MicroLED vs OLED - Page 6

During a presentation at SID Displayweek 2018, laser developer Coherent showed a nice chart that summarizes the performance difference between LCDs, OLEDs and Micro-LED displays.

Coherent says that its lasers could be used in the pick-and-place process when making micro-LEDs. A laser lift-off process (LLO) removes the LED chips from the sapphire growth wafer (or any other carrier wafer) and a the laser-inducted forward-transfer (LIFT) process transfer selected dies from carrier to substrate in a high-precision way that can be massively parallel (over 25,000 dies per shot).

OLED displays are currently the most advanced displays in production, offering superior image quality, efficiency, flexibility and more. Here's our new short video that introduces OLED display technology and the current market status:

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin reported its financial results for Q4 2017, and during the quarter's conference call its CEO, Andrew Sculley, discussed Micro-LED for microdisplays.

VueReal Micro-LED microdisplay prototype

eMagin actually did a research in this area with a University and has some patents towards micro-LED based microdisplays. However according to Andrew this technology still faces some challenges and it may take several years before Micro-LEDs could be applied to microdisplays - unlike TVs or larger displays which are already on the market.

Samsung Electronics says it will push forward with its two-track strategy for the premium TV market - utilizing both quantum-dots enhanced LCDs (QLEDs) and Micro-LED TVs. Samsung Visual Display Business VP, Han Jong-hee, says that Samsung will start selling its Wall Micro-LED TV in August 2018.

Samsung demonstrated its Micro-LED "The Wall" display again at ISE 2018 earlier this month. Thank you Dotan from AVMaster.co.il for the video.

Digitimes Research says that China-based smartphone makers (including Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi) are planning to adopt mini LED backlit LCD panels in future smartphones as an alternative for AMOLED displays.

The Chinese phone makers have reached out to Taiwan-based LED makers to start making mini-LED backlighting units by June 2018. Currently the OLED market is in an over-demand situation which means that securing enough AMOLED capacity is not easy - and it also drives prices up. According to IHS, the situation will reverse in 2018, though.

Digitimes posted an interesting interview with Epistar's president, Jou Ming-Jiunn. Jou says that the most optimistic scenario is for micro-LED displays to enter production by the end of 2018, with real devices appearing in 2019. There are still challenges ahead though, and Epistar's customers have not yet committed to anything.

According to Jou, there are two main routes to the market for Micro-LED makers: VR/AR or wearable displays and large-area TV panels. It is not clear yet which will route will arrive first.