As Micro LED still encounters certain technical bottlenecks, some companies are currently focusing on the transition technology Mini LED instead. The squad proactively developing Mini LED applications includes panel giants (Innolux and AUO), LED chip makers (Epistar and Lextar), and LED packaging firms (EVERLIGHT, AOT, and Harvatek).

According to media reports, Huawei, OPPO and Xiaomi are worried about insufficient OLED panel production, so they plan to use Mini LED-lit LCD displays for their smartphones in 2H18. Despite the fact that this rumor is not confirmed yet, the LED supply chain already pins its hope on Mini LED.

Optovate has revealed further details of its innovative micro-LED technology, following its first technology announcement in March 2018. Optovate has since 2008 been developing catadioptric micro-optic arrays to enhance the benefits of micro-LED, mini-LED and OLED displays and also a patterned laser lift-off (p-LLO) micro-LED transfer process.

According to the latest report, 2Q18 Micro LED Next-Generation Display Technology Market Report- Micro Projection AR & VR Market Trend and Analysis, from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, LEDinside analyzes the light sources of micro projection. Since Micro LED has high brightness and is power-saving, it can produce miniature module. After Micro LED technology becomes mature, it will be the new mainstream for display technology.

The oversupply in the LED chip market continues in 2018. The market demand is estimated to recuperate in the second quarter; however, it will still need new technologies such as Mini LED to ease the oversupply, according to Biing-Jye Lee, Chairman of Epistar

The sentiment is heating up in the high-end TV market as more rumors about Korean suppliers’ next-generation TVs came out. By the end of 2018, Samsung Electronics will release new-generation Micro LED TVs and the price could be as high as USD 300,000. Also, LG Electronics will start the global distribution of its new OLED TVs featuring its own AI platform DeepThinQ.

Currently in the industry, on one hand, Apple has been very active in developing Micro LED; on the other, display makers AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux just announced to roll out Mini LED applications by the end of 2018.

Taiwanese manufacturer Playnitride stunned visitors by exhibiting Micro LED displays. There are three color displays, white, green and full color. In addition, 0.89” display is used on watches, with about 169 ppi and blue LED chip in combination with phosphor. For 0.8” display, the display quality is improved to 230 ppi, with green LED chip. For full color 0.89” display, it adopts RGB LED chip combination, with about 103 ppi. Playnitride hopes to advance technology in the future to develop toward the commercialization of Micro LED display.

The investment in whole flat panel display industry by Chinese enterprises has amounted to more than $70 billion, and the production scale of display panel in China is expected to be the No.1 around the world by 2019 from the third place at present, as well as China will be the important driving engine for the growth of global display industry. Under this circumstance, the Society for Information Display (SID) sets up operations entity in China, outside of the United States for the first time, and organizes the international conference on Display Technology (ICDT). The second International Conference on Display Technology (ICDT) is held during April 9-12, 2018 in Guangzhou, China. ICDT 2018 is hosted jointly by the Society for Information Display (SID) Beijing Chapter, SID Taipei Chapter and SID Hong Kong Chapter, and organized by South China Normal University, South China University of Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Juhua Printed Display Technology Co. Ltd, HKUST State Key Laboratory on Advanced Displays and Optoelectronics Technologies, SID China, OE-A and Fuzhou University. ICDT 2018 attracts a large number of display prominent scientists, academia and enterprise elites in the field of display, focusing on 7 special topics and 17 symposium topics, also totally publishing 383 symposium papers (including oral, invited and poster presentations). In addition to the publication of technical papers, in order to promote the continuation of technology, the venue also provides exhibition booths and the opportunities for collaboration between start-ups and investors to enhance industrial exchanges.

Over the past two years, Micro LED, regarded as the new generation display technology, has attracted a lot of attention. Seeing great potential in this new technology, a large number of manufacturers have scrambled for it. According to LEDinside’s latest report "1Q18 Micro LED Next-Generation Display Technology Market Report- 2018 Micro LED and Mini LED Industry Trend", the market value of Micro LED is expected to reach US $2.891 billion in 2025.

LG is reported to have filed applications to the EU for three trademarks related to Micro LED displays. The trademarks are XµLED, SµLED, and XLµLED, Gsmarena.com carried in a report.

