Just when many people were still excited and looking forward to the Apple iPhone being equipped with OLED, they found that there seemed to be a new term in this field, that is Micro-LED. In fact, even Apple seems to be planning. The rumored new Apple Watch has been rumored to be equipped with a Micro-LED screen, abandoning the original OLED technology.
Since this year OLED is gradually becoming the mainstream, which we can most clearly experience when observing the TV market, and major manufacturers except Samsung have embraced this technology. In the smartphone market, a large number of new products, including domestic mobile phones, have also switched to OLED screens. However, the era of OLED has not yet officially begun, and people have begun to discuss Micro-LED, making the former seem like a transition.
As early as last year’s IFA exhibition, Sony exhibited its so-called CLEDis display technology, which is essentially what everyone calls Micro-LED. At that time, CLEDis impressed everyone very deeply. The ultra-delicate picture quality and vivid colors are pleasing to the eye. Apple is obviously also making efforts in this field, and its acquisition of Micro-LED display technology company LuxVue is already the best evidence.
So for this possibility of ending the existence of OLED hegemony in advance, we can come to find out.
Talk about Micro-LED
We all know LED (light-emitting diode), and Micro-LED, as the name suggests, is a miniaturized LED. The core of this technology is to make miniaturized LEDs into arrays, transfer them to circuit substrates in batches, add protective layers and electrodes at last, and make them into display screens after packaging.
If you want to ask what are the advantages of Micro-LED, it can be summarized as ultra-high pixel count, ultra-high resolution, lower energy consumption, and longer lifespan. Why is this so? First of all, we already know that Micro-LED is actually an array after LED miniaturization, that is to say, each pixel of it is a miniaturized LED unit. The LED chip millimeter level can be miniaturized to the micron level.
At present, the general standard in the industry is about 50×50 microns, while Apple can achieve 10×10 microns. In this way, the spacing between pixels is very, very small, and you can imagine how delicate the picture is. According to calculations, if the iPhone 6-sized screen uses Apple Micro-LED, it can reach an astonishing pixel density of 1500 ppi, truly “invisible pixels”.
Another point worth noting is that because each pixel of Micro-LED can be individually addressed and emits light independently, coupled with the well-known high brightness of LED, Micro-LED screens can achieve ultra-high contrast and are very gorgeous. picture.
As for energy consumption, OLED itself has more energy-saving characteristics because of the self-luminous characteristics of pixels. Since the pixels of Micro-LED can also emit light, it is naturally the same. Moreover, Micro-LED is more efficient and energy-saving. It is said that its energy consumption is 50% of that of OLED screen. In terms of lifespan, Micro-LED as an inorganic solution is naturally more durable than OLED, an organic-based solution.
Micro-LED can achieve seamless splicing, so it has good adaptability to requirements of various sizes and shapes, and will not encounter too many challenges. These characteristics give Micro-LED a very broad prospect. Needless to say, the improvement of picture quality, as long as the equipment that relies on the display screen continues to develop, people’s pursuit of better picture quality will not stop.
Perhaps one day, the TV in our home will be able to achieve a picture as delicate as the painting in the living room. More importantly, since there will be no breakthrough in battery technology in a short time, it is very important to reduce the overall energy consumption of the system as much as possible. As a big consumer of electricity, the display screen can save a little bit from its mouth, not to mention that the theoretical energy consumption of Micro-LED is really good.
challenges certainly exist
Of course, if Micro-LEDs are all good, OLED will not be so aggressive. At least for now Micro-LED technology will be practical, we should still have to wait for a while.
Just like all new technologies that have not yet been widely used, the biggest problems of Micro-LED are high cost, low yield rate, and difficulty in mass production. We just mentioned batch transfer, but in terms of transfer, there are difficulties in the process from sapphire substrate to glass substrate, especially the mass transfer of such micro devices.
In addition, it is also difficult for LEDs to present consistent wavelengths after being cut from wafers into chips, that is, it is difficult to present colors. Therefore, Micro-LED may first be applied to wearable devices, such as smart phones, because such devices have small screens, low requirements for fineness, and relatively simple implementation.
Another important point is that the LED array technology of Micro-LED is difficult to be flexible. Flexibility is one of the biggest advantages of OLED panels, and this application has a bright future. If Micro-LED cannot be used in 75mm Flexible LED Mesh Screen applications, the places where it can be used in the future may be limited by the applications we see now.
In addition, although Micro-LED has many advantages, these advantages have actually begun to be challenged, such as PHOLED technology with better luminous efficiency, QLED with sufficient brightness and lifespan to pose a challenge, and so on.
But in general, Micro-LED still has great potential, because all major manufacturers have already begun to lay out in advance, and some industry analysts say that it can be commercialized within three to five years. Because it is less difficult to realize, we may even see Apple launch an Apple Watch with a Micro-LED screen this year or next year.
Compared with LCD and OLED, the progress brought by Micro-LED is very fascinating. Not only energy saving, but also a dramatic improvement in picture quality can be said to be very attractive. What’s next for us? This is really exciting.
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