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Apple leads in microLED race, says Yole

Apple leads in microLED race, says Yole

Market news |
By eeNews Europe



Yole’s analysts note that microLED technology could match or exceed OLEDs for most key display attributes, but yield is still and issue die to the an inherently complex technology. Manufacturing a 4K resolution display implies assembling and connecting 25 million microLED chips the size of large bacteria without a single error, with placement accuracy of 1µm or less.

This challenge alone appears daunting, but many others were still seen as potential showstoppers as recently as early 2017. Eighteen months later, some assembly technologies are delivering close to 99.99% or 99.999% yields, and small die efficiency is approaching or exceeding that of OLEDs, observes Yole.

MOCVD reactor suppliers also have credible roadmaps to deliver tools with the capabilities and cost ownership that the industry needs. Color conversion and other aspects are also progressing.

 

From demos to consumer displays

Increasing numbers of companies are demonstrating prototypes. Most are microdisplays on CMOS backplanes but the number of “large” displays prototypes is increasing as well, whether they are using discrete microdrivers like X-Celeprint or thin-film transistor (TFT) backplanes like AUO and Playnitride.

Many are still focusing on realizing their first prototype, but the most advanced have realized that bringing up the technology from the level of functioning demo to consumer-grade products might require more effort than anticipated. Among others, driving microLEDs is more complex than OLEDs and using standard low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) or oxide TFT backplanes might not be as straightforward as expected.

Sony’s demonstration of a full HD 55” microLED TV at CES 2012, more than six years ago, was the first exposure for microLED displays and generated a lot of excitement. Since Apple acquired Luxvue in 2014, many leading companies such as Facebook, Google, Samsung, LG or Intel have entered the game via sizable internal developments, acquisitions, like those of mLED and eLux, or investments in startups such as glō or Aledia.


Apple leads the game

Yole had a close look at the patent landscape before it could establish Apple as an unexpected leader in microLED technologies. Analyzing Apple’s microLED patent activity shows that the company essentially halted its filing around 2015. This is a surprising finding in the light of the fact that the consumer electronics giant has maintained a large project team and consistently spent hundreds of millions of dollars annually on microLED development. A closer analysis however brought up the name of a possible strawman entity used by Apple to continue filing patents and shows that the company is still advancing key aspects of microLED technologies.

Despite a later start compared to pioneers such as Sony or Sharp, Apple’s portfolio is one of the most complete, comprehensively covering all critical technologies pertinent to microLEDs. The company is the most advanced and still one of the best positioned to bring high volume microLED products to the market, argue Yole’s analysts.

 

Challenges persist

To maintain its premium brand image, Apple can’t afford to introduce a product featuring such a highly differentiating technology that is anything but flawless. It requires high volumes, which makes setting up the supply chain more challenging than for any other company. The company has no prior experience in display manufacturing and due to its need for secrecy, has to develop pretty much everything internally, duplicating technologies and infrastructures that others have the option to outsource.

Yole’s report provides a detailed overview of key players and analyses the challenges associated with setting up an efficient microLED display supply chain, including front end and display assembly.


Reducing manufacturing costs 

Dozens of technologies are being developed for microLED assembly and pixel structures. The cost and complexity range can be staggering. However, there are some fundamentals that anchor all those processes. Alignment dominates assembly cycle times, die size can’t get infinitely small, epitaxy cost has already been through more than 20 years on the cost reduction curve. Cost analysis therefore allows companies to narrow the process parameters down to economically realistic windows and identify efficient cost reduction strategies.

MicroLED companies must understand the cost targets for each application and work backward, making process choices and developing each step so it fits the cost envelope. Processes that can’t deliver the right economics will disappear. If none can deliver the right economics, the opportunity will never materialize. MicroLED is entering the valley of death between technology development and industrialization and commercialization.

As the technology improves, there are credible cost reduction paths for microLED to compete in the high-end segment of various applications such as TV, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and wearables. With the right approaches, assembly cost could become a minor contributor. For smartphones, however, approaching OLED cost implies pushing microLEDs toward what is likely to be the limits of the technology in term of die size. To succeed, microLEDs will have to count on some level of price elasticity. It must deliver performance and features that no other display technology can offer and that are perceived by the consumer as highly differentiating.

Microdisplays for AR and head-up displays (HUD) will be the first commercial applications, followed by smartwatches. TVs and smartphones could follow 3-5 years from now, concludes Yole. 

Yole Développement – www.yole.fr

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