Everlight, Taiwan’s leading LED packager, showcased a variety of LED applications at GILE 2019, including Mini LED display modules, fine-pitch display, automotive LED products, UV LEDs, IR LEDs, horticulture lighting and more. It even showcased for the very first time lighting products of WOFI, its German subsidiary, which stood out from the rest with designs rich with lines and curves, catching the eyes of many visitors. LEDinside had the chance to hold interviews with P.Y. Liu, Board of Director and Chief Consultant of Everlight, and E...

LEDinside’s annual event, Micro LEDforum, has again gathered many experts in the industry and academia to share about their technological expertise and provide penetrating insights of products and applications in the current Micro LED landscape. The event started with Roger Chu, Research Director of LEDinside, delved into the development of the panel industry. He pointed out that panel production has outpaced market demand, causing furious competition and pushing manufacturers to focus on developing new display technology or improving the functionalities of the...

LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, holds the annual pivotal conference, Micro LEDforum 2019: Key Technology and Application Market, yesterday (July 2nd) at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center. Invited were Rohinni, TORAY, Konica Minolta, PARC, Plessey, Kyung Hee University, Macroblock, Ultra Display, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and other leading manufacturers and experts at home and abroad to give penetrating analyses into the breakthroughs, applications and business opportunities o...

Taiwan-based LED chip maker Epistar held its annual shareholder meeting on June 19, 2019. The company expects that Mini LED products will be the major driving momentum in 2019. Epistar continues to work on high margin LED products including UV LED, VCSEL, Mini LED and Micro LED. The company is working intensively with Mini LED projects and its products have been adopted in the end applications including monitors, notebooks and tablets. Epistar foresees an increase of product shipment with rising demands in the market 2020, which will push the produ...

China LED company Shineon presented its Micro LED display at GILE 2019 with its new brand “IconiView” targeting high-end display products. The 139-inch 4K Micro LED display was developed by Shineon and Lumens, using Flip-Chip-on-Module (COM) technology with a pixel density of 1,570,900 pixel/m2. The display achieved a contrast ratio of 3000:1 and its brightness is over 2000nit. According to Shineon, the product has been verified and can be mass produced. Shineon said it has been developing laser-lift-off thin-film LED technology which i...

LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, points out that Apple has just released the Pro Display XDR 32-inch 6K display, which utilizes a brand new LED backlight solution. In doing so, Apple is motivating the display industry to actively explore new solutions for high end products, with next generation Mini LED backlight technology to become the main area of development for many suppliers. Mini LED backlight revenue is expected to reach US$340 million in 2023 (not including the revenue from other driver ICs and backplanes). TrendForce points out that the brand n...

Rumors about Apple said that the company will launch Mini LED products in the second half of 2019. Nevertheless, at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference 2019, Mini LED products have not showed up. Instead, Apple presented a 32-inch HDR display, Pro Display XDR which adopts direct LED backlight. (Image: Apple) Pro Display XDR is a 32-inch 6K LCD monitor featuring a resolution of 6,016*3,384, 1,600 nits peak and 1,000 nits sustained brightness and a contract rate of 1,000,000:1. These characteristics were achieved by using a direct ...

According to the newest 2019 Mini LED and HDR High-End Display Market Report by LEDinside , a division of TrendForce , after 3 years of mini LED backlight technology development, mini LEDs will finally make an official appearance on displays in 2019 and compete directly with OLEDs. Apple, with eyes set on the advantages of mini LED technology for a while, is also eager to strike collaborations with suppliers in Taiwan and Japan to introduce this technology into desktop displays, notebooks and tablets. TrendForce explains that, in comparing the two, Min...

Taiwan-based LED manufacturers Lextar and Epistar announced their financial reports for the first quarter of 2019. Both companies posted an on-year degrease for 1Q19; however, Lextar managed to stay profitable while Epistar had a loss in the past two quarters with impacts from the US-China dispute. Lextar registered revenues of NT$2.167 billion (US$70.13 million) for 1Q19 with an on-year decrease of 18.15% and an on-quarter decrease of 10%. Net profit came to NT$113 million (US$3.66 million). The company also posted a revenue of NT$815 million (US$26.38 millio...

As more Asian players demonstrate their progress in Micro LED, LED technology providers and researchers from Europe and North America also synchronize their advances through deepening collaboration with various solution providers. Europe: Plessey presents Micro LED AR/VR glasses; Osram joins in on Micro LED automotive display research After Plessey unveiled its GaN-on-Si monolithic Micro LED in 2018, the UK-based company has cooperated with several partners including Vuzix, JDC, Nanoco Technologies, Aixtron, Mojo Vision and others. In col...

