On the 12th, LED Inside Consulting Center (LEDinside) held the annual heavyweight seminar “Micro LEDforum 2018: Micro LED Key Technology Solution and Application Market” in Room 201 of International Conference Center of National Taiwan University Hospital. This seminar invites domestic and foreign leading manufacturers and experts from eLux, Uniqarta, QMAT, KIMM, Nitride Semiconductors, Topcon, Macroblock, etc. to analyze the six major process bottlenecks of Micro LED, and the comprehensive research by LEDinside research assistant Yu Chao Insight into the market trend, the site is full of seats, and the response is hot.

Micro LED & Mini LED business jet broke out, with a production value of nearly $1.4 billion in 2022

The seminar was kicked off by LEDinside research assistant Yu Chao. The development status and potential business opportunities of the manufacturers concerned by the outside world, Chu Yuchao pointed out that the current life of the micro LED is better than the technical life, contrast, energy consumption, reaction time and viewing angle. LCD and OLED, leading manufacturers such as Apple, Sony and Samsung have already been actively deployed, and Hon Hai has made great efforts to build the entire industry chain of Micro LED, which will help promote the commercialization of Micro LED.

In addition, since Samsung, Sony, AUO and other major manufacturers have exhibited Micro LED related concept products in 2018, Samsung even spread the hope that the production of ultra-large size Micro LED TVs will drive more manufacturers to develop. According to the latest report from LEDinside, it is estimated that the market value of Micro LED and Mini LED will reach 1.38 billion US dollars by 2022, of which 694 million US dollars will be contributed by Micro LED.

Micro LED technology is expected to introduce special display applications at the beginning

However, at present, Micro LED still faces layer-by-layer technical bottlenecks, including epitaxy and chip, transfer, full color, power drive, backplane and detection and repair technology. In the key transfer technology, with the introduction of various transfer programs, such as Pick & Place transfer, fluid assembly, laser transfer, and roller transfer, it is expected that there will be more cost-competitive technical solutions in the future. When it appears, there will be an opportunity to accelerate the development of the Micro LED.

According to LEDinside observation, the initial Micro LED technology will have the opportunity to introduce special display applications, especially those that cannot be achieved by LCD or OLED displays, which will be complemented by Micro LED technology. Including AR micro-projection devices with high brightness requirements, HUD projection applications for vehicles, and even large-scale display billboards, Micro LED technology will be introduced in a short period of time.

Six LED technology bottlenecks and latest breakthroughs

As mentioned above, the development of Micro LED displays still faces six technical bottlenecks. In the full-color and inspection process, Nitride Semiconductors introduced the technical solutions for exciting full-color patterns by near-ultraviolet LED chips. V-Technology's RGB photoresist uses inorganic fluorescent materials for extended life; Topcon brings the latest Micro LED brightness and color detection methods, and KLA-Tencor introduces Micro LED surface defect detection solutions.

The second half of the agenda focused on the key transfer. The US startup's eLux, which is invested by Hon Hai Group, has patented fluid assembly and positioning technology to achieve maximum assembly speed. The eLux founder and technical director Paul Schuele also shared how to actually A light-emitting display is manufactured by applying a fluid assembly transfer method. The US startup SelfArray demonstrates directional self-assembly technology to transfer a large number of Micro LED chips to a PCB substrate through magnetic force. In terms of laser transfer technology, LEDinside invited the American startup Uniqarta to introduce LEAP laser advanced placement technology; QMAT is equipped with a detection scheme and laser to do the Beam-Addressed Release. Finally, the Korean research institute KIMM proposed the roller transfer technology. Participants were made aware of the technical feasibility of different options through the massive transfer programs demonstrated by the delegates.

In the driver section, Accumulation Technology introduces the latest Micro LED driver IC solutions and the current development progress of Micro LEDs in display devices. Taiwanese and Lotus Optoelectronics, which debuted on the finale, analyzed the business opportunities of Micro LED technology in non-display applications.

In summary, despite the wide range of industries involved in Micro LED, including precision machinery, semiconductor manufacturing, testing and overhaul, huge transfer technology still needs to be broken, and mass production cannot be achieved in the short term, but from the current development trend, the leader Manufacturers are actively involved in the development of Micro LEDs, and some technologies have made some progress. It is estimated that high-end products will be produced in the second half of 2018. Therefore, Micro LED still has great potential to become the next generation display technology in the future, and business opportunities are expected.

Source: LEDinside