A reporter from Securities Times noticed that "lack of cores and lack of screens" has been a problem that has plagued China's industry for many years. However, in recent years, China has suddenly emerged in the "screen" sector, especially in the LCD field, which has occupied the vast majority of the world's share. Against this background, the global industrial chain is constantly advancing into the next generation of new display technologies, among which Micro-LED is regarded as the "ultimate display technology." China's industrial chain, represented by Tianma Microelectronics and BOE, is accelerating its breakthrough and evolution.
Can be called a "hexagonal warrior"
It is understood that the so-called Micro-LED technology, that is, the miniaturization and matrixing technology of LED, represents the innovation of integrating high-density, tiny-sized LED arrays on a single chip. This technology allows each pixel of the LED display to be addressed and driven to light independently. It can be regarded as a miniature version of the outdoor LED display. The pixel pitch has been reduced from the millimeter level to the micron level, and the diameter of a human hair is only about 50 microns.
"In addition to the current mainstream display products LCD and OLED, Micro-LED, as an important display technology, is attracting social attention. Micro-LED is a self-luminous display technology, so it has very unique advantages in terms of brightness, resolution, lifespan, viewing angle, contrast, response time, power and working range. It can be said that it is a ‘hexagon warrior’ (describing those people or products that are excellent and all-round in all aspects). Geng Yi, executive deputy secretary-general of the China OLED Industry Alliance, said that as of 2023, the global Micro-LED patent reserve has exceeded 40,000 pieces. Especially since 2017, the activity of Micro-LED related R&D activities has increased significantly, and it is currently in a new period of explosive growth.
At present, the development of Micro-LED technology has entered a stage of rapid growth, and some new products applying Micro-LED technology are gradually becoming available. For example, at the 2024 Tianma Microelectronics Global Innovation Conference held recently, Tianma and its partner Hisense jointly released a 60-inch glass-based AM-driven Micro-LED seamless splicing screen. It adopts an ultra-fine pitch design (Pitch=0.4mm) and can realize free splicing between screens in the horizontal and vertical directions. It is the first Micro-LED product released by the company in the field of public display (PID).
"The Micro-LED seamless splicing screen we released is a zero-frame display. On the one hand, we use Tianma’s unique GOA (Gate on Active Area) backplane drive technology, a negative frame design is used on the substrate to reduce the frame width and achieve seamless splicing between cabinets; on the other hand, compared to the side wiring solutions of competitors, Tianma independently developed 3D coating side wiring technology, which can The efficiency of side wiring is increased by three times, while the cost is also reduced by about three times. "Xi Kerui, deputy director of Tianma Microelectronics Micro-LED Research Institute, said that Tianma will continue to iteratively improve its products and is expected to have more amazing seamless splicing with partners next year.Product launch.
At the time when Micro-LED products are first emerging, industry chain investment is also surging. According to incomplete statistics from LEDinside, 15 Mini/Micro-LED projects have been signed across the country this year, with a total investment amount of 68.895 billion yuan. The implementation of these latest projects will provide more resource reserves for future Mini/Micro-LED production and technology research and development.
It is not surprising that Chinese companies are fully committed to the research and development and project construction of Micro-LED, because behind it is a market with rapid growth and unlimited prospects. Research and Markets data shows that the global Micro-LED market value is estimated to reach US$25 billion in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 74.5% from 2023 to 2028.
The industrial chain accelerates and breaks through together
It should be noted that although Micro-LED is called "six-sided"Shape Warrior" and "Ultimate Display Technology", but currently Micro-LED still faces two major gaps in cost and technology, especially in the four key technologies of chip manufacturing, mass transfer, full-color display, and display driver. Geng Yi said frankly that the only shortcoming of Micro-LED now is its high price. How to reduce costs in the future is a common challenge faced by the entire industry.
"The entire industry chain has been moved. Geng Yi said that in order to solve the above problems, the entire industry chain is currently working hard to promote technological progress. The industry chain is promoting industrial development through resource integration, resource aggregation and mutual coordination between resources.
Qin Feng said that there are many challenges in this process. "Just like China started producing LCD 20 years ago and OLED 10 years ago, there must be various challenges at the beginning. But as long as this path is chosen correctly and various advantageous resources in the entire industry chain are gathered to focus on key research, these problems can be easily solved. ”
Qin Feng gave an example. In terms of yield and efficiency, production includes the material preparation stage, material production stage and repair stage.complex stage. "Each stage has a great impact on yield, but from the perspective of cost reduction, we need to move the focus forward. For example, in the material preparation stage, if the overall material preparation capability can be improved in this stage, the pressure in the next two stages will be much less. In the future, cost reduction will be an exponential development trend."