Sanan Optoelectronics announced a CNY 120 billion (US$ 1.78 billion) investment agreement with Hubei Province on April 25, 2019 for Micro LED and Mini LED wafer and chip development and production. According to the agreement, Sanan will increase investment of III-V compound semiconductors for Micro LED and Mini LED wafer and chip production. (Image: Samsung) In September 2018, Sanan was said that it will build the first production line for Micro LED wafers and chips in 2019. The Chinese company has also worked closely with Samsung in Micr...

Mini LED, with better performance in brightness, contrast and saturation for display applications, is expected to grow radically in 2019 and 2020. To meet the booming demands of Mini LED, Taiwan-based companies are preparing to expand production of related Mini LED products. The adoption of Mini LED might not be popular in consumer products, yet the industry chain has been equipped to speed up Mini LED shipment for potential applications as Apple was said to release Mini LED backlight equipped iMac by 2H19 and iPad by 4Q20. Also, Huawei and Xiaomi were m...

Despite that the global automotive sales have slowed down in the past year due to the trade dispute and overall market decline, the demands for luxury automobiles in China and the increasing new energy (NEV) car market still bring up the penetration rate of LED in the automotive market. LEDinside sees that the market share of LED headlight and its market value will expand gradually as the price of high-power LED falls. LEDs are also adopted by other exterior lights including direction indicators and tail lights for delivering smart functions such signal projection and ...

The growing Mini LED adoption in monitors, notebooks, tablets and even mobile phones, as well as the increasing Micro LED display reveals indicate the booming market of advanced LED applications. Macroblock, the Taiwan-based LED driver IC specialist, might be benefitted from the wave. The company has joined the supply chain of Samsung’s LED cinema and is currently working with the Korean giant on Mini LED and Micro LED technologies. Samsung has expanded its LED cinema screen in worldwide cinemas including China, India, Singapore, US, German...

Since Mini LED began its commercialized applications in the second half of 2018, the market of Mini LED backlight continues to expand. It is said that Apple will also start to adopt Mini LED backlight for iMac and iPad. Apple was said to release a 31.6-inch iMac with Mini LED back light in 2H19, a 10- to 12- inch iPad in 4Q20 or 1Q21 and a 15- to 17- inch Macbook in 1H21. With features of wide color gamut, high contrast ratio, high dynamic range, local dimming and long lifespan, Mini LED backlight would be a better option for devices such as monitors, tab...

LED driver IC manufacturer Macroblock has targeted the market of Mini LED and Micro LED. It has begun to ship Mini LED backlight module driver IC for gaming displays following the company’s schedule announced by the end of 2018 and expects to enter the supply chain of high-end TV panels by the second half of 2019. Furthermore, it plans release products for wearable Micro LED applications such as AR/VR smart glasses. The consolidate revenue of Macroblock in 2018 hit the record high at NT$ 2.985 billion (US$ 96.69 million), with an on-year incre...

The 14th Auto Lamp Industry Development Forum and the 5th Shanghai International Auto Lamp Exhibition (ALE) was held in Shanghai Automobile Exhibition Center on March 21, 2019. More tha...

Mini LED products have entered the market since the second half of 2018 with expected acceleration in 2019 and 2020, according to LEDinside’s forecast. Meanwhile, industry players are also speeding up their progress in Micro LED development. Worldwide equipment producers have been intensifying their technologies to meet the demands of the raising market. (Image: Samsung) Semiconductor package equipment producer Kulicke & Soffa (K&S) expects that Mini LED will start to boom by the end of 2019 with drives from Taiwanese and Chinese panel makers. T...

Vertically integrated LED manufacturer Lextar will exhibit its latest automotive LED developments including applications of Mini LED RGB module and VCSEL, as well as its cutting-edge automotive LED lighting matrix module at Shanghai International Auto Lamp Exhibition (ALE) from March 21 and 22, 2019. Lextar is showcasing its automotive LED lighting matrix module for the first time. The lighting module consisting 240 LED chips with an average luminance intensity of 15,000cd. With its high brightness, the product can project dynamic graphics and info...

Taiwan-based LED company Lextar announced its 2018 financial reports with an annual revenue of NT$ 11.056 billion (US$ 357.58 million), down by 8.2% YoY. Its after tax profit came to NT$ 49 million (US$ 1.58 million). For the fourth quarter of 2018, the company registered a revenue of NT$2.4 billion, which dropped by 19.6% compared with 3Q18. In 2018, Lextar has slashed its lighting business to focus on high technology development which resulted in the decrease of annual revenue. The market uncertainty brought by the US-China trade war also impacted the busi...

