After the acquisition of LuxVue by Apple in 2014, micro-light emitting diode (MicroLED, or µLED) has become an attractive emissive display technology pursued by players from various industries. MicroLED displays deliver value propositions such as wide colour gamut, high luminance, low power consumption, excellent stability and long lifetime, wide view angle, high dynamic range, high contrast, fast refresh rate, transparency, seamless connection, sensor integration capability, etc. Some of the value propositions can be provided by alternatives such as LCD, OLED and QD, while one of the strong drivers to develop microLED displays are these unique value propositions.

 

 

 

 

The first microLED commercial product, the Crystal LED display, was launched by Sony, which replaced the traditional packaged LEDs by microLEDs. These small-pitch LED video displays target the to-B market and both the costs and prices are far more expensive than what already exist. Technology immaturity, cost barriers and supply chain incompletion are three major hurdles in large-scale commercialization for microLED displays.

 

With existing LED industry and mature display industry, the emerging mass transfer sector is the link to bridge these two industries and they together can be the enabler to establish a new supply chain. With the basis that current LCD manufacturing is shifting to China due to cost advantage and South Korea is dominating OLED displays, those who can react quick enough to take an important position in the shaped supply chain will seize the next big opportunity. The game is open to conventional LED suppliers, display vendors, component providers, OEMs, integrators, and also welcome newcomers that can bring technology innovation, material improvement, equipment support, and business model revolution.

 

To make strategic decisions, both information and insights are required. These include but are not limited to technology limitations and capabilities, market status analysis, supply chain interpretation, player activity tracking, and global trend understanding. This report will tackle these aspects accordingly.

 

To fabricate a microLED display, many technologies and processes are involved, such as epitaxy, photolithography, chip fabrication, substrate removal, inspection, mass transfer, bonding and interconnection, testing, repair, backplane and drive IC, etc. After years of development, some technology difficulties have been solved, while new challenges are placed in front of us. For instance, several years ago, the major efforts were concentrated in die miniaturization, chip design and mass transfer, etc. Recently, more and more players realize a complete understanding of all the processes is the key. Therefore, an increasing number of people put more efforts also on technologies such as inspection, repair, driving, image improvement, light management and high-volume production equipment. This report provides all the major technology choices with detailed introduction, analysis and comparison. It also shows what important players have offered to the market and their technologies behind the prototypes/products. The targeting applications cover from micro-displays such as AR/VR/MR, to consumer middle-sized displays like smart phones and TVs, to huge displays, e.g. large video public displays. The corresponding technologies vary from each other. With a deep understanding of each technology it is possible to understand where we are and where we can go.

 

With players holding various technologies, they have different entry markets to target. In this report, we have focused on 9 applications to analyse. They are augmented/mixed reality (AR/MR), virtual reality (VR), large video displays, TVs and monitors, automotive displays, mobile phones, smart watches and wearables, tablets and laptops, and emerging displays. A ten-year market forecast is provided based on shipment unit in each application. In addition, an application roadmap is offered with the consideration of different maturity readiness of each application.

 

As more and more players are plunging into microLED industry, they gradually choose to work with each other directly or in a large network. Several supply chain clusters are formed based on geography, with cross-continental collaboration more and more common. We also show regional efforts in the report.

 

All these collaborations indicate that globalization continues to be our future trend. However, important international events such as the trade war and coronavirus make our decisions more difficult; we also discussed their impacts in the report, especially their influence on the supply chain.

 

Objectives of the report:

 

− Value propositions, benefits and drawbacks compared with competing technologies

− Drivers and motivations

− Current status

− Technology breakthroughs

− Technology challenges and roadmap to tackle these issues

− Activities of research institutes, universities and start-ups

 

− Roadmap for display applications

− How mature and disruptive are micro-LEDs for these applications

− What we can expect in the near future

 

− Cost analysis

− Impact on the supply chain and identify possible supply chain for micro-LED displays

− Market forecast

− Regional efforts

 

− Identify key players, IP owners and emerging start-ups

 

Who should read it: Display makers, LED suppliers, material suppliers, R&D organizations, technology providers, OEMs/ODMs, investors, players who are exploring new opportunities

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