In December 2020, TCL CSOT and Quanzhou Sanan jointly established Xinying Display, with a planned total investment of 300 million yuan, focusing on the massive transfer, bonding, detection and repair technologies required for Micro LED based on TFT drive backplanes.
It is understood that Micro LED chips have small size and high precision and cannot be transferred through traditional process technology. Each process such as chip incoming materials and bonding process must be inspected and repaired. Key parameters such as the uniformity and consistency of photoelectric parameters such as chip brightness and wavelength, as well as whether there are appearance defects, etc., need to be inspected and judged, and corresponding technical means to be adopted for subsequent repairs need to be determined. Detection and repair is another key technology to be overcome in Micro LED displays.
In view of this, Xinying Display comprehensively utilizes the technology and resources of both shareholders to focus on the engineering research and development of new Micro LED displays and is committed to realizing large-scale production of Micro LED displays, mainly to solve the intermediate link from chip to display.
It is understood that the Xinying Display Micro-LED display technology R&D center project received approval from the Xiamen Huli Ecological Environment Bureau on July 22, 2021. The approved scale is to develop 1,056 G4.5 generation line Micro LED displays annually, with a total investment of 300 million yuan.
2022年1月，芯颖显示Micro LED技术研发项目开工。 In September this year, according to Huli Toutiao public account news, Xinying Display’s pilot verification line has been basically completed. Pilot production is planned to begin at the end of this year, and it is expected to expand production and achieve mass production in the next two years.
2024年3月，项目提出了改建，改为从事基于 G2.5 代 TFT 基板的 Micro LED 显示屏的研发，并增资500万元。
As a new generation of display technology, Micro LED uses micron-sized LEDs as light-emitting pixel units. It has the characteristics of small chip size, high integration and self-illumination. Compared with traditional display technologies LCD and OLED, it has obvious advantages in brightness, resolution, contrast, energy consumption, service life, response speed and thermal stability. It is even considered to be the ultimate solution for future displays.
11月27日消息，DSCC最新发表的《Micro LED显示技术与市场前景报告》显示，由于苹果取消推出Micro LEDApple Watch, market forecasts have changed significantly compared to 2023. Wearable devices were previously expected to be the largest application area for Micro LED displays, but now they have become the third after TVs and AR/VR.
In the field of small and medium-sized Micro LED, Apple’s withdrawal has made AUO successfully become the new leader in Micro LED smart watches, supplying panels to TAG Heuer and Garmin.
DSCC stated that although AUO has successfully improved the Micro LED yield rate in 2024 and plans to further reduce costs next year, the price of Micro LED is still expected to far exceed that of OLED. However, Micro LED still has market potential in high-end or professional devices. As a result, DSCC also raised AUO's panel shipment forecast.
In addition, panel manufacturers such as AUO have also expanded Micro LED applications into the automotive field. As a premium alternative to LCD or OLED, Micro LED displays offer more possibilities for innovative designs. In the field of AR/VR, some smart glasses currently use Micro LED displays. These displays are called "LEDoS" (LED on Silicon) and are manufactured using SiC MOS substrates.
Meta recently demonstrated a display based on Micro LEDOrion smart glasses prototype with sensor and silicon carbide (SiC) light guide plate. DSCC pointed out that Micro LED is regarded as a key technology for future smart glasses, but there are still challenges to achieve full-color display.
In the field of Micro LED TVs, Samsung is the leading brand. Samsung currently launches three models in the US market, with starting prices of US$110,000. Although the price cannot compete with OLED TVs, Micro LED can provide larger size products than OLED, so it is positioned as the preferred solution for high-end home theaters.
TCL’s fate and price may bring certain competitive pressure. Assuming significant annual price declines, the TV market will be the main growth driver, with DSCC expecting total Micro LED display shipments to increase ninefold by 2026 compared to 2024.
Looking back at 2024, Micro LED projects will continue to enter new stages of production, and the scale of Micro LED production will be increased in 2025. In addition to Xinying Display, Micro LED projects from Shenzhen Tianma, AUO, BOE Huacan, Stan Technology and other companies have entered a new stage.
ANNA