China-based MicroLED microdisplay developer Jade Bird Display announced that it has implemented new technologies that enabled it to reduce the average number of defective pixels in its microdisplays from around 100 to around 3 per panel. This increased the company's panel yields quite dramatically.
In addition to the improvement in defective pixels, the company also reduced the rate of its 'dark pixels' (which means pixels with reduced brightness) from around 0.4% a few years ago to only 0.03% today. This, in addition to the company's proprietary demura pixel-level luminance-compensation algorithm has greatly enhanced pixel-brightness uniformity.
To achieve this breakthrough improvement, JBD has been advancing on several fronts. First of all, the company refined the epitaxial structure to achieve uniform material density. It has also adopted innovative processes to ensure homogeneous pixel-level drive characteristics. The company also introduced new manufacturing equipment and advanced new tools to increase precision.
JBD also introduced new inspection steps, integrated into every stage of the process, with critical stages subject to rigorous monitoring and precise control, guaranteeing that the entire production flow meets the highest quality standards.
These new achievements will enable JBD to not only produce better displays, but will likely enable it to reduce production costs to enable further adoption of its displays in the AR market.
JBD has been shipping monochrome microLED microdisplays for some years, with several reported design wins, including with Xiaomi, TCL, Vuzix and likely Meta for its Orion glasses. In 2023, JBD started shipping engineering samples of single-panel RGB microLED microdisplays, banding these as the Phoenix series, while its monochrome panels are now branded as Hummingbird. The Phoenix series is designed to be used with 50+ degree FOV waveguides.
In 2023, JBD raised its A4 strategic financing round and together with the A3 round which closed last year, the company raised "hundreds of millions of Yuan" (which could mean anything from $30 million USD to $130 million). JBD's investors include Alibaba, Samsung, BYD and Geely. BYD is said to be working with JBD to develop MicroLED automotive applications. JBD is building a $92 million production line in Hefei that has entered production but hasn't yet reached full capacity. The production line's total capacity is 120 million 0.13" panels, at full capacity.
