In recent years, self-emissive display technologies, primarily Mini/Micro LED and Micro OLED, have shone brightly in fields such as large displays, automotive screens, and AR/VR glasses. But what’s next for this technology? How can it be further refined, and where is it headed in the future? These questions have sparked off discussions among display industry experts.

To explore the cutting-edge trends in self-emissive display technology, LEDinside and WitsView, research divisions under TrendForce, hosted the 2024 TrendForce Self-Emissive Display Industry Seminar on October 29, 2024, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Shenzhen, China. The seminar featured captivating talks from various display industry experts and TrendForce analysts, exploring the future of the self-emissive display industry from multiple perspectives.

The seminar began with a welcome speech by TrendForce’s General Manager, Sara Fan. She extended her gratitude and best wishes for the future development of the self-emissive display industry to all the attendees.

Following her opening remarks, both TrendForce analysts and industry experts delivered a series of engaging presentations. Followings are the speech highlights during the event.

Exploring the Development Potential of Various iLED Technologies in the Display Market

Eric Chiou

Senior Research Vice President, TrendForce

There are various applications and development opportunities for iLED in the display industry. Mini LED backlighting was noted for its diverse and effective cost-reduction methods, which would help accelerate its adoption in the TV market, with a projected market share of 13% by 2028. In automotive displays, major car manufacturers from China, Europe, the United States, and South Korea have reached a consensus on using Mini LED backlights, estimating a 6% penetration rate by 2028.

Compared to LCD and OLED, Mini LED displays offer better system efficiency. With manufacturers in the industry actively expanding production capacities, the cost advantage is improving rapidly. This technology is expected to gain favor in the market for displays over 100 inches, like those for home theaters, virtual production, and high-end cinemas. Between 2023 and 2028, fine-pitch Mini LED displays were expected to grow at a steady annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of over 10%.

The glass-based Micro LED industry has continued to witness frequent strategic alliances and mergers. Concurrently, chip miniaturization and various mass transfer solutions are advancing as planned. Although the optimal inspection solution is still under development, the chip market value is anticipated to reach nearly $600 million by 2028.

LEDoS (silicon-based Micro LED) has good potential for development in AR head-mounted displays that require small yet bright light engines. The advancement of this technology is bringing a fresh wave of investment to the well-established LED industry. However, as an early-stage technology, LEDoS still has room for improvement in aspects such as full-color display and brightness enhancement. Once these hurdles are overcome, LEDoS is expected to become the leading near-eye technology for future AR devices, capturing over 30% of the market share.

Quantum dot applications have a long history in the display industry, including the widely used quantum dot enhancement films (QDEF) and commercially mass-produced quantum dot OLEDs (QD-OLED). However, in the pursuit of the next milestone technology, quantum dot electroluminescent (QD-EL), the development of quantum dot materials that meet the requirements of high efficiency, excellent reliability, environmental friendliness, a complete supply chain, and competitive costs will be the key challenges that the industry must prioritize and overcome.

Micro LED Display Technology: Applications and Future Prospects

Yong-Feng Liu

Product Planning Director, Tianma Micro LED Research Institute

With continuous advancements in LED chip miniaturization technology, the performance of Micro LED displays is constantly improving, and their applications are expanding. These applications include wearable devices (e.g., AR/VR and watches), public information displays (PIDs; e.g., Micro LED TVs), and automotive displays. It is anticipated that automotive and PIDs will be the first to achieve breakthroughs and commercialization, while the market for wearable devices will grow progressively.

High-end automotive displays have high performance requirements but are not sensitive to costs, creating an opportunity for Micro LED technology. However, challenges remain in achieving transparency and precise stacking for backplane processes. As for PIDs, bezel-free splicing on LTPS backplanes is a significant hurdle. Tianma’s LTPS process, combined with GOA in-pixel design, enables the production of a bezel-free backplane with P0.15mm. Transparent displays are also an important market for Micro LED technology and may become a critical breakthrough point.

