As 2024 draws to a close, the Micro LED microdisplay industry continues to make breakthroughs in areas including cooperation and financing, end-market applications, and technical performance upgrades, significantly accelerating the commercialization process.
Over the past year, Micro LED technology has continuously evolved, with frequent collaborations within the industry. According to the initial figures from LEDinside, 17 partnerships have been established in 2024. Particularly in the field of AR glasses, significant progress has been made in Micro LED applications, with eight new Micro LED AR glasses released throughout the year, further promoting the use and popularization of this technology in the wearable device market.
In terms of technological breakthroughs, the Micro LED industry has seen several major advancements, including the development of high-brightness, high-resolution displays, the fabrication process for large-size Si-substrate epi-wafers, the integrated full-color process of quantum dot color conversion pixels, and the manufacture of a super-retina TFT-based full-color display, among other core technological breakthroughs.
Additionally, innovative technologies such as maskless photolithography for deep ultraviolet Micro LED displays, conductive adhesives, and cold bonding have been continuously introduced, driving the rapid development of Micro LED in terms of production efficiency, yield improvement, and application diversity.
JBD has made significant advancements in the field of Micro LED technology this year. In September, the company achieved a major breakthrough in Micro LED brightness, reaching 10 million nits for green light, and 2 million nits and 1.5 million nits for blue and red light, respectively. Additionally, in April, JBD introduced the industry's first optical waveguide image quality correction device, the ARTCs, to address the industry challenge of color non-uniformity in waveguide displays. Moreover, in May, the company launched the next-gen Hummingbird Mini II optical engine, with a volume of only 0.15cc, making it the smallest AR optical engine in the industry.
In September, LatticePower published a paper in Advanced Materials on a full-color integration process, producing a 0.39-inch full-color Micro LED chip with a brightness of 400,000 nits and a resolution of 3300 PPI. Subsequently, the company collaborated with multiple partners to develop key technologies such as Si-substrate epi-wafers, misalignment bonding, and sidewall passivation, managing to develop a green Micro LED microdisplay module with a brightness of 10 million nits.
INNOVISION has also made significant advancements in the field of Micro LED microdisplay technology. In April 2024, the company launched the world’s first XGA vertically stacked full-color Micro LED microdisplay chip. In September, it further introduced a mass-production-ready monolithic full-color Micro LED microdisplay chip. Additionally, to accelerate the rapid development of its Micro LED microdisplay chip business, INNOVISION completed a Pre-A2 round of financing in March, raising hundreds of millions of yuan, with Leaguer leading the investment.
SIDTEK is also accelerating its investment in Micro LED microdisplay technology. In collaboration with Southern University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Jiangsu Institute of Advanced Semiconductors, Ltd., SIDTEK has successfully developed maskless photolithography technology for DUV Micro LED displays and published the related results in Nature Photonics. The proposed technology uses high-power AlGaN DUV Micro LEDs with an emission wavelength of 270 nm, an external quantum efficiency of 5.7%, and a brightness of 396 W/cm². With the use of CMOS drivers to directly display exposure patterns, it integrates the pattern with the light source, thereby avoiding the complex operational processes of conventional photolithography involving masks.
To accelerate the research, development, and industrialization process of Micro LED technology, Tianma has established a dedicated Micro LED research institute, where it has achieved several technological breakthroughs. In October 2024, a joint research team from Tianma, Xiamen University, and the Xiamen Institute of Future Display Technology announced the production of a super-retina TFT-based full-color Micro LED display with pixel density of 403 PPI. This achievement marks an important step forward in the application of full-color Micro LED display technology.
In addition to LatticePower, INNOVISION, and SIDTEK, numerous research institutions in China are actively promoting the development of Micro LED technology. These include the University of Science and Technology of China, Zhengzhou University, Xiamen University, Optics Valley Laboratory, Jincai Optoelectronics, and the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter. Through their technological innovations, these organizations have made significant contributions to the advancement of Micro LED technology.
Regarding non-Chinese companies and institutions, Mojo Vision, Seoul National University, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Nagoya University, Lumileds, XDC, Polar Light Technologies, Raontech, VueReal, Aledia, and Q-Pixel have achieved a range of advancements in Micro LED technology.
Summary
Micro LEDs, with their significant advantages in brightness, efficiency, and pixel density, demonstrates vast market potential. Although there are still cost and technical challenges to overcome in mass production, the current development trend indicates that these challenges are being progressively addressed.
According to TrendForce’s analysis, with continuous technological advancements, Micro LED technology has already achieved breakthroughs in the large-size commercial display sector and is expected to play a critical role in the automotive display market in the future, particularly in applications such as center consoles, instrument panels, AR HUDs, and transparent displays.
Based on these positive developments, TrendForce forecasts the market value of Micro LED chips to reach $600 million by 2028. This figure represents only the market value of Micro LED chips. If other segments of the Micro LED industry chain, such as transfer technology, inspection equipment, and backplanes, are taken into account, the total industry value will far exceed this amount. With the concerted efforts of the entire industry, prosperous development for the Micro LED industry is expected to accelerate. (By Mia form 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
Release Date:2024 / 07 / 31
Languages:Traditional Chinese / English
Format:PDF
Page:164
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