The sales of iPhone X turned out to be less than market expectation, so Samsung has lowered the utilization rate of OLED production lines. The tight supply of OLED panels over the past two years has also been eased. According to WitsView, a division of TrendForce, Apple has initiated the trend of OLED panels, and it is estimated that the penetration rate of OLED panel in smartphones will reach 46% by 2021. Mini LED is overwhelmed by OLED’s technology maturity and competitive costs, so it might be hard for Mini LED to grow in the smartphone market in short term.

According to the latest Gold Member Report - LED Industry Demand and Supply Data Base from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, in 2017, due to the stable prices on LED market and the rapid growth of automotive lighting and outdoor architectural lighting, LED market value of 2017 reached USD 17.16 billion, up 7.4% YoY.

Chinese LED packager Nationstar on March 2 inaugurated its new research center focusing on the research and development of Mini LED and Micro LED.

Optovate Ltd., the Micro LED optical specialist, announces that it has realized a Micro LED technology that enables multiple Micro LEDs transferred in parallel from a wafer to a substrate to be aligned in one step with a precision optical array. The technology is the subject of a portfolio of 20 granted and pending patents dating from 2008.

Solar-Tectic LLC ("ST") announced that a paper reporting a breakthrough thin-film transistor (TFT) technology, that promises greatly to improve current processes used the industry, has been published in the peer reviewed journal Materials Letters. The title of the paper is: "High mobility crystalline silicon film growth below 600°C from an Au-Si eutectic melt for TFTs".

Samsung Electronics launched its flagship line of 2018 QLED TVs and AV products at the 2018 First Look New York event at the American Stock Exchange building in Manhattan.

Micro LED display developer VueReal announced on March 6 the initial closing of its $10.5 million (USD) Series A funding led by the venture arm of a large Asian company and a leading North American vendor focused on startups with emerging technology.

JBD, a HK-based startup founded in 2015, carried out extensive research and development work to realize inorganic compound semiconductor material based display technology. Near the end of 2017, JBD introduced a new Micro LED technology for microdisplay manufacturing. LEDinside contacted Dr. Fang Ou, CTO, and Dr. Lei Zhang, CEO of JBD, and got the information about the technique in detail.

Taiwan-based LED chip manufacturer Epistar reported a decrease of 8.59% MoM and a growth of 11.52% YoY in its revenue for January 2018. The slow season and the price decline of LED are factored in for the decrease.

The TFT-LCD market has already become a red ocean. Korea and Japan take the lead in the OLED market. In terms of display technologies, Taiwan should seize the chance to pioneer the development of Micro LED if it wants to secure a competitive share in the global display market in the future.

TV makers, especially Samsung and LG Display, are scrambling for changes and quality upgrades for their products. In 2018, the focus of the competition between the two Korean display manufacturers will shift from QLED vs. OLED to Micro LED.

Chinese LED maker HC Semitek announced it has signed an investment framework agreement to establish projects of advanced semiconductors and devices in the Yiwu Information and Optoelectronics Hi-Tech Industrial Park. The signing of the agreement was witnessed by the Yiwu Municipal People’s Government.

Here begins a debate: when Mini LED is ready to enter the smartphone display market, it have to face an oversupply of OLED screens. Does Mini LED still have chances to grow in this space? And for how long can it last?

A new ultrathin, elastic display that fits snugly on the skin can show the moving waveform of an electrocardiogram recorded by a breathable, on-skin electrode sensor. Combined with a wireless communication module, this integrated biomedical sensor system - called "skin electronics" - can transmit biometric data to the cloud.

LEDinside would like to thank everyone for your support and regular visit to our online magazine. As Chinese New Year is approaching, we will temporarily stop updating industry news until February 21.

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2018 in the Netherlands is an international well-known exhibition for display. This international exhibition is taking place from February 6 to 9 in the Netherlands and has caused a lot of attention in the digital display industry.

LEDinside listed out companies worldwide that have tapped into the development of Micro LED and what they have achieved so far. This up-to-date table covers the majority of the activities happening within the global Micro LED developing force. 

Samsung Electronics literally will take LED engagement to new heights with the introduction of ‘The Wall Professional’ – a modular, large-format indoor Micro LED display that can extend to hundreds of inches in size while delivering outstanding brightness, contrast and viewing angles. The Wall Professional will serve as the centerpiece of the Samsung booth at ISE 2018.

ISE 2018, the world’s largest AV system integration show kicks off today. Macroblock is to showcase its latest LED driver IC product, MBI5359—a high-integration, 48-Channel LED diver IC—suitable for ultra-fine pitch, mini-LED, and micro-LED display solutions.