To drive the development and industrialization of Micro LED technology, Tianma has established a Micro LED Research Institute and completed several cutting-edge technology developments. The company decided to adopt glass-based LTPS technology, focusing on new applications and some existing markets, including automotive displays, transparent displays, large-size high-precision splicing, and watches, aiming to achieve competitive differentiation.

In the future, the main development trends of Micro LED will involve increasing PPI from small to large and reducing pitch from large to small, which will raise the requirements for equipment and manufacturing processes. At the same time, consumers' sensitivity to price is increasing, necessitating continuous cost reduction. In short, the biggest challenges for the industrialization of Micro LED are yield and cost issues, which require improvements in yield improvement and production cost reduction.

Overcoming Manufacturing Challenges in Mini/Micro LED Testing and Repair Technologies

Yang-Shu Tang

CEO, MENTO

While Mini LED technology offers higher resolution and better image quality, it faces numerous challenges in the manufacturing process. Issues such as PCB substrate pad consistency in the packaging process, soldering quality, solder paste printing uniformity, the precision and efficiency of die bonding equipment, and dead pixel detection need to be resolved.

To address these challenges, testing and repair equipment have become increasingly important. Chinese intelligent equipment company MENTO has introduced a series of Mini LED-specific testing and repair equipment covering various stages, including expansion and contraction measurement, solder past inspection (SPI), pre-reflow automated optical inspection (AOI), post-reflow AOI, illumination AOI, and repair, catering to the typical configurations of Mini LED production lines.

In addition to developing a diverse range of Mini LED production line equipment, MENTO employs industrial machine vision and AI technology to assist in various detection tasks, such as foreign object detection, wire bonding quality inspection, component absence and displacement detection, scratch detection, flat field correction, lens distortion correction, and sub-pixel positioning. By integrating hardware and software, the company comprehensively enhances the quality of Mini LED products, helping to propel the Mini/Micro LED industry across development hurdles.

Revolution Brought by Micro OLED for Microdisplay Technology

Ning-Ning Yu

General Manager of Greater China Marketing Center, SIDTEK

AI is spearheading a technological revolution, with extended reality (XR) glasses emerging as the next-generation human-machine interface, showcasing significant potential to become mainstream on-device AI models of the future. As AI progresses further into productivity-oriented applications and reaches human-level maturity, its deep integration with XR products will liberate human labor, marking a new wave of efficiency and productivity advancement, following in the footsteps of steam, electrical, and information technologies.

From the close collaboration between Windows and Intel to the iterative growth of Qualcomm with the Android system, industry evolution always transitions from initial stages to maturity, leading to profound societal changes. The growth of AI and XR glasses will follow this path, with technological breakthroughs and innovation driving growth in specialized segments and ultimately shaping the XR industry’s final landscape. XR displays in particular are set to be at the forefront of this transformation, as visual information is a primary way humans interact with their environment. The advancement of the XR sector will demand even higher display performance standards.

At present, XR glasses need to strike a balance between high image quality, wide field of view, and portability. Continuous innovation and specification enhancements in microdisplay technology are particularly critical, with Micro OLED currently standing out. Micro OLED achieves an optimal balance in high resolution, high PPI, wide color gamut, high brightness, low power consumption, and scalability for commercial use, making it well-suited for mid-to-high-end XR products.

For the past eight years, SIDTEK has been deeply invested in the Micro OLED market, actively pursuing mass production. The company has spent a total of 6 billion yuan on its 12-inch production line project, with the first-phase lines expected to provide a capacity of 6000 sheets per month (tandem structure-based), which was comprehensively completed this year. The first-phase production lines was launched for the manufacturing of 0.49-inch products in May, with ongoing development of 0.68-inch and 1.35-inch models. SIDTEK is committed to creating market-leading products with superior performance and cost advantages to support the continued growth of the XR market.

