Seoul Viosys and Seoul Semiconductors have jointly developed a new MicroLED technology, called Micro Clean LED that basically packages three separate LEDs (red, green and blue) into a single "one-single MicroLED pixel".
The idea is that these packaged colored pixels will be easier to transfer to the target substrate compared to the transfer of three different LEDs. The package itself does not contain any driver ICs.
Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed a new process that enables the fabrication of highly dense MicroLED displays - up to 63,500 PPI (!).
The technique involves stacking RGB LEDs in three dimensions and a semiconductor patterning process. Stacking LEDs one on top of the other creates color interference issues, and to overcome this the researchers deposited an insulating film between the layers. This also improved the efficiency of the microLED devices.
Samsung announced that it will introduce new modular MicroLED TVs for the consumer market (The wall Luxury) in 2020, with 75", 88", 93", 110", 146", 150", 219" and 292" size options. It's professional The Wall MicroLED TVs are fully customized in size.
Samsung is showing these next-generation TVs at CES 2020 - as you can see in the videos above and below - some very nice demonstrations!
Samsung announced that it will introduce new modular MicroLED TVs for the consumer market (The wall Luxury) in 2020. Samsung says it takes advantage of "production improvements" to introduce new size options - and brighter panels.
In addition to the currently available 75, 146, 219 and 292 inch options, Samsung will now offer 88, 93, 110 and 150 inch displays, that will feature peak brightness of 5,000 nits (up from 2,000 in the previous models).
Taiwan-based LED producer Epistar is in talks with China-based LED display maker Leyard Opto-Electronic to setup a Mini-LED and Micro-LED production site in Wuxi, China. The two companies (actually Leyard and Epistar's subsidiary Yenrich Technology) will setup a joint-venture with a budget of $142 million.
Leyard says that the plan is to form the joint venture six months after getting the final approval for the plan. This will enable the production to begin in the new fab in 2023. It is still not clear whether the new fab will produce mini and micro LED chips - or actual displays.
2019 is soon over - and it was another interesting year for the MicroLED industry - as we've seen more R&D activities, new prototypes and announcements - and promises of new product launches in 2020.
Here are the top 10 stories posted on MicroLED-Info in 2019, ranked by popularity (i.e. how many people read the story):
China-based display maker Konka announced it is building a micro-LED research and development center in Chongqing, China. Total investment in this initiative is around $365 million, out of which Konka will invest $215 million (the rest is contributed by the local government)
These funds will be used to purchase micro-LED production equipment, R&D and also to increase the production of support the sale of Micro-LED related products. Konka hopes that this investment will propel it to leadership in the microLED industry. Konka believes that Micro-LED will become the leading technology for ultra-high quality consumer TVs.
In early 2019 Rohinni announced a collaboration with China-based display maker BOE, and now the companies announced that they are launching the JV as a separate company called BOE Pixey, which will design and build micro-LED based LCD display backlights and direct-emission displays - focusing on large-area displays (32-inch and up).
BOE Pixel will also develop related sensors for large-format displays. BOE Pixey integrates Rohinni's mini-LED and micro-LED manufacturing process with BOE's display panel production experience and leadership. The company says that first products that utilize its displays will reach the market in the second half of 2020.
China-based display maker Konka launched tiled large micro-LED displays, under the APHAEA brand. These are modular displays (similar to Samsung's The Wall and Sony' Crystal LED displays) and Konka demonstrated several possible configurations - including 118" 4K and 236" 8K.
Konka already announced the prices of its new TVs - the 118" 4K one costs around $240,000 while the 236" 8K TV costs $1.25 million. For those that think that this is extremely expensive, Konka says that the cost is around 30% cheaper than a comparable Samsung The Wall TV (Samsung is not disclosing the prices of these tailor made displays).
In May 2019 PMOLED display maker RiTDisplay announced a strategic partnership and share swap with MicroLED developer PlayNitride, and RiT later said it aims to release its first product to the market in 2020.
RiT announced today that its revenues for the year (to date) were $47.1 million USD - a decrease of 32.4% compared to last year. The company's CEO says that its PMOLED sales has been affected by e-cigarette bans in the US, and the company is now shifting its focus to develop micro LED displays (and also mini-LED ones).