Taiwan-based PlayNitride was established in June 2014 to research and develop Nitride related materials and applications. The fabless company is now focusing on GaN based MicroLEDs.
PlayNitride developed its own microLED epiwafer production process (using Aixtron's G5+ MOCVD systems), its own stamp-based transfer technology and also its own repair technology (SMAR.Tech).
PlayNitride started to sample micro-LED at the end of 2017, and in May 2018 PlayNitride demonstrated its first Micro-LED prototypes. PlayNitride has a pilot production facility at Hsinchu Science Park. In 2020 PlayNitride started constructing a second production line that will start mass producing in H2 2021.
PlayNitride is collaborating with many companies, including AU Optronics, TCL's CSoT, Samsung, RiTDisplay and Tianma. In November 2023, AUO announced that PlayNitride will build a 6-inch microLED production line at AUO's Longtan factory in a $21.5 million agreement. In September 2023 PlayNitride announced it is increasing its production capacity, and by the end of the year it will be able to produce 10,000 6" wafers per month up from about 2,000.
In 2022, the company went public and it now trades at the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s Taiwan Innovation Board.
No.13, Kezhong Rd.
Zhunan Township, Miaoli County 350401
Taiwan
CSoT demonstrates a 3.3" transparent Micro-LED prototype produced in collaboration with PlayNitride
TCL subsidiary China Star (CSoT) demonstrated a 3.3" 232x116 transparent Micro-LED prototype display. The display is built on an Oxide-TFT (IGZO) backplane - CSoT says that this is the first such display ever demonstrated. The transparency is around 45%.
CSoT says that it developed the display in collaboration with PlayNitride that provided the transfer technology for CSoT.
Digitimes: RiTDisplay plans to start producing smartwatch MicroLED displays in 2020
In May 2019 Taiwan-based PMOLED display maker RiT Display announced a strategic partnership and share swap with MicroLED developer PlayNitride. Digitimes now states that RiT expects to start shipping its first microLED smartwatch displays in 2020.
According to the new report, a US-based smartwatch brand will start a design process in Q3 2019 using a 1.25" micro-LED display that was co-developed by RiTDisplay and PlayNitride. RiT will start shipping samples in Q4 2019.
Digitimes: EOSRL achieved a breakthrough in its micro-LED transfer process
In November 2017 we reported that Taiwan's Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories (EOSRL, part of ITRI) has launched a project that brings together PlayNitride, LED driver IC designer Macroblock and PCB maker Unimicron with an aim to develop production technologies for high-density Micro-LED displays.
Digitimes today reports that EOSRL has achieved a breakthrough in its mass transfer technology, and is now able to transfer 10,000 micro-LED chips from an sapphire-based epitaxial wafer onto a substrate within an hour. EOSRL demonstrated the process with PCB, Polyimide and glass substrates. Trial production runs will commence in Q4 2019.
Tianma's 7.56" transparent Micro-LED prototypes developed in partnership with PlayNitride
Earlier this week China-based Tianma unveiled a new 7.56" 720x480 (114 PPI) transparent Micro-LED display prototype at SID, and the display won SID's people's choice award - the best new display technology.
Tianma today revealed that the Micro-LED prototype was co-developed with Taiwan's PlayNitride. In 2017 PlayNitride started to sample micro-LED panels and shipped samples to 10-20 potential customers. The company's chairman and CEO, Charles Li, said in June 2018 that 5-6 of these customers are continuing the developing of micro-LED modules based on these panels. Apparently TianMa is one of these customers.
RiTDisplay and PlayNitride form a stragetic partnership
Taiwan-based PMOLED display maker RiT Display announced a strategic partnership and share swap with MicroLED developer PlayNitride. RiTDisplay will have access to PlayNitride's technology and will be able to produce and sell micro-LED panels.
According to the Taipei times, RiTDisplay aims to produce small displays for wearable applications. The article says the display size will be around 3-inch, which actually sounds rather large for wearables.
PlayNitride and Aixtron to collaborate on Micro-LED development
Aixtron and PlayNitride signed a joint-collaboration agreement to accelerate Micro-LED development. Aixtron will deliver an AIX G5+ C MOCVD system to Playnitride, that will be used to produce GaN-based Micro LED devices.
Aixtron says that the G5+ C is an advanced advanced production tool that offers market leading wavelength uniformity to meet the tightened Micro LED market specifications in a batch reactor high-throughput environment. The system allows for the lowest defect and particle level in the industry due to an effective in-situ cleaning technology and the cassette-to-cassette handler which is essential for high yields. The G5+ C MOCVD was recently ordered by Plessey for its own GaN-on-Silicon Micro-LED development and production.
Samsung to launch a 75" Micro-LED TV in 2019 based on PlayNitride's chips?
According to a new report from Taiwan, Samsung Electronics is planning to release a 75" consumer Micro-LED TV in 2019, using LED chips and technologies from Taiwan's PlayNitride. Samsung will also invest further in PlayNitride to help it increase its production capacity (Samsung's stake in PlayNitride will reach 30% following this investment).
In July 2018 Samsung Electronics video and display chief, Han Jong-hee, said that Samsung aims to release a Micro-LED consumer TV next year - The Wall Luxury that will be based on its Wall modular TV. It could be that this will be the 75" TV that will use PlayNitride's chips.
PlayNitride to launch its first Micro-LED display products in 2019?
LEDs Inside reports that PlayNitride aims to release its first Micro-LED display products in 2019. In 2017 the company started to sample micro-LED panels and shipped samples to 10-20 potential customers. The company's chairman and CEO, Charles Li, said in June 2018 that 5-6 of these customers are continuing the developing of micro-LED modules based on these panels.
In May 2018 PlayNitride demonstrates two Micro-LED prototypes - a small 0.89" 64x64 (105 PPI) panel with a brightness of 800 nits and a larger 3.12" 256x256 (116 PPI) panel.
PlayNitride demonstrates micro-LED prototypes at SID 2018
Taiwan's PlayNitride demonstrates two Micro-LED prototypes at SID 2018. The first one is a small 0.89" 64x64 (105 PPI) panel with a brightness of 800 nits. All of the LED chips in this display were transferred in three shots (one shot per color). The pixel size in this display is 0.243 mm.
The second display is a larger panel - 3.12" 256x256 (116 PPI). Due to the larger number of LEDs (total of 786K LEDs) PlayNitride had to use 24 shots to transfer all three colored chips. The pixel size in this larger display is 0.219 mm.
First impressions from SID Displayweek 2018
The world's leading display conference, SID DisplayWeek, is now over, and it was a very exciting event. This is just a quick first impression post - you can expect several MicroLED-Info articles in the next couple of weeks after we get back to the office and sort through all the materials, interviews, photos and videos we have.
DisplayWeek is all about display technologies - and it seems that this year Micro-LED technologies and displays were all over the place. We've seen many Micro-LED demonstrations, prototypes and technical discussions. Of course LCDs and OLEDs are still the dominant technologies, but it seems many companies are investing in Micro-LED R&D as it is a promising next-generation display technology.
