In 2020 China-based LED display maker Leyard Opto-Electronic launched its first microLED display modules, that can be used to create seamless large-area microLED displays. Now we hear that Chinese conglomerate CHN Energy Investment has installed the world's largest microLED display using Leyard's displays.

This display, produced and installed by Leyard, is 216 sqm in size, and has close to 250 million pixels - or over 7 times 8K resolution. The display was installed at CHN Energy's new Command and Control center.

Sony introduced its next-generation microLED display technology (direct-view LED as the company calls it), the high contrast Crystal LED C-series (ZRD-C12A/C15A) and the high brightness B-series (ZRD-B12A/B15A).

The new display modules offer two pixel pitch sizes (in both series), 1.26 mm and 1.56 mm and are equipped with Sony's "X1 for Crystal LED" image quality processor, which features Sony's signal processing technology and microLED control technology. Other features include high-quality and high-resolution upscaling, Sony's Motionflow technology for smooth and artifact-free pictures without motion blur, 22 bit Super Bit Mapping, 120 fps (HFR) and HDR.

AU Optronics president, Paul Peng, says that he expects Micro-LED displays to enter the market within 1-2 years. The first displays will be large-area signage and small-sized VR displays. Micro-LEDs for the automotive market will take longer to commercialize - around 5 years.

AUO recently demonstrated a 12.1" LTPS micro-LED display prototype that features a resolution of 1920x720 (169 PPI). AUO discloses that this display was produced using the company's self-developed transfer process that can move 50,000 - 60,000 LEDs per transfer (AUO did not detail the time it takes to perform a single transfer, though). AUO is now developing repair technology to take care of damaged LEDs.

Sony is set to install the world's largest micro-LED display - 16K (15360x4320) 19.2 x 5.4 meters "CLEDIS" panel that was installed at Shiseido new research center in Yokohama, Japan.

Sony is also creating its own 16K content specifically for this display, using a method it call œdemosaicing to create ש quad ultra-high definition footage.

Display signage company Daktronics introduced its first mini-LED display, branded as the Optica. The company says that it achieved a resolution "similar to LCD display resolution" but at much higher brightness levels (6,000 nits) while drawing half the power. Daktronics actually calls this a Micro-LED display, but as the pixel pitch is 0.9mm, it cannot really be called a micro-LED.

It is not clear whether Daktronics produces the display panel itself, and how close it is to commercialize this technology. Daktronics says that it is possible to scale up its Optica displays (to pretty much unlimited sizes) - a Full-HD (1080x1920) Optical display will be 1.037 x 1.8434 meter in size, while a 4K one will be 2.074x3.686 meters.

n-tech Research says that the Micro-LED market will emerge in 2019, with sales reaching $2.7 billion. The market will grow very quickly to reach over $70 billion in 2027.

n-Tech says that the immediate markets for Micro-LED displays will be near-eye displays (AR/VR), automotive HUDs and projectors - as these will benefit mostly from the small size, low weight, high brightness and high resolution of Micro-LED displays. Wearables (smartwatches) is another lucrative market (n-Tech sees $1.6 billion in smartwatch Micro-LED display sales in 2022).

Sony demonstrated two of its Micro-LED Crystal-LED "CLEDIS" integrated displays at ISE 2018. Sony's main displays at ISE was a large 8K x 2K Crystal-LED display, that reportedly was very impressive. Sony also demonstrated a small "Baby" Crystal-LED display, about 120-inch in size, at its booth.

According to Sony employees at the booth, the large CLEDIS took around 50 hours to build, and the cost of such a display is around $1.8 million. The smaller CLEDIS at around 120" will cost bout $500,000. I wish to thank Omar Ayers for providing the photos and the information from ISE.

According to LEDsInside, Korea-based LED developer Lumens has begun to produce small and large-area micro-LED display prototypes, and it plans to demonstrate these prototypes at CES 2018 (January 2018).

Lumens focuses on automotive HUD displays and digital signage. The small HUD display is a 0.57-inch VGA (640x480) display (either VGA or 720p, it's not clear) that uses 8 μm LED chips while the signage display is a 100" panel that uses LEDs which are 300x100 μm.

Digitimes reports 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. The project aims to develop high-density Micro-LED displays.

EOSRL plans to demonstrate first large-size signage display prototypes in H1 2018 with trial production to begin by the end of 2018.