The Fourth Color of Micro LEDs: Black

Dr. Han-Qing Deng

Vice President and Product Line Leader, Absen

LED display technology is advancing towards micron-level Micro LED, driving pitch miniaturization and application diversification. As the Micro LED market size expands, Absen has fully prepared by developing eight core capabilities essential for Micro LED: testing and repair, chip-making, transfer and die bonding, packaging, driving, mechanical precision control, calibration, and control systems. These capabilities lay a solid foundation for achieving high contrast, wide viewing angles, wide color gamut, and brightness and color uniformity in Micro LED displays.

To further unlock the ultra-high display potential of Micro LEDs, Absen, leveraging the eight core capabilities, has developed a technology for Micro LED displays that are both deeply black and brilliantly bright, applied in the latest CL V3 and iCon series. The company’s newest technology combines world-class chips with HTB packaging technology, resulting in a black area ratio of up to 99.3% and a 70% increase in black field coverage.

Additionally, the products powered by the aforementioned technology boast over 95% light transmittance and over 70% luminous efficacy. The ultra-high brightness and large black areas enable a contrast ratio of over one million, significantly surpassing conventional models. This satisfies the market’s expectations for Micro LED displays that offer sharp images, vivid contrast, wide viewing angles, vibrant color, and uniform brightness, redefining the conventional display product experience.

The Potential of Display Control Systems in Emerging MLED Applications

Xian-Meng Lin

Director of Central Research Laboratory, Novastar

The pursuit of new display technologies is essentially the pursuit of a better life. MLED is continuously penetrating application areas such as XR virtual production, cinema screens, automotive displays, and TVs, driving constant upgrades in the user display experience. Display control systems have become key components that can further increase the value of these new display technologies.

Drawing on years of deep expertise in the field of display control systems, Novastar has developed a series of advanced technologies including ultra-large load controllers, multiple backup mechanism, fault monitoring and warning, display-to-camera full-system synchronization, high-quality image and color processing, fast screen configuration, and scene switching. These innovations have supported the creation of numerous milestones, including China’s first ultra-large display as the Beijing Olympics main background screen.

Currently, Novastar is focusing on five major display indicators: grayscale resolution, temporal resolution, spatial resolution, dynamic range, and color gamut range. The company is continuously developing new technologies and enhancing the value of displays, thereby accelerating the advent of the MLED era.

From Applications to Products: VMTC Drives High-Quality Development in Every Aspect

Yu-Qing Ye

Product Director, VMTC

Fine-pitch LED displays are mostly applied to professional and commercial fields, but they are expected to expand into the consumer market, with the market size projected to grow from hundreds of billions to trillions of yuan. As pixel pitch decreases, the advantages of COB (Chip on Board) technology become more apparent, currently dominating products with a pitch of P1.2 and below. Factors such as mature processes, improved yield rates, and decreasing prices of core components will further accelerate the development of COB technology.

MTC continues to drive product iteration and industrial upgrading, successfully transforming into a company with stronger hard technology attributes and production capacity. The company is advancing smart displays and the entire LED industry chain while also extending the industrial chain by expanding into the optical communications business. Within the LED business, VMTC, a subsidiary of MTC, plays a key role, focusing on fine-pitch LED display COB technology. Through design innovation, manufacturing process upgrades, and smart manufacturing enhancements, VMTC is consistently leading the revolution in ultra-high-definition display technology.

Regarding product lines, VMTC has launched several series, including the Xuan Cai, Huan Cai, Xuan Cai Pro, Xuan Cai Plus, Wei Shi, Jing Cai, Jing Xuan (display), and the Zhi Xuan (TV) Series. These products cover a wide range of pixel pitches and have shown significant improvements in technology, performance, and applications. Additionally, the company is optimistic about the future demand for all-in-one LED displays and is leveraging its advantages in vertical industry chain integration, large-scale manufacturing, and industrial design to deeply penetrate this market.

