Mini/Micro LED won the manufacturers to speed up the layout, but the progress cost pressure

Since 2018, Micro/Mini LED news production process continued to accelerate, make and display industry for exciting LED backlight". However, in the Micro/Mini LED landing sound in my ears when, on this new "cost" concerns also fast.

Micro/Mini LED manufacturers to accelerate the chain layout midstream industry

From the core technology innovation, Micro/Mini LED will be able to achieve large-scale market, does not depend on the application of terminal manufacturers to choose, but should be determined by the upstream package enterprises "to make final decisions". Therefore, investment package part of the Micro/Mini LED, is the priority among priorities of the Micro/Mini LED product.

Changelight investor relations activities in March 1st that year, has set up a future show dry according to research institute, mainly in the study of Mini LED screen and Mini LED backlight, Micro LED, has done a sample layout. Predict the end of this year there will be a Mini TV or mobile phone backlight applications, but the specific volume may be in the next year. At the same time, dry according to is also optimistic about the application of large size and car on the market.

The domestic packaging manufacturers, Huacan also said that in the Mini blue chip backlight applications to display the Mini-RGB chip application has launched a mature chip products, and led the development of the product size. The large-scale commercial will eventually be carried out in accordance with the terminal product launch and promotion of the market.

Siu Chi shares also said the investor relations activities in mid January, more than 80 inch TV can be used in Mini LED and Micro LED, the company's existing equipment can do Mini LED. The company timely tracking and control of industry development and the advanced technology, has good technical reserves, has certain market foundation.

In mid April, REFOND announced that the company intends to issue convertible bonds to raise funds for a total of not more than 467 million 974 thousand yuan (including 467 million 974 thousand yuan), to raise funds to be invested SMD LED package expansion project, Mini project, Micro LED LED packaging production technology R & D Center Projects and supplement working capital. The SMD LED package expansion project construction period of 12 months, all the production scale of annual output of 17 billion 800 million SMD LED packages. Mini LED packaging production project construction period of 12 months, all the production scale of annual output of 11 million 800 thousand pieces of Mini LED packaging products. The construction of Micro LED technology research and development center project for 12 months.

EPISTAR said, has pioneered the Mini LED technology, mobile phone, TV and high order laptop display backlight for potential applications, the second half is expected to launch the application program. The business and marketing vice president fan Jinyong said Mini LED the application, at present a lot of talk about the case, a conservative estimate before the end of the year is expected to mass production.

Upstream manufacturers, billion light is Mini LED hardcore powder. Light billion this year will be the introduction of miniLED, gaming, car and all kinds of thin package series, and the application of CSP LED and mobile phone TV direct type with full screen design products to bring revenue growth for billions of light energy. Everlight chairman Ye Yinfu optimistic about billion light year operation. However, the new product Mini LED volume is still expected to wait until the third quarter.

The Mini LED is the most exciting news, Samsung spent nearly $17 million advance payment, the purchase of Micro LED panel to Sanan optoelectronics, the two sides signed a three year contract, the future will be the exclusive supplier of Samsung andrews. At the end of 2017, three ordered 150 organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment, plus the mainland industrial policy support, is expected to have the scale, capacity and Optoelectronics in the comparative cost advantage on LED wafer.

In the end, Taiwan is to build a Micro LED pilot line, the third quarter of 2018 will have products to VR manufacturers. Samsung COB small pitch LED display in 2018 August to the market over the same period, according to LG letter will also launch the corresponding product. SONY early in 2016 has launched a similar product.

In summary, the upper and middle reaches of the manufacturers in the Micro/Mini LED has been achieved "complete technical reserves", "at any time, at the same time sample desirable future capacity investment with adequate protection". However, from the terminal, landing the specific application is still in the "will", 2018 is still more than ready to use. The industry believes that the Micro/Mini LED in the second half of this year to "see", but on the scale of the need after "2019".

The cost pressure is put forward, SMD/SMT still has the advantage

As a pioneer of LED micro display, Mini LED is popular in the fall (in comparison, Micro LED also need to overcome the "bottleneck of massive transfer of technology). The target market consists of two big screen and backlight system.

