BOE

HC Semitek installs the production equipment at its 6-inch microLED epiwafer fab in Jinwan

In August 2023, China-based HC Semitek started building its microLED epiwafer production line in Jinwan District, Zhuhai, China. The first phase of the $700 million microLED fab is expected to enter production by the end of 2024.

HC Semitek announced a few days ago that it has moved in and installed the production equipment in its new line. The company says it is on track to produce the first sample wafers in Q3 2024, and mass production is expected by the end of the year. The investment in the first phase will total $275 million USD.

Read the full story Posted: May 31,2024

BOE shows a new microLED display prototype at SID Displayweek 2024

BOE had a large demonstrating at SID Displayweek 2024, showing several of its latest displays and prototypes - including many flexible and foldable OLED displays, automotive AMOLEDs, new OLED technology demonstrators and two OLED microdisplays.

BOE also showed a microLED display demonstrator, which it called the MicroLED Transformer Display, that included two panels that can connect in an almost seamless way (but not completely). The displays are flexible (curved) with a 0.3 mm pitch display (P0.3). Other specifications include a brightness of up to 2,000 nits (peak), and a refresh rate of 90Hz. 

Read the full story Posted: May 24,2024

Rohinni shuts down, files for bankruptcy

US-based Rohinni was established in 2013, and focused on miniLED and microLED technologies for lighting and displays. The company, one of the microLED industry pioneers, unfortunately recently shut down and filed for bankruptcy. This 

Rohinni miniLED bondhead deposition photo

Rohinni developed precise placement technology that can achieve speeds greater than 100Hz for mini LEDs. The company has achieved mass product production volumes with its keyboard and logo backlighting joint venture, Luumii. 

Read the full story Posted: Mar 01,2024

HC Semitek starts building a $700 million microLED production line in Zhuhai, China

China-based HC Semitek is embarking on a 5 billion Yuan project (almost $700 million USD) to produce microLED wafers in Jinwan District, Zhuhai, China. The project will have three phases, with the first one (estimated at $275 million) has officially started last month.

HC Semitek hopes to light up the new production line in September 2024, and to start production by December 2024. When all three phases are complete, the new production line will have a yearly capacity of 58,800 microLED wafers (we do not the wafer size at this project, but we estimate these are 8-inch wafers). It is not clear from the reports, but this production line may also produce mini LEDs, not just microLEDs.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 01,2023

BOE developed a transparent direct-view mini-LED display

BOE announced that it has developed a new high-transparency mini-LED directview display, that offers a transparency of 65% and a brightness of over 1,000 nits.

BOE says that it achieved this high performance by optimizing the pixel circuit and designing a new pixel structure. BOE also used a new innovative design for the transparent area (it achieved a transparency of 95% in the transparent areas) and an optimized wiring structure.

Read the full story Posted: Oct 28,2022

Yole Developpement: the rate of MicroLED patent filing is rising exponentially

Yole Developpement reports that about 5,500 microLED patents (2,500 patent families) have been filed, by more than 350 organizations. The rate of patent filing is growing exponentially - 40% of the patents were filed in 2019.

Patent publication timeline (2001-2019, Yole Developpement)

According to Yole, the recent patent filing shows that the industry is moving from prototypes to commercial consumer displays. Other notable new finding include that startup companies are a major innovation force, Apple is slowing down with its IP (but this could mean that the company is now focused on commercialization), and Samsung pursues multiple development tracks. BOE is another strong microLED IP player, with almost 150 patent familiies filed in 2019.

Read the full story Posted: Apr 17,2020

Rohinni and BOE launch a micro-LED JV called BOE Pixey, first products to reach the market by the end of 2020

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).

Rohinni flexible Micro-LED lighting prototype photo

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.

Read the full story Posted: Dec 22,2019

Rohinni and BOE to collaborate on micro-LED and mini-LED LCD backlighting units

US-based Rohinni announced a new joint venture with China-based display maker BOE. The new JV (which will be based in China and controlled by BOE) will develop LCD mini-LED and micro-LED backlighting units.

The JV will adopt Rohinni's proprietary high-speed MicroLED placement technology that is capable of placing 50 die-per-second (dps) with 10 micron accuracy at 99.999% die yields. BOE and Rohinni will initially focus on large panel applications (32-inch and up) for consumer electronic products in addition to all display sizes for industrial, automotive and other markets

Read the full story Posted: Jan 13,2019