The worldwide LED industry had suffered from low price due to oversupply in 2018. China, as one of the major LED chip producers and exporters, has continued to expand LED chip capacity despite declining price and the lukewarm market. However, the accelerating development of Mini LED and fine-pitch displays in the China market might be a way out for the industry in 2019. According to LEDinside, Mini LED is making its way into displays of consumer electronics in 2019 and 2020. It is estimated that the market value of Mini LED will reach US$ 1.699 billion in 2...

LED industry players have accelerated their development in niche products including Mini LED and sensing components IR LED and VCSEL. Taiwan-based LED company Lexter began mass producing Mini LED products since the third quarter of 2018. Apart from the initial applications in gaming monitor and notebook, Mini LED backlight has also been adopted in automotive display. The company estimates that Mini LED products will account for five percent or more of its 2019 revenue. Lextar also strengthened red LED business and pushes development in IR LE...

The penetration of Mini LED is expected to increase in the coming years with applications including gaming display and other professional monitors. The technology is also becoming popular for automotive applications. WitsView, a division of Trendforce, suggested a high possibility of Mini LED backlighting mass production in 2019 and noted that the cost of display production may increase by 20 to 100 percent depending on the number of Mini LED used. LEDinside noticed that Mini LED has been adopted as backlight for automotive displays such as HUDs, dashboards, in-...

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2019 in the Netherlands is a well-known international exhibition for display. This international exhibition took place from February 5 to 8 in the Netherlands and attracted lots of attention in the digital display industry. The improvement of performance including 8K resolution, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and wide gamut is the major development trend for digital display (Video Wall) market. Amongst, HDR image is the long-term target market for projection equipment and LED display. The main applications are in hotels, cinemas, home the...

Taiwanese LED companies announced their revenue of January 2019. Epistar and Lextar posted on-month revenue increase while Lite-On reported growth in LED products. Epistar registered a revenue of NT$ 1.27 billion (US$ 41.16 million) for January which increased by 6.56% MoM but dropped by 32.4% YoY. Impacted by the trade dispute and political uncertainty, business growth in the global LED market is not expected by the industry players. To cope with the sluggish market, Epistar has focused on Mini LED backlight products targeting high-end display applicatio...

2019 may not be a prosperous year for LED manufacturers given the market uncertainties resulting from the changing global politics. Yet, industry players continue their technology developments and expect Mini LED to revive the stagnant market. Mini LED, as an improved version of conventional LED, provides refined diming zones when serving as backlight and can be utilized in curved displays when coupled with flexible substrates. Since last year, several LED makers including Lextar have begun shipping Mini LED backlight products for high end applications such as gami...

Unilumin, the Chinese LED application products and integrated solutions provider, announced that it is capable to mass produce 0.9mm Mini LED and will launch Mini LED solution at ISE 2019. Meanwhile, the company also reported that it is investing a new smart manufacturing facility for the development and production of Mini/Micro LED. According to Unilumin, it is the first to mass-produce 0.9 mm LED for high-end applications which is solving previous technical barriers and addressing the issue of the high cost of traditional SMD display. (Image: Unilumin...

Companies in LED and display industries are keen on investing in the development of Micro LED displays because this emerging display technology has strong potentials in a wide range of applications and spans across many industries. However, entrants in the Micro LED market still face huge barriers in terms of key technologies and equipment. LED companies have thus turned to Mini LED, of which the manufacturing technology is relatively mature, in order to explore emerging markets on one hand, and to prepare for further progress in Micro LED on the other. NEPCON...

Worldwide LED manufacturers recently have transformed their businesses from general lighting to other niche applications. This industrial trend can be observed at NEPCON Japan as well. At NEPCON Japan 2019, most of the LED manufacturers emphasized non-general lighting LED applications. These categories mostly covered automotive LED products for interior and exterior applications, special lighting, invisible light sensors, and UV light applications. 1. Everlight LED packaging manufacturer Everlight centered on automobile LED and infrared sensor modu...

Chinese LED maker Sanan Optoelectronics announced that the company has supplied Mini and Micro LED chips to several panel manufacturers in the products unveiled at CES 2019. Sanan noted that its LED chips have been adopted in TVs, digital displays, smartphones, smart watches, AR/VR glasses, and gaming notebooks. Mini LEDs, with its compact unit size between 100 to 200 micrometers, allow for high density backlight designs with local dimming capabilities. Sanan has begun large-scale production of RGB Mini LEDs and offers a family of RGB display and bac...