Apple's any signs of trouble are likely to become a hot topic in the technology circle. There are rumors that Apple's next-generation iPhone will use OLED display, set off at home and abroad OLED investment tide, so that the original small minority of the first in the circle of light-emitting OLED. Two years ago, Apple acquired LuxVue, let silence for many years Micro-LED to dust, began with Apple's aura show people. Can Micro-LED Challenge Major LCDs and Upcoming OLEDs?
Sony once again launched Micro-LED TV
Apple is only Micro-LED newcomers, Sony is the veteran of the technology. Sony has long been on the Micro-LED-related technology research, and in 2012 at the International Consumer Electronics Show launched "Crystal LED Display", the first Micro-LED technology used in the field of consumer electronics.
But in the next four years, Sony did not mention Micro-LED TV, no longer announced the relevant products. Sony 2012 micro-LED technology before and after the attitude of why two? Trendipce LED technology industry leader LED industry research analyst Philip Chang pointed out that theoretically, LED size can reach hundreds of microns, chips and packaging is not a problem, but the technical level that year, to do a FHD Crystal LED Display means to play 6.22 million LED, efficiency and yield is too low, the cost is too high, to achieve large-scale market is unrealistic.
Four years later, Sony did not stop, in the apple's stimulation, Sony Infocomm in June and then put out the Crystal series of new CLEDIS (Crystal LED Integrated Structure), which products flagship "modular splicing", but the single The number of LED significantly reduced, PPI from the original 40 down to 15. Which makes mass production possible, Sony confidently claim that 2017 CLEDIS will achieve mass production.
Sun Yat-sen University, School of Electronics and Information Engineering Associate Professor Liu Zhaojun that Sony is currently using the Benbanfa, will be an LED stitching together or a thousand 1000 LED at the same time stitching, transfer cycle and production time is relatively long, , Not suitable for mass production. If you want to achieve mass production, we must achieve large quantities, high precision, high yield of the transfer. Lehman shares R & D director Tu Menglong also pointed out that only through the rate of 100%, tens of thousands or even hundreds of millions of LED may not be dead, it is very difficult, the need for technical maturity, at least next year will not mature, so Sony next year to achieve the possibility of mass production is relatively low.
Micro-LED is not popular with domestic manufacturers
Apple's entry into the Micro-LED, not only accelerated the progress of the production of Sony, but also aroused the interest of domestic LED manufacturers. Set a North CEO Zhang Jinfang revealed that domestic LED manufacturers have begun to develop Micro-LED technology. It is understood that last year, Riard launched a super P0.9 mm high-definition seamless wall, which is the first on the market to achieve mass production of less than 1 mm pitch LED display, but mainly used in indoor monitoring Field, unlike Apple and Sony main can wear and large screen TV field.
Although the domestic LED in the commercial market to form a certain scale, domestic LED equipment to follow up the process of accelerating the localization of LED, but most of the domestic LED manufacturers revenue is small, the current focus on LED commercial market itself, for Micro-LED this Prospective technology investment is relatively small, the domestic LED-related meetings on the Micro-LED is not much discussion. Why domestic LED manufacturers are not enthusiastic about Micro-LED?
Tu Menglong said that Apple and Sony's Micro-LED is cut from the chip point of view, the domestic small pitch LED from the display point of view, although they are doing a small pitch LED, but the scale is not the same. Domestic LED industry is not a company to vertically integrate the entire industry chain, each company has their own focus on a ring, do the chip to do the chip, do the packaging only do the packaging, do the application of specialized applications. And now most of the small pitch LED concentrated in the application layer, has not yet extended from the application layer to the upstream industry chain, but did not reach the chip layer. Now the domestic production of small-distance LED is P1.2 ~ 1.5 mm, the smallest is P0.9 mm.
While the Apple and Sony Micro-LED are the underlying CMOS integrated circuit manufacturing process with LED display driver circuit, and then use the MOCVD machine in the integrated circuit LED array, To 100 microns, the domestic small pitch LED and Apple and Sony's Micro-LED difference of an order of magnitude.
More importantly, the Micro-LED heat is mainly led by Apple, Apple Micro-LED technology is still in the research stage, there is still some distance from the industrialization. Liu Zhaojun that the Micro-LED is like 30 years ago, the same LCD, through the continuous improvement of the industry chain to reduce costs and improve production capacity. For domestic manufacturers, the current, Micro-LED future is not clear, will follow the main, with the existing technology, patent layout, and when the real influx of Micro-LED market also need to see Apple and Sony's technology Breakthrough and market trends.
Can Micro-LED Challenge LCD and OLED?
Micro-LED combines low power, high brightness, ultra-high resolution and color saturation, fast response, ultra-power, longer life, higher efficiency in one, compared with LCD and OLED, Micro-LED brightness And color saturation advantage is very obvious. Tu Menglong pointed out that Micro-LED indoor screen brightness can reach 1000 ~ 2000nit, LCD screen brightness can only reach several hundred nit. In addition, Micro-LED can be used three primary colors or four primary colors and other programs, the color area covers a wider, better display.
At present, Micro-LED can form two application direction, one is based on Apple as the representative of the wearable market; one is represented by Sony's large size TV market. In the wearable market to smart watches and smart bracelets as the representative, if Apple's current market share, Apple watches if all use Micro-LED, OLED wearable market has a greater impact. If Micro-LED into the mobile phone market, requires a higher PPI or flexible, more difficult technology, compared with the LCD and OLED no competitive advantage. So Micro-LED OLED industry can not form a big impact, after all, can wear the market in the OLED market, the proportion is very small.
And large size, is the cost of competition, Micro-LED competitive advantage is not obvious. IHS Display Search panel analyst Yu Ningning pointed out that Micro-LED in the big size of the challenge is very large, over the years, compared with the LCD, OLED, LED in the cost and did not form an advantage, and from the Micro-LED actual investment And progress, Micro-LED influence did not imagine so much. LCD cost is low, yield stability, competitiveness is very strong. Like the LCD and PDP, LCD and Micro-LED future competition is not only related to the technical competition, but also involves the industrial chain and ecological competition.
So, Micro-LED just because Apple's keen to make it the focus of attention, but whether the LCD or OLED to form a challenge is also full of uncertainty. Beijing Jiaotong University professor Xu Zheng said that the development of technology requires a process, do not rush to say Micro-LED instead of LCD or OLED. Because the development of an industry is also related to the surrounding technology, for example, if the lithography does not develop, the resolution of the display can not be improved. Micro-LED can only be said to be a possible impact on the LCD or OLED technology.