Micro LEDs are tiny light-emitting diodes that can be used as a single pixel in displays and other imaging applications. Compared with traditional LCD and OLED systems, Micro LED has a larger color gamut, greater brightness, higher energy efficiency and higher contrast, so Micro LED is particularly used in high-end, high analysis rate flat panel display technology. popular.
According to the latest report of the French market research company Yole Développement, patents applied by companies on Micro LED technology continue to rise. By the end of last year, more than 350 enterprise organizations had applied for nearly 5,500 patents related to Micro LED technology, of which about 40% of the patent applications were filed in 2019.
Yole’s report shows that initially, most display-related companies were reluctant to use Micro LEDs. It was only after Micro LEDs demonstrated their distinctive potential in the high-end display market that companies increased their investment (like LG, Samsung And AUO, etc.). Recently, display manufacturers have stepped up their own patent applications. Among them, BOE of China topped the list, applying for 150 new patents within one year in 2019. Chinese companies' patent applications for Micro LED technology reflect the fact that China now controls nearly half of the global display capacity.
Due to the small size of Micro LED, a key production bottleneck for the displays it manufactures is the inability to transfer chips with Micro LEDs from wafers to the display backplane on a large scale. This process involves millions of Micro LEDs, which must be performed with extremely small precision. As a result, the traditional mass transfer technology is very slow, and it takes the company several weeks to produce a display. Therefore, various companies are now looking for better methods. Most of the patents related to Micro LED are around this production. The bottleneck unfolds.
