Zhaochi Optoelectronics: Unlocking the four-dimensional optimization path for Mini LED backlight commercialization

At the crossroads of display technology iterations, Mini LED backlight technology is setting off a display revolution with its mature industrial chain foundation and significant image quality improvements. Recently, at TrendForce's new display industry seminar, Liao Yansuo, FAE manager of Shenzhen Zhaochi Guangyuan Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zhaochi Group, attended and delivered a speech, deeply analyzing the technological evolution, market trends and commercialization paths of Mini LED backlight technology.

Shenzhen Guangyuan FAE Manager Liao Yansuo

Trend evolution: from technological breakthrough to market sinking

Behind the rise and development of Mini LED backlight technology is the systematic technical counterattack launched by the LCD camp against the threat of OLED technology.

On the one hand, Mini LED backlight technology uses "backlight upgrade" to make the LCD contrast close to OLED through zoned light control technology; on the other hand, it strengthens its cost advantage, allowing Mini LED backlight technology to establish a dominant position in multiple market segments.

Especially in the TV field, Mini LED TV shipments will be 8.2 million units in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 100%. In terms of penetration rate, the penetration rate of Mini LED TV will increase from 2% in 2023 to 3.8% in 2024; while the penetration rate of OLED TV will be 3.2% in 2024 - this year, Mini LED TV surpassed OLED TV in penetration rate for the first time.

Liao Yansuo pointed out that the current consumer demand for TVs has shifted from functionality to personalization. The growing demand for scenes such as home theaters has driven the continued development of TVs in the direction of large sizes. Looking inside Mini LED TVs, it can be clearly seen that 65-inch, 75-inch and 85-inch have become the mainstream sizes. In terms of price, the mainstream price of Mini LED TVs in 2024 will be more than 10,000. It is expected that in 2025, the market will sink through technology iterations and product upgrades, pushing Mini LED TVs to further industrialize and commercialize.

It is worth noting that the increase in the number of backlight partitions has a "marginal diminishing effect" on the improvement of image quality. Among them, in the process of increasing the number of partitions from 100 to 300, the improvement in screen contrast is the most significant; but as the number of partitions continues to increase, the effect of contrast improvement gradually decreases.

This is mainly because the essential evaluation dimension of display technology lies in the subjective perception system of the human eye, and the improvement of technical parameters does not mean the improvement of the human visual experience. Based on this, combining image quality and cost, and combining the selection of LCD panels for different products, Liao Yansuo proposed that for a 5000:1 high-contrast LCD panel, the number of Mini LED backlight partitions is around 200 to meet the needs of most consumers; while for a 2000:1 LCD panel, more than 3,000 partitions are needed.

When it comes to terminal products, it can be seen that display products with partition numbers between 1000-2000 can not only meet the needs of professional users for image quality and performance, but also maintain reasonable costs and prices, achieving balance between technology and market, and are the mainstream specifications of current display products.

The situation for TV products is slightly more complicated. Among them, 200-300 partitions are the watershed in the performance of Mini LED backlight technology. Mini LED TVs in this partition range are also the current mainstream mid-range models; high-end Mini LED TVs pursue the ultimate picture quality experience, and the number of partitions can reach 2000-3000; as the technology further matures, Mini LED TVs with more than 3000 partitions will gradually become popular in the future and become synonymous with "high picture quality + reasonable price".

Materials, processes, design, and industry collaboration: Zhaochi Optoelectronics explores the commercialization path of Mini LED backlight

The continuous improvement of cost performance is the underlying logic for increasing the penetration rate and accelerating commercialization of Mini LED backlight products. Therefore, continuous cost reduction is the eternal pursuit of the industry. This process cannot avoid further optimization of material costs.

Liao Yansuo pointed out that in the current cost structure of Mini LED backlight products, QD, LED Board, and driver IC account for a large proportion. Among them, the use of QD improves the color gamut, brightness, contrast and other display performance of Mini LED backlight. Using QD films to replace traditional QD boards and developing high-voltage and low-current driving solutions can optimize QD costs.

LED Board includes LED devices, PCB and manufacturing fees. Optimization methods include:

1) Chip: high-voltage chip + secondary optical design. Using high-voltage chips can reduce the number of LED chips used, but it will also cause uneven brightness. By combining the white light solution with the secondary optical design, the light emission angle and OP value of the chip can be improved, achieving an improvement in cost performance.

2) PCB substrate: appearance structure + thickness. The use of harpoon boards, U-shaped boards and single-strip boards can reduce the PCB board area and improve single board utilization. Using high-voltage chips can reduce the number of LED chips in series and simplify PCB wiring, thereby reducing production costs.

In terms of driver IC, a high-voltage chip + AM driver + multi-channel method is used to maximize IC driver efficiency and ultimately reduce costs.

Taken together, the cost reduction path for Mini LED backlights includes three major dimensions: material innovation, process breakthroughs, and design iteration. For Zhaochi Optoelectronics, the path to cost reduction also includes industry chain collaboration.
Currently, Zhaochi Group has formed a "chip + device/module" collaborative development trend in the field of Mini LED backlight. At the same time, relying on Zhaochi Group's traditional TV ODM business, Zhaochi Optoelectronics has extremely high sensitivity and control over the trends in technology and product iteration.

With the two-wheel drive of technology + production capacity, Zhaochi builds a new display ecosystem

The flip-chip COB packaging process is expected to become a mainstream cost-effective solution and has long-term cost reduction advantages. Based on the study and judgment of this trend, in 2024, Zhaochi Group Chairman Gu Wei took charge of Shenzhen Guangyuan and expanded the Mini COB backlight module production line, making Zhaochi Guangyuan the world's largest Mini COB backlight module manufacturer with a total production capacity of 50 COB lines;

In 2025, Mr. He Shengbin, the vice president of the group, will also serve as the chairman of Shenzhen Guangyuan, prompting the official completion of the integration of Zhaochi Group's three major smart terminal display businesses: display terminal business, COB direct display business, and Mini LED backlight business.

With the series of actions, Zhaochi Optoelectronics’ industrial chain synergy advantages have been infinitely magnified. The COB core technology accumulated by Zhaochi Group in the field of direct display and the high-quality customers gathered in the display terminal business have fully empowered Zhaochi Optoelectronics and assisted the development and growth of its Mini COB backlight business.

In terms of products, Zhaochi Optoelectronics has formed a full matrix product layout.

On the other hand, the optimization of a single raw material is limited in the upgrade of display terminal products, while a comprehensive solution can form an all-round optimization to achieve a better solution for image quality and cost performance.
At present, Zhaochi Optoelectronics has formed a clear layout for different divisions and different product types.

For example, Mini LED TV products with 300 partitions achieve the ultimate cost-effectiveness through the combination of high-voltage chips + single PCB + POB white light; while for Mini LED TV products with 2000 partitions or more, the Harpoon PCB + COB Blu-ray + QD solution is used to break through the image quality threshold.

Conclusion

The future of display technology does not lie in the ultimate pursuit of parameters, but in building a virtuous cycle of technology and business. Taking advantage of the vertical integration of the industrial chain, Zhaochi Optoelectronics continues to promote the commercialization process of Mini LED backlight through technological innovation, cost reduction and market tiered coverage, leading an "inclusive value revolution" of Mini LED backlight.

And this is just a microcosm of Zhaochi Group's ultra-high-definition display field. Under the integrated operation model of smart terminal display business, Zhaochi Group has achieved a good situation of mutual promotion and coordinated development of direct display technology, backlight technology and smart display business. The group will also continue to lead the development of the ultra-high-definition display industry while consolidating its original technical strength and market position.