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According to a new report, China's LED producer Sanan Optoelectronics developed 10x20 micron LED devices (micro-LEDs) and is offering sample chips and testing data for microLED display makers. San'an aims to start producing these micro-LED chips on 6" wafers in Q4 2019.
Most microLED displays use chips produced on 4" wafers, and the move to 6" will enable lower production costs.
In June 2019 Micro-LED developer Glo announced a partnership with Japan-based display maker Kyocera to demonstrate a 1.8" Micro-LED display. Here's Kyocera's booth at CEATEC 2019 that features this display (03:00):
The Glo microLED display features a resolution of 256x256 (200 PPI), a peak luminance of 3,000 nits and a color gamut of 81% Rec.2020. The display's frame rate is 240Hz and the response time is 7 usec or less. For this demonstration panel, Kyocera provided the LTPS backplane and driving technology while glo provided its InGaN RGB micro-LEDs and its transfer technology.
UK-based GaN-On-Si MicroLED microdisplay developer Plessey Semiconductor announced that it has entered into a partnership with microdisplay system developer Compound Photonics to co-develop a Full-HD (1920x1080) 0.26-inch microLED display solution. The two companies expect to start offering samples in mid-year 2020 (not clear if these will be monochrome or full-color).
For this display system, Plessey will bond its micro-LED array wafer on Compound Photonics' backplane silicon wafer. The display module itself will be based on Compound Photonics’ NOVA digital drive architecture with MIPI input.
US-based AV integration company Just One Touch Video&Audio Center reports that it recently completed the first US residential installation of Samsung's The Wall Professional MicroLED TV.
The 146" 4K installation, done for a client in Los Angeles, was completed in three days. Just One Touch says that Samsung sent its own personnel to assist with this project. Just One Touch has already secured three more installations - in a hotel lobby, in a luxury mega-yacht and at a home of a "Hollywood Star".
Market analysts at Yole Developpement say that microLED shipments will reach over 125 million panels by 2027. In their aggressive scenario, shipments will reach almost 450 million.
Yole says that microLED technologies are advancing rapidly - and on all fronts, but there are still many challenges to overcome before mass production arrives. MicroLED makes a strong case for the AR, smartwatch and automotive market. For the smartphones and TV markets it is less clear whether MicroLEDs could succeed.
UK-based GaN-On-Si MicroLED microdisplay developer Plessey Semiconductor announced that it managed to deposit native blue and green microLEDs on the same wafer. Plessey’s new patented process forms microLEDs that exhibit high current density operation and long operational lifetime.
Plessey said that to achieve this important milestone they had to overcome several challenges - including a magnesium memory effect, diffusion from the p-type cladding of the lower junction into the upper junction and the requirement for the precise tuning of the thermal budget during the growth of the second junction to prevent indium phase separation in the blue active region.
Taiwan-based microLED developer Mikro Mesa announced that it achieved a breakthrough in its microLED transfer and bond process, which now enables the company to transfer 2-5 um microLED chips using a large 4-inch stamp.
Mikro Mesa's new process can transfer color (RGB) vertically-structured microLED chips and create a full-color display. It can be used to create high-density dipslays - up to 1,800 PPI and be used to create large microLED TVs, over 55-inch in size. The new process is a low temperature one (below 200 degrees Celsius) and can be used on flexible substrates - and be also used to create transparent displays.
A few days ago we reported that Foxconn canceled its microLED R&D project as it aims to improve its profitability. Foxconn however denies this and says that indeed an R&D group was dismissed, but it did not belong directly to the Foxconn group.
This was indeed a surprise as only a few months ago Foxconn was reportedly bullish on its microLED project, had commented that it may produce such displays in the US in the future and also asked three of its subsidiaries to push forward with Micro-LED development - Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (AOT) Epileds Technologies and Marktech.
Samsung Electronics announced that it now offers its large-area tiled "consumer" microLED "The wall Luxury" displays globally. The model number of the Wall Luxury is IW008R, and it is based on 0.84 mm microLED pixels offering a 120Hz refresh rate, a peak brightness of 2,000 nits and a maximum brightness of 250 nits.
The Wall Luxury is configurable and customizable to a variety of sizes and ratios from 73-inches in 2K definition, 146-inches in 4K, to 292-inches in 8K. Each Wall "Tile" is 806.4 x 453.6 x 72.2 mm (WxHxD) in size, with a resolution of 960x540.
UK-based GaN-On-Si MicroLED microdisplay developer Plessey Semiconductor announced a new microLED segmented microdisplay platform, which it calls Direct-Drive. Such displays can be used in applications that require high brightness, low power - and a simple display that is not dot-matrix but segmented.
Plessey says that its native green segments can emit 2 million units, and the total input power can be only 250 mW (probably for a monochrome green display, it is not clear). The Direct-Drive displays will be available in a size of less than 5x5 mm, will include a small size rechargeable battery and include Bluetooth, USB, UART, I2C and SDI interfaces/protocols.