in the past year. KAIST Team Develops Flexible Vertical Micro LED to Cure Hair loss Problem In January, a researcher team at KAIST announced the development of flexible vertical micro LEDs (f-VLEDs). These f-VLEDs achieved optical power density (30 mW/mm2) three times higher than that of lateral Micro LEDs and can be applied to optogenetics for controlling the behavior of neuron cells and brains with...

For the LED and panel industry, the year of 2018 had a dramatic start with Samsung’s revealing of its Micro LED TV “The Wall” at the CES show. Since then, players in the industry have been releasing their achievements related to the next generation display technology. Several innovative solutions and applications have been disclosed in the past year including large size displays and wearable devices. As LEDinside has continued to track the progress of Micro LED development, we would like to list the significant breakthroughs and industry updates...

Epitaxy wafers are key to the technology development of Micro LED displays. As Micro LED chips are extremely small, the quality of epitaxy wafers including wavelength uniformity and low defect becomes critical for further production process. AIXTRON, the German-based technology company, has illustrated how its MOCVD systems can significantly improve wavelength uniformity and decrease defect density of Micro LED epitaxy wafer with its article, titled “AIXTRON’s MOCVD Technology Breakthrough for Micro LED High Volume Manufacturing....

Developing cost-effective methods for transferring Micro LEDs is critical for the commercialization of Micro LED display technology. How to accurately assemble numerous tiny sized Micro LEDs to targeted places efficiently has been one of the biggest challenges for worldwide Micro LED technology developers. Uniqarta, a U.S.-based startup who focuses on developing innovative assembly methods for integrated circuit (IC), has shared with LEDinside how its laser-based transfer technology can be applied for Micro LEDs. Its article, titled “Laser-Enabled E...

The key for commercializing Micro LED technology is to holistically improve the manufacture process and to achieve cost-effective high volume production of Micro LED displays. Major industry players in the production chain from the LED chip makers, transfer technology developers to panel producers and end products brands have all dedicated themselves to work on solutions for the goal. Tesoro Scientific, established by Francois J. Henley in 2017, focuses on the enhancement of Micro LED production. Its research paper, titled “Novel In-Process Functional Tes...