Exploring the Potential of AI and Direct-View LED Display Integration in Diverse Scenarios

Jin-Gang Zhang

Product Director, Unilumin

In recent years, AI technology has been widely applied in fields such as healthcare, finance, education, transportation, and manufacturing. In the LED sector, the combination of AI and direct-view LED displays has enabled LED screens to not only display images but also possess human-like intelligent capabilities including perception, understanding, judgment, reasoning, learning, recognition, generation, and interaction. This integration significantly enhances the quality of LED displays, broadens their application areas, and unlocks the full value of LED display technology.

Unilumin has been deeply exploring the diverse applications of AI combined with direct-view LED displays, creating a series of benchmark cases such as the virtual production studio for Shanghai-based filmmaking company SALT , the Samsung Note 8 launch event, and the immersive virtual concert X-CITY featuring the idol group The 9 by iQIYI. SALT’s studio is China’s first international studio for virtual production at a cinematic level, while X-CITY, the City of Reality and Virtuality, marks the first concert live stream worldwide that simultaneously applies cinematic-grade LED photorealistic virtual production and XR technology.

As the popularity of applications integrating AI with direct-view LED displays continues to rise, Unilumin is continuously refining its LED + AI roadmap. The company is expanding relevant solutions into various fields including AI-powered virtual humans, optical displays, glasses-free 3D, digital displays, XR virtual filming, and AI-powered LED cinema screens. Through these innovative uses, Unilumin aims to drive forward the development of the LED display industry.

Empowering the Ecosystem through Production Expansion for Direct-View Mini LED COB Displays

Dr. Peng-Rui Shao

Deputy General Manager, Asmade Semiconductors

After years of development, the technical roadmap for direct-view Mini LED displays has become largely established. These products are coming with larger substrates, smaller pixel pitches, and lower prices. Amid increasing industry competition, standardization and expansion of Mini LED packaging production lines have emerged as significant trends.

The new standards for direct-view Mini LED COB display production lines signify high output per unit factory area, accommodation of large substrates, low effective depreciation costs, high process compatibility, and a high degree of automation. These advantages will usher the direct-view Mini LED COB segment into a new era of low-cost, efficient operations.

Asmade addresses the current challenges of standardization and expansion of Mini LED applications with pioneering patented technologies. These include the industry-first pixel die bonding machine, intelligent manufacturing execution system (MES), and online scheduling MES, which consistently empower standardized intelligent production lines, meeting the needs for standardized and expanded LED package production.

In terms of standardized intelligent production lines, Asmade’s standard line for direct-view Mini LED packages comprises 60 die bonding machines with an ultra-large effective bonding range, capable of fulfilling the requirements of large substrate production. The monthly production capacity can reach up to 1,200 m2 (based on P1.25). Regarding precision and yield rates, Zhuoxing Semiconductor employs a full-line AI intelligent closed-loop process management system. This system enables automatic substrate circulation, multi-machine automatic mixing, single-click defect tracing, self-learning yield rate correction, and non-I/O network communication via MES.

Overall, the standardized intelligent production line by Zhuoxing offers numerous advantages, including a higher number of parallel machines, faster line setup speed, superior intelligent process services, higher product compatibility, and greater per capita productivity.

Microdisplay Era Is Coming: Opportunities for Micro LED Marketization

Yi Liu

Vice Presidency of New Market Development, Hongshi Intelligence Tech

In the field of microdisplays, Micro LED surpasses other display technologies in terms of brightness, resolution, color gamut, response speed, and lifespan. Therefore, Micro LED is increasingly being applied in various microdisplay scenarios, such as micro-projectors, AR/VR devices, smart automotive lights, 3D printers, AR-HUD, wearable devices, and smart desk lamps.

Hongshi Intelligence recognizes the potential of Micro LED microdisplay technology and entered the microdisplay market as early as 2017. The company now has research and development centers in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Suzhou. It possesses core technologies and patents including 8-inch Si-based metal bonding, quantum dot conversion, single/three-chip full color display, and micro-lenses. Additionally, it has full industry chain capabilities from optical device design to module design and production.

