MicroLED inspection - Page 3

Taiwan-based STAr Technologies launched a new inspection system for MicroLEDs and mini-LEDs devices. the Unicorn-LAIT is an integrated system with parallel test instrument, probe station and probe cards and can meet mass production needs.

STAr says that its new system enables alignment of up to 6-inch wafers and probe cards for automatic probing test. The parallel test instrument will be based on STAr Taurus-LPX with PMU capable of performing 48 to a maximum of 240 LEDs in parallel. Attributed to the efficient system structure, The STAr Unicorn-LAIT is suitable for the LED industry chip maker and optical devices manufacturer.

High-precision 3D sensing developer CyberOptics Corporation reported its financial results for Q4 2020 - revenues were $16.9 million, pretty much unchanged from Q4 2019, while net income was $1.5 million. For the full-year 2020, revenues were $70.1 million and the net income was $5.7 million.

CyberOptics reported $600,000 in sales of SQ3000 Multi-Function systems for MicroLED inspection in the quarter, and $4.6 million in full-year sales. The company anticipates more orders for MicroLED systems throughout 2021 and believes that microLED inspection and metrology applications present significant long-term growth opportunities.

This is a sponsored post by Radiant Vision Systems

Introduction

MicroLEDs (micro-LEDs, mLEDs, or μLEDs) continue to demonstrate performance advantages for displays, ushering in a new generation of backlit and direct-view illumination technology. MicroLED displays consist of an array of microscopic LEDs (light emitting diodes) that form the display’s individual subpixel elements. This inorganic emissive technology offers many benefits over rival display technologies, including higher brightness and contrast, wider color gamut, and higher pixel density. MicroLEDs enable improved visual performance in ambient-light conditions, from total darkness to full daylight and when viewed from multiple viewing angles. These qualities make microLEDs especially attractive for applications such as mobile phones and watches, augmented- and mixed-reality (AR/MR) headsets, automotive display panels, and digital signage. 

Challenges associated with manufacturing high-quality microLED panels continue to hinder production efficiency and must be addressed before manufacturers can achieve commercially viable microLED display products. Producing displays with the level of visual quality customers expect while keeping component and production costs low demands quality control solutions that reduce waste while increasing yield of acceptable displays.

High-precision 3D sensing developer CyberOptics Corporation announced its financial results for Q2 2020, with $16 million in sales and a net profit of $1.6 million. The company says it is enjoying a "first-mover status" in the microLED inspection and metrology market.

CyberOptics says that at the end of the quarter it received a $2.5 million order for SQ3000 Multi-Function systems for micro LED applications, and additional micro LED-related orders are anticipated during the second half of 2020.

This is a sponsored article by Dr Xiaoxi He, Principal Analyst, IDTechEx

MicroLED, believed by many to be the next generation of display technology, has been pursued by players of LED, display, OEM, materials and so on. Differentiated from LCD and OLED, microLED is considered to be the only display technology that has no size limitation. What are the potential applications? What are the hypes and realities? These are questions addressed in the brand-new IDTechEx report, “Micro-LED Displays 2020-2030: Technology, Commercialization, Opportunity, Market and Players”.

Various Motivations Are Driving the Progress of MicroLED Displays

Samsung Display has announced it is ending the LCD business and will focus on its QD LCD & OLED businesses. LG Display has halted its domestic production of LCD panels. Korean vendors tend to reduce their LCD panel production and shift to QLED & OLED. In addition, Panasonic and JDI are also getting out of the LCD business. AUO, Innolux and a few other Taiwanese companies are slowing down investment in LCD or OLED. As a comparison, LCD manufacturing is shifting to mainland China due to cost competence, new line production efficiency and industry chain support.

Israel-based display characterization and inspection equipment maker InZiv has recently announced the shipment of a high-resolution pixel characterization tool to an undisclosed Tier-1 consumer electronics company.

InZiv's tool offers MicroLED defect detection on the wafer and pixel level with unprecedented sub-micron resolutions. Measuring luminescence, spectral wavelengths and 3D structure at the highest resolutions, the equipment enables the identification and the source of defects, accelerating product time to market.

High-precision 3D sensing developer CyberOptics Corporation announced that it has received a $1.2 million order for its SQ3000 Multi-Function systems for Automated Optical Inspection (AOI), Solder Paste Inspection (SPI) and Coordinate Measurements (CMM), to be used in the scale-up of micro-LED technologies.

CyberOptics says it expects more micro-LED equipment orders later in 2020. In August 2019 the company announced a $1.3 million order for a system SQ3000 system.

Canada-based VueReal is a startup company that develop Micro-LED based microdisplays. The company's Continuous Pixelation micro-printing technology offers high density displays, high production yields and a simple design.

VueReal's founder and CEO, Reza Chaji, was kind enough to answer a few questions we had on the company's technology and business.

Reza, thank you for your time. Can you explain VueReal's micro-printing process and technology?

VueReal’s solution is a true printing process where you do not need to pick LEDs for each transfer. It is based on a cartridge design by VueReal that releases the LEDs selectively into the substrate.

This post was sponsored and authored by Radiant Vision Systems, LLC

Introduction

Emissive OLED, microLED (uLED), and miniLED are emerging as the next wave of technology in the display market. This is exciting because these displays promise improved display performance and visual appearance with greater efficiency than other display technologies, thanks to their individually emitting pixel elements. Both OLEDs and microLEDs have superior contrast ratios and sharper images with deeper blacks and more vibrant colors than traditional LCDs. These emissive displays require no backlight, resulting in thinner, lighter-weight displays that use less electricity. OLEDs also bring a dramatic boost in responsiveness, about 1,000 times faster than existing technologies, virtually eliminating blur on fast-moving and 3D video. MicroLEDs match OLED technology for response time and view-angle performance, but exceed OLED in brightness and ruggedness, with even lower power consumption.

Figure 1 - The 219-inch microLED display The Wall by Samsung, shown at IFA 2019, September 6-11 in Berlin, Germany. (Source: Samsung)¹

As manufacturers work to launch commercially viable emissive display products, high costs due to material prices and manufacturing yield issues have hindered widespread technology adoption most dramatically in large-format implementations, as they drive up end-customer prices. The smartphone market has been the most successful segment for OLED technology to date and will likely be the catalyst that drives long-term adoption of OLEDs and microLEDs for other applications. Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) cites smartphones as the dominant OLED market, accounting for around 91% of units per year with revenue share around 79% by 2022². Yole Developpement (Yole) projects a similar trend for microLEDs, with a longer ramp up period, and a market reaching up to 330 million units by 2025³. With this type of growth in demand, improvements in manufacturing efficiency are needed.

High-precision 3D sensing developer CyberOptics Corporation announced that it has received a $1.3 million order for its Multi-Reflection Suppression (MRS)-enabled SQ3000 Multi-Function systems for Automated Optical Inspection (AOI), Solder Paste Inspection (SPI) and Coordinate Measurements (CMM).

CyberOptics says that the systems, which will ship in Q2 2020, will be used for the scale-up of Micro LED device production.