According to reports from Japan, AUO is thinking about closing down its 4.5-Gen AMOLED production line in Singapore, as the company is shifting its focus on microLED display technologies.

AUO's first target it to start producing wearable microLED displays. It has reportedly signed a deal with Tag Heuer to supply it with smartwatch displays. In April 2023 AUO 'launched' its wearable microLED display, and it seems it is ready to begin small scale production. It will take time for AUO to expand production, as the path towards low-cost and mass-production of microLED displays (even for applications such as smartwatches) it not clear yet. 

According to reports from China, MicroLED microdisplay developer Jade Bird Display has successfully raised its A4 strategic financing round. It is reported that 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.

We're happy to interview Yenrich, as part of our series of interviews with MicroLED Industry Association members. Yenrich, spun-off from Epistar and now part of the Ennostar group, develops mini-LED and micro-LED packaging. The company is focused on direct-view displays, both miniLED based and microLED based.

Hello! Can you introduce your company and technology?

Yenrich, a member of Ennostar, focuses on the development of Mini/Micro LED technology and products for fine pitch displays and provides customers with integrated solutions of front-end chips and back-end system applications.

Q: Can you say why you joined the microLED association and what it is you hope to achieve?
1.    Learn the latest Mini/Micro LED technology and information from the MIA and get more correct product roadmap in this field
2.    Understand the needs of Micro LED for AR/VR and automotive applications and technology

Taiwan-based Innolux demonstrated several new microLED display prototypes at Display Week 2023.

First up is a small round active-matrix 1.1" 374x374 (338) PPI microLED panel. This one was produced on an LTPS backplane and offers a brightness of 500 nits (relatively low for a microLED display. The LEDs are 40 um in size.

During Display Week 2023, Seoul Semiconductor demonstrated new prototype display modules that use its WICOP microPixel technology. WICOP Pixel is a full-color one-chip vertically-stacked microLED technology that does not require wire bonding, packaging, or lens, and enables easier microLED display production.

Seoul Semi updates that its latest WICOP Pixels reach a brightness of 10,000 nits (up from 4,000 in its previous generation technology).

AUO has demonstrated its latest microLED displays at Display Week 2023. Most of these displays have been shown before, but this was an impressive lineup for the Taiwanese display maker, and we'll detail the displays below.

So first up we have the 13.5" 1920x1080 (163 PPI) transparent microLEDs, which AUO says is the highest-resolution transparent microLED display ever demonstrated. The display offers a transparency of 55% and a high brightness of 5,000 nits. The microLEDs used in this display are 30 micron in size.

MicroLED developer VueReal says that it achieved a breakthrough in its MicroSolid Printing Platform, enabling it to go below 7um LED pitch (on the wafer) for full color microLED deposition. The company reports that its newest (and smallest) microLEDs show minimal impact on EQE, and this enables high-efficiency display production.

VueReal says that its new technology could soon compete on price with OLED displays while offering higher performance, and could be viable for many display segments - from wearables through smartphones to automotive and more. According to its current tests, its microLED displays will offer a brightness of 3,000 nits (and higher), while consuming around half the power compared to the latest AMOLED displays. In addition, its printing process is highly scalable and should not have a problem handling the demands of even the smartphone industry with hundreds of millions of displays per year.

A few days ago, AUO announced that it has finalized the development of its wearable microLED display, and the company is now launching the 1.39" round smartwatch display commercially, with mass production expected in the second half of 2023.

Yesterday AUO announced that it plans to convert its LCD 5A fab in Taiwan's Longtan District into a microLED production line. The new line will begin microLED production in 2025 or 2026, targeting wearable displays, automotive displays, TVs and signage displays. 

AU Optronics released some very interesting information as the company gets ready to showcase its latest microLED displays and technologies at Touch Taiwan 2023.

So first of all, AUO announced that it has finalized the development of its wearable microLED display, and the company is now launching the 1.39" round smartwatch display commercially. AUO demonstrated the wearable microLED display back in 2021 - a 1.39-inch 472x472 full-circle panel, that was developed together with PlayNitride. It's not clear when AUO actually plans to start selling this display to its customers, and what will be its production capacity.

The European Electronics Display Conference (edC), which takes place next week at Nuremberg, Germany, is a leading display conference, which takes part as part of the embedded world event. The conference focuses on industrial and automotive displays, and includes two days of keynote speeches and sessions.

MicroLEDs are featured at the conference, as the organizers realize the importance of the next-generation display technology. We had a short talk with the conference charimen Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Blankenbach from Pforzheim University's Display Lab. 

Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Dr. Karlheinz. Can you tell us a bit about the Electronic Display Europe Conference?