Leveraging its competitive edges in the Micro LED microdisplay field, Hongshi Intelligence’s Micro LED microdisplay technology has already been applied to AR glasses, micro-projectors, smart automotive lights, 3D printers, and digital lighting. It has become one of the few companies capable of receiving and fulfilling orders with over ten thousand Micro LED chips in 2024.

Near-Eye Displays: Market Development and Technology Analysis

Thea Wan

Analyst, TrendForce

In 1H24, Apple’s release of the Apple Vision Pro and Meta’s unveiling of the AR glasses prototype, Orion, later in the year, significantly raised public awareness of near-eye display (NED) technology and its applications. This period marks a crucial developmental phase for NEDs within the metaverse. Major companies are advancing the optimization of optical solutions and breakthroughs in microdisplay technology, transforming NED devices from purely entertainment products into productivity tools.

Additionally, as part of technological transition strategies, investments and corporate partnerships in the NED field are in full swing. This fusion of investment and technology not only accelerates product iteration but also fosters innovation and competition within the industry.

Artificial intelligence is empowering NED devices. As the industry evolves, a new ecosystem is taking shape. The entire supply chain is actively exploring and expanding new business models and applications, providing strong momentum for the development of NED devices and indicating a promising future for the industry.

Global Development Opportunities for All-in-One LED Displays

Zhi-Quan Liang

Product Director, QSTECH

Currently, the all-in-one LED display market is primarily focused on applications under 10 m2. All-in-one LED displays account for only 4% of the total medium and large conference displays (10 m2 and below). If this proportion increases to 25%, the market size is expected to grow to around 40,000 units. In the long run, the goal for all-in-one machines is to completely replace products under 10 m2 while also competing for the market share of 10-20 m2.

QSTECH has introduced nine conference systems tailored to different meeting needs, covering various spaces like standard meeting rooms, video conferencing rooms, reception rooms, lounges, training halls, and multipurpose halls. These systems achieve synergistic advancement in products and technology through standardized solutions.

QSTECH points out that all-in-one LED displays will eventually enter the consumer market. Before they are widely applied, the products must meet diverse requirements in packaging, software, and hardware design. With extensive experience, QSTECH has identified key application needs and incorporated them into product design.

QSTECH’s all-in-one LED displays are equipped with high-performance processors and premium configurations, providing a smooth and stable meeting experience. With an integrated design, the products combine both visual and audio contents and support various scenarios including cloud conferencing, hardware video conferencing, and Bring Your Own Meeting technology. The company innovatively incorporates radar touchscreen technology and has obtained the first energy efficiency certification in the LED industry, significantly enhancing energy-saving performance. With an open and cooperative attitude, QSTECH is committed to building robust software and hardware ecosystems, driving continuous innovation and upgrades of all-in-one machines.

μLED Epi-wafer Mass Production: Challenges and Solutions

Dr. Zi-Wen Fang

General Manager, Aixtron China Ltd.

The development of Micro LED display technology are highly promising. Once the challenges of mass production are fully overcome, Micro LED will find extensive application opportunities in smartwatches, automotive applications, AR/VR/MR, and high-end televisions.

To accelerate the widespread adoption of Micro LED technology, Aixtron is focusing on the development of upstream epitaxial material production technologies. To manufacture more efficient and cost-effective MOCVD equipment, the company has developed the Planetary Reactor® platform. This technology combines wafer-level control and mass production techniques to offer industry-leading features such as higher material uniformity, larger capacity reactors, and compatibility with a wider range of epitaxial sizes, all aimed at producing low-cost, high-yield epi-wafers.

Leveraging the Planetary Reactor® platform technology, Aixtron has introduced two advanced MOCVD equipment models: the AIX G5+C and the G10-AsP, the industry’s first fully automated AsP platform. These systems can mass-produce 6-inch to 8-inch blue, green, and red Micro LED epi-wafers, achieving excellent wavelength uniformity, low defect density, and maintenance-free automated production. The models have already gained recognition from chipmakers in China and abroad, becoming crucial tools for the current and future development of Micro LED technology.

