LONDON—The market for micro light-emitting diode (microLED) displays may be negligible at the moment, but one researcher thinks it will quickly ramp up over the next seven years. 

U.K. research firm Omdia predicts that global shipments for the displays will jump to more than 16 million units by 2027, led by smartwatch and television markets. MicroLED displays for smartwatches will exceed 10 million units by then, while shipments for the TVmarket will grow to more than 3.3 million. 

MicroLEDs represent an emerging flat-panel display technology that employs arrays of microscopic LEDs to comprise the individual pixel elements. Compared to conventional LCD displays, microLED displays can deliver superior contrast, faster response times and reduced energy consumption. As mentioned, microLEDs also offer superior luminance efficiency compared to OLEDs. As a result, microLED technology is expected to emerge as a competitor to LCDs and OLED displays in applications ranging from wearable devices to televisions.

“Because of their superior luminance efficiency compared to rival organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, microLED displays are expected to become the next self-emissive display technology,” said Jerry Kang, associate director at Omdia. “Numerous startups, display manufacturers and consumer brands now are developing their own microLED displays, devices and process in various sizes, ranging from medium-to-large sizes to ultra-small dimensions.”

MicroLEDs are showing up in a variety of emerging display formats. Taiwanese firm AU Optronics recently introduced a prototype 9.4-inch flexible display using blue microLED pixels under red and green color-conversion filters on low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) plastic substrate. Plessey Semiconductors announced it will help Facebook prototype and develop new technologies for potential usage in the augmented reality/virtual reality space. 

Samsung Electronics in 2018 introduced a prototype TV with a chip-on-board (COB) processed RGB microLED display. The company plans to launch the product this year. Samsung Display has also started development of quantum dot nanorod LED (QNED) technology, which applies nano-tube LEDs onto an oxide TFT glass substrate. Furthermore, many consumer brands are expected to release their own microLED displays or devices in the near future. 

“The microLED market is poised for much more rapid growth once the technologies for manufacturing microLED chips—including mass transfer—gain more maturity,” Kang said. “The growing use of microLED display technology will push display makers to evolve away from current LCD and OLED display technologies.”

Omdia’s report is available at MicroLED Display Technology and Market – 2020.

From mobile phones, TVs, to cars and public screens, displays have become an important component in our daily life to convey information. An emerging display type, microLED display, has the potential to become the next-generation mainstream standard, according to a report by market research firm IDTechEx.

DRIVING DEVELOPMENT

While LCD dominates most display applications and OLED and QD-LCD sit as premium, why are players still pursuing microLED? First of all, microLED displays deliver value propositions such as wide color gamut, high luminance, low power consumption, excellent stability, and long lifetime, as well as wide view angles, high dynamic range, high contrast, fast refresh rate, transparency, seamless connection, and sensor integration capability. Some of the value propositions can be provided by alternatives such as LCD, OLED, and QD, while microLED has its unique value propositions that are pursued by many. The demand from consumers is one of the major motivations. In addition, they can become unique selling points for the suppliers, as marketed by OLED when OLED first emerged.

Another driver comes from the supply side. Current display markets are dominated by LCD, whose manufacturing is shifting to China due to cost competence, as well as OLED in premium, whose technologies are held by South Korea. Getting involved in a new display technology could bring new opportunities to the players.

An increasing number of prototypes have been displayed to the public, which indicates the science is there. However, more challenging are the engineering and manufacturing issues. For instance, conventional LEDs can reach external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) to ~70 percent, while tiny microLEDs less than 10µm may struggle to reach 20 percent. Red LEDs are especially challenging with low EQEs and brittle features. Tiny microLEDs have large surface areas, which may lead to more defects during the fabrication process. Therefore, solving engineering/manufacturing challenges is important, including die size miniaturization while maintaining the high efficiency, chip design, and chip manufacturing technique improvement.

SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES

There are many steps and processes to fabricate a microLED display, with varied difficulties. In earlier years, the major focuses of research and development were on die miniaturization, chip design, efficiency enhancement, mass transfer, and full color realization. Recently, more and more players realize a complete understanding of all of the processes is the key. Therefore, an increasing number of people put more effort also on technologies such as inspection, repair, driving, image improvement, light management, and high-volume production equipment.

Involving multiple existing industries and new industries, micoLED displays may shape the existing LED and display supply chain, resulting in a lengthy and complex new one. New technology approach and new products can also provide new opportunities for the players, such as the CMOS industry, which can take a position in the microLED-based micro-display supply chain. Each player will optimize their gain in the value chain, and therefore, a deep understanding of the technology and market status is important.

he report from IDTechEx explains technology limitations and capabilities, offers market status analysis, supply chain understanding, player activity tracking, as well as global trends. Read the full report here: MicroLED Displays 2020-2030: Technology, Commercialization, Opportunity, Market, and Players. 

This story originally appeared on TVT's sister publication AV Network.

LONDON—In 2019 and 2020, microLED shipments are projected to total less than 1,000, but a rapid ascension is on the horizon, per IHS Markit’s new report, “Micro LED Display Technology & Market.” By 2026, IHS says that the global market for microLED displays will jump to 15.5 million units, with the key contributing factor being the declines in manufacturing costs that will make the technology suitable for the mass market.

As manufacturing prices drop, so will the pricing for microLED products, which will eventually include smart watches, televisions, AR systems and smartphones. As an example of the dramatic decline in manufacturing price, IHS says that the cost to make a 75-inch TV display with the technology will drop to one-fifth of its current price by 2026; for a 1.5-inch smart watch display, the drop could be as much as one-tenth.

MicroLEDs, which are comprised of microscopic LEDs that each represent an individual pixel, are an emissive display technology that generate their own light, eliminating the need for backlight. They are also said to appear much brighter than OLEDs.

The manufacturing of microLEDs is expected to reach maturity by 2024.

“Despite the growth in acceptance, microLED shipments in 2026 will still amount to just 0.4% of the global flat-panel display market,” said Jerry Kang, associate director at IHS. “However, with shipments of nearly 16 million units that year, microLED will have entered mass-market territory, setting the stage for much wider acceptance during the following years.”

The full report from IHS is available here.