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Taiwan-based PlayNitride is undertaking R&D of Micro LED display panels for smartwatches, VR (virtual reality)/AR (augmented reality) devices, smartphones and TVs through cooperation with potential clients and plans to begin trial production at the end of 2017, according to company chairman and CEO Charles Li.
PlayNitride has showcased Micro LED product samples at SEMICON Taiwan 2017.
It will use a single set of equipment to undertake the entire process during the trial production: from epitaxial wafers to chips and then display panels, Li said. Commercial application of Micro LED panels will emerge in 2018 and then system product vendors are expected to boost the application, rendering it possible for large-volume production of Micro LED panels to begin in 2019-2020, Li indicated.
Potential clients are most concerned about production cost for Micro LED panels, but it is difficult to estimate production cost for the time being, Li noted.
A 5.8-inch AMOLED panel used in iPhone X costs US$65-70, much higher than US$12-15 for an LCD panel of the same size. Whether vendors will adopt Micro LED panels will hinge on production cost. Vendors are striving to decrease production costs for Micro LED panels, with significant reductions expected in 2020-2021.
Micro LED panels have advantages of lower power consumption, high brightness, ultra-high resolution, high color saturation, quick response and long lifespan. Power consumption for Micro LED panels is 10% of that for LCDs and 50% of that for OLEDs.
In order to avoid price competition, Micro LED panels should initially be meant for the niche markets where OLED or LCD panels are unable to meet their needs, Li said. Such niche applications include smartwatch screens requiring low power consumption, automotive displays on windshields featuring legibility under sunlight, VR/AR devices featuring high resolution and avoidance of dazzling, and high-end indoor large-size displays, Li noted.
The global Micro LED market value will increase from US$7 million in 2017 to US$224 million in 2020, according to Japan-based Yano Research Institute.
PlayNitride at SEMICON Taiwan 2017
Photo: Siu Han, Digitimes, September 2017
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