Development Opportunities and Solutions for LED Virtual Production Market

Xu-Hui Yin

Senior Manager, Sony (China) Co., Ltd.

LED virtual production is achieved by using computer-generated imagery (CGI) and motion capture to compose backgrounds in real-time on large LED screens, which are combined with real-time shooting of actors to directly create the final video output. This technology offers advantages such as cost reduction, efficiency improvement, real-time visual feedback, and the reusable nature of digital assets, avoiding the common issues of unpredictability and post-production complexity found in traditional green-screen shooting.

Although LED virtual production brings innovation and convenience, it still faces technical and cost-related challenges. To address these challenges, Sony offers a comprehensive virtual production solution that includes hardware, software, and professional services. By maintaining a unified color science, the company ensures color consistency from display to shooting and monitoring, thereby improving the quality and efficiency of the virtual production workflow.

In terms of hardware, Sony provides advanced equipment including the VP series LED displays, CineAltaV 2 cameras, and 4K HDR monitors to ensure realistic reproduction of images. On the software side, Sony offers virtual production plugins and color calibration tools for cameras and monitors to maintain color consistency, alert for moiré patterns, and automatically synchronize virtual and physical cameras. Furthermore, Sony has introduced a multi-channel switching solution to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of virtual production.

Additionally, Sony provides a wide range of professional services, including system design, system integration, volumetric video, collaborative development, content creation, shooting services, digital asset creation, and virtual production training to meet diverse customer needs.

Global LED Video Wall Market: Opportunities and Challenges

Allen Yu

Research manager, TrendForce

According to data compiled by TrendForce, while the demand for LED video walls in China is expected to be moderate in 2024, the overseas market will continue to grow, with strong performance in Asia Pacific. In the long term, this market will maintain its growth, driven by the following main factors:

1. Expansion from Developed to Developing Economies: China is the global manufacturing hub and origin of LED video walls. The first phase of market expansion has seen growth from the Chinese market to developed economies. In the second phase, this expansion will extend into developing economies.
2. Expansion from Government and Large Enterprises to Small and Medium Customers: Over the past 20 years, as prices have continued to decline, the customer base for LED walls has broadened. The market evolved from government clients to business clients, and there is potential for further expansion into the consumer market in the future.
3. Expansion from Mature to Emerging Applications: Mature applications for LED video walls include corporate meeting rooms, security surveillance, retail and exhibition spaces, public areas, transportation, and outdoor advertising. In recent years, with the rise of Micro/Mini LED technologies, the applications for large LED screens have continued to increase, including all-in-one LED machines, virtual production, and cinemas and home theaters, all of which have significant growth potential. Therefore, TrendForce estimates that the global LED video wall market could reach $10.2 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% from 2023 to 2028.

Summary

Under the strong support of the speakers, attendees, and companies including Aixtron China, SIDTEK, Vistar, MENTO, APT, LatticePower, Absen, Kinglight, VMTC, Unilumin, Asmade Semiconductors, Sony (China), Tianma New Display Technology Research Institute (Xiamen), NovaStar, QSTECH, and Hongshi Intelligence, the 2024 TrendForce Self-Emissive Display Industry Seminar successfully concluded.

We wish the self-emissive display industry continued innovation, vigorous development, and leadership in ushering display technology into a new era of prosperity! (By LEDinside)

TrendForce 2024 Micro LED Market Trend and Technology Cost Analysis
Release: 31 May / 30 November 2024
Language: Traditional Chinese / English
Format: PDF
Page: 160-180

TrendForce 2024 Near-Eye Display Market Trend and Technology Analysis
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TrendForce 2025 Global LED Video Wall Market Outlook and Price Cost Analysis
Release Date: 30 September 2024
Language: Traditional Chinese / English
Format: PDF
Page: 302