Huang Shaohua, deputy general manager of the GaN business unit of Xiamen Sanan Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., a company on the chip side of the Micro-LED industry chain, said: "The Micro-LED industry will be a year of accelerated development in 2024. Whether from a domestic or international perspective, we have deeply felt that this year everyone is becoming more and more clear about their needs. Coupled with the coordinated advancement of the entire supply chain in all walks of life, Micro-LED is becoming more and more mature. Especially in China, most screen manufacturers are deploying Micro-LED."
However, in the face of increasing and higher demands from the industry, Huang Shaohua admitted that the pressure is not small. "We need to support chips with a minimum size of 1 micron all the way up to 50 microns. Especially when the requirements are as small as 10 microns or less, we must use semiconductor-level processes. But the company is firmly developing in this direction and will invest a lot of investment in the future.sources to support all domestic and international needs. ”
In fact, China's industrial chain is currently making every effort to accelerate the mass production and commercialization of Micro-LED. In 2021, Tianma will unite more than 100 upstream and downstream manufacturers to establish the industry's first Micro-LED ecological alliance, carry out in-depth cooperation in key areas such as terminal application equipment and materials, and promote the rapid development and commercialization of the Micro-LED industry.
As many manufacturers have successively announced the launch of Micro-LED projects and technological breakthroughs, the development of the industry has further promoted the shipments of Micro-LED related equipment. In the second half of this year, many companies such as Yiben Technology, Maiwei Technology, Hefei Xinyihua, and Jingce Electronics have disclosed the delivery progress of Micro-LED equipment. _2kCxD ">
New breakthroughs are coming
It is understood that in the era of LCD and OLED, because Japanese and Korean companies started earlier, Chinese companies did not take the initiative in development, but currently in Micro-In terms of LED technology, Chinese companies are gradually moving towards the center of the display industry.
Some analysts pointed out that Micro-LED will be a very clear next-generation display technology in the next 5-10 years, and China's industrial chain is very determined to invest in this field. The current Micro-LED is equivalent to the OLED in 2015 and is at the forefront of mass production. At present, leading players have begun to make full efforts, moving from technical verification to the preparation stage for mass production.
For example, in 2022, Tianma invested in the construction of a full-process Micro-LED production line from mass transfer to module packaging, and held a lighting ceremony on June 26, 2024, officially entering a new stage of trial production and trial production, creating an industry-leading Micro-LED technology innovation research and development platform, product application development platform and industry-wide open scientific research results transformation platform. On November 6, 2024, BOE Huacan's Micro-LED wafer manufacturing and packaging testing base project was put into production in Zhuhai. The products produced are Micro-LED wafers and pixel devices, mainly for ultra-large and ultra-small size high-definition display scenarios.
Xikrui also revealed Tianma's latest progress in Micro-LED technology: "Tianma's Micro-LED production line plans to lock in all processes by the end of this year and achieve full process integration. Next year we will improve yield and efficiency based on the production line products, with the goal of achieving small batch shipments by the end of 2025. ”
In this regard, Peng Jianfeng, vice president of the China Electronic Video Industry Association, pointed out that China’s new display industry has gradually taken the lead in subdivided fields from following suit. “Especially in the Micro-LED field, China’s investment and R&D investment account for as much as 90% of the world, and in M. Micro-LED has made major breakthroughs in chip production, mass transfer, inspection and repair, full-color technology and chip research and development, and will usher in the large-scale industrial application of Micro-LED in business displays, home displays, mobile terminals, vehicle displays and other fields. ”
Analysts pointed out that from the current global industrial structure, compared with foreign countries, China's production capacity and technology in the Micro-LED industry are leading or at the same level. "Based on years of technology accumulation, as well as domestic support and service policies for technological innovation, Tianma and other Chinese companies have opportunities in Micro-LEDThe LED field takes the lead in achieving breakthroughs in key technologies and markets, and leads the development of the entire industry. At the same time, this also requires the entire industry to settle down, break through the key nodes of technology one by one, and jointly promote industrial development. ”
The breakthroughs made by Chinese companies in Micro-LED technology will bring greater possibilities to China's new display industry. Hu Chunming, executive deputy secretary-general of the LCD branch of the China Optics and Optoelectronics Industry Association, said frankly: "The new display industry is a basic industry in the information age and a key industry in the digital economy." The new display industry plays an irreplaceable role in the information age. The annual display panel market of hundreds of billions of dollars supports the display consumer market of over one trillion dollars, and it also drives the upstream materials and equipment market of over one hundred billion dollars. ”
ANNA