Taiwan's AUO (previously AU Optronics) was formed in 2001, by the merger of Acer Display and Unipac Optoelectronics. Later in 2006 AUO merged with Quanta Display. AUO is the world's number 3 manufacturer of TFT-LCDs, and also produces OLED display in low volume.
AUO has an active micro-LED R&D project, and in 2018 it demonstrated what it claims to be the world's largest TFT-driven full color Micro-LED display prototype at 12.1".
Towards the end of 2023, AUO announced its plans to invest further in its microLED technologies, and re-iterated its plans to mass produce microLED smartwatch displays by the end of 2023 - and also to introduce automotive and TV displays. You can read more about AUO's microLED wearable display project here. In November 2023, AUO announced an agreement with PlayNitride, to build a $21.5 million 6-inch microLED production line at AUO's Longtan factory.
No. 1, Li-Hsin Rd. 2
Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu, 30078
Taiwan
AUO and Smartkem to co-develop rollable transparent microLED displays
UK-based OTFT developer Smartkem announced that it has partnered with AUO to jointly develop rollable transparent microLED displays, based on Smartkem's OTFT backplane technology. The project will be based on a novel OTFT production process developed at ITRI.
Smartkem believes its technology will not only enable high-end rollable transparent microLED displays, but it will also enable drastic cost reduction that will bring costs down to mass market prices. Smartkem's low-temperature processing enables the use of low-cost and flexible plastic substrates rather than glass, which the company says will be a decisive factor in bringing production costs down.
AUO is making significant progress with microLEDs, is building a 4.5-Gen production line
During the company's recent conference call, AUO said that the company is "making significant progress" in MicroLED technology, transitioning to a 4.5-Gen line. AUO's current microLED production line is referred to as a 1-Gen line, used to produce commercial wearable displays (although we understand yields are very low and production costs are still extremely high). The company hopes its new larger line will improve production efficiency and cost structure.
AUO said that the new production line will enable it to start producing automotive displays, which are expected to launch by 2026 or 2027.
Transparent microLED displays: a clear look at recent developments
The microLED display technology is highly promising, as these displays offer increased brightness, efficiency and lifetime over the current LCD and OLED displays. However adoption of microLED displays in the major display markets is still years away. One display segment that could see adoption of microLED display sooner, is the transparent display sector.
Transparent displays are very interesting and have been researched for many years - and we have seen commercial adoption of transparent LCD, LED and OLED displays. These never achieved meaningful market success, but microLED developers hope that once microLED transparent displays are available this could change, thanks to the higher transparency and brightness offered by microLEDs compared to OLEDs and LCDs.
In recent years, we have seen many companies demonstrating transparent microLED prototypes, and even deploying some solution commercially. We will detail some of these recent advances below.
AUO stays committed to microLED technologies, plans to increase investments
During the company's recent conference call, AUO said that the company is undergoing a strategic transformation, focusing on mobility solutions, vertical solutions, and the display segment. The company gave several interesting statements regarding its microLED project and investments.
First of all, the company says that microLED is a priority for the company, and it plans to allocate more resources into its microLED projects. AUO says that its microLED technology is 'gaining traction', and that it is producing microLED displays commercially, but it did not detail more. The company believes it is the leader in microLED development.
Reports suggest Samsung and LG are slowing down their microLED business plans
According to reports from Korea and Taiwan, both Samsung Display and LG Display have decided to slow down their microLED business plans. The main reasons behind this are the high production costs of microLEDs and high competition which is seen to lead to low profitability.
Samsung Display will continue to invest in microLED R&D, but has delayed plans to expand production. LG Display has already reduced the size of its microLED R&D teams and is looking into deploying some of its microLED developers into the OLED side of its business.
Trendforce sees $580 million in annual microLED chip sales by 2028
Trendforce estimates that the microLED market is set for fast growth in the near future, as companies continue to invest in large display applications, wearable products (mainly AUO) and AR and automotive applications. Trendforce says that microLED chip sales will increase from around $62 million in 2024 to $580 million by 2028 (a CAGR of 84% from 2023 to 2028).
Trendforce acknowledges that the inability to reduce costs and technical challenges are major factors behind the cancellation of Apple’s Micro LED watch project, and so continuous optimization of production processes remains critical for the development of the Micro LED industry.
AUO shows its latest microLED displays at Displayweek 2024
AUO had an impressive booth at Displayweek, showing some of its latest microLED prototypes. It is clear that the company is highly focused on microLED technology as its next-gen display strategy.
First up, with a 31" large area single-panel microLED, which AUO says is the world's largest. The display is produced on a single glass LTPS backplane, and offers 120Hz and a brightness of 500 nits. AUO calls this a Large Size A.R.T. MicroLED display.
AUO: MicroLEDs are already mature, we are leading the industry and already commenced mass production
During AUO's recent investor conference call, the company updated on its microLED project and made some interesting comments. First of all, AUO says that it has started to ship wearable microLED display panels at the end of 2024 (that's in line with AUO's previous announcement).
As far as we know, AUO is working with a Swiss luxury watch producer (like Tag Hauer) that will announce its microLED smartwatch soon. AUO says that it expects to expand its wearable microLED production soon.
AUO shows microLED display prototypes at Touch Taiwan 2024
Last week during Touch Taiwan 2024, AUO demonstrated several new (and not new) microLED display prototypes. The company released this short video showing the displays in action:
AUO showed its large-area (60") microLED displays, its automotive microLED solutions (including transparent automotive displays), a 30" real-depth 3D microLED display for entertainment applications, medical-grade displays and a 31" microLED display that is a single panel (not a tiled display) - which AUO says is the world largest.
Lenovo shows a prototype laptop with a 17.3-inch transparent microLED display, produced by AUO
Lenovo is demonstrating a new prototype laptop device that uses a 17.3" transparent microLED display (produced by AUO). This is just a prototype at this stage, Lenovo says it has no plans to actually commercialize its Project Crystal device.
Lenovo suggests several use cases for such a device - for example sharing information (in a doctor's office, or a hotel desk), or AR applications such as identifying objects behind the screen (although this seems more suitable for higher mobility devices such as tablets or smartphones).
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