From the back light source, the first optimistic about its application in mobile phone and other products on the. There are three reasons for the 1., although the OLED competitive pressure, but the supply capacity is insufficient, the LCD market of high-end machines still have a chance; 2. big screen mobile phone products every year about 2000000000 market size is large enough to cut down part, is sufficient to achieve the survival of LED Mini; 3. Mobile phone 5-7 inch screen, the difficulty of manufacturing Mini LED the more Small, more feasible.

The backlight LCD TV market, Mini LED market is expected to remain relatively conservative. Because the LCD products and more sensitive to low prices on the thickness of the sensitive is not as good as the mobile phone market. This makes Mini LED can only aim at the ultra high-end LCD tv. The latter is the competition with OLED overlap more, and the limited size of the market. At the same time, the technical difficulty of application of Mini LED in large size LCD TV is also higher.

However, in vehicle display Mini LED industry is very optimistic. Because on the one hand, this is a new field, low cost and higher sensitivity of Maori itself. On the other hand, vehicle illumination conditions, the need to "top" products display, color and brightness level, the requirements of Mini LED for good.

From the display market, Mini LED good indoor small pitch LED display industry. Since 2017, COB product price per square meter dropped to 10 million yuan, has opened up the "gold market". The integration of Mini LED and COB, will be able to achieve more show good performance. And, even SMD/SMT, SMD package / small spacing LED screen mount technology, also can get low brightness levels better control and the possible cost advantages from Mini LED lamp.

The above analysis of the market, there is a common point, namely "high-end" two words. This also shows that the essence of Mini LED is temporarily not "economy". For example, the recent news reports, EPISTAR (Epistar) plans to begin in the third quarter of 2018 for the production of mini LED chip intelligent mobile phone screen backlight. Among them, a 5.5 inch Full HD intelligent mobile phone panel 2000-10000 for mini backlight LED display module, the total cost is estimated to be $35-40 -- the cost of making "LCD display system, a -LED times higher than the price of OLED hard screen, not competitive.

Small pitch LED display is also true: at present, there can be problems in the field of the scale of product sales, often require the price per square meter less than 100 thousand yuan, 6-8 yuan in the best -- even the most advanced command and control center, also need the price level. In this regard, DLP splicing and splicing, constitute the main competitive price environment. That is to say, if the small spacing LED screen Mini LED used in COB technology, but can not control the reasonable price, the market is difficult to scale performance.

In a word, by giving priority to production Mini LED instead of Micro LED, LED upstream and downstream manufacturers can bypass the Micro LED to realize the massive transfer of technical difficulty, but still unable to avoid the "new product system may cost problem". Therefore, the encapsulation of SMD LED products are still all packaging manufacturers expand production focus: from the upstream, do not think the market trend has a Micro/Mini LED to replace SMD technology. The two will be the coexistence relationship.

Small spacing display coexistence area of COB and SMD/SMT will be so. After all, the spacing in P1.5 above the cost advantage of the products is "irresistible temptation". And the surface mount LED screen is also exploring new progress. For example, Riyadh recently released on the LED display Supersafe technology services. Supersafe technology, through the use of nano materials, special process of conventional small pitch LED display double surface treatment, solves the problem of product weatherability, bump and other issues, and keep on COB product cost advantage.

Back light Mini LED field, whether successful or not, can not stop the OLED and other emerging display technology challenges pace. The latter does not require a backlight. So, Micro LED shows the type of products before the advent of the backlight market, including gaming, automotive and other advantages of niche segments, Mini LED is still a transitional type of competitors". This greatly hindered people think of the prospects. But, at present, mobile phone PC and TV products on the market and industry were weak, to further increase the difficulty of Mini LED market development.

Progress of Micro/Mini LED technology on the good, and the market terminal "the bottleneck", constitutes a sharp contrast. These bottlenecks will be the biggest attraction in 2018 Micro/Mini LED industry how to break through.

Source: projection Era

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