The Development Trend Of Small-pitch Screens In 2023

Keyword 1:COB

The technological breakthrough of 2023 in the field of small-pitch LED displays is more focused on reducing the spacing between pixels.

COB is a direct wafer-level packaging method for LED and is considered to have more obvious advantages in the area of higher pixel density. While conventional SMDS is thought to be difficult to overcome the process and cost constraints of products with pixel densities less than 0.7mm, COBs can.

First, the LED crystal element is welded directly to the circuit board, and an optical silicone protective shell is added to improve moisture resistance, anti-collision, heat dissipation, and crystal element stability. 

Furthermore, panel stability is enhanced because SMDS does not require reflow soldering, and the dead lamp rate of COBs can be as low as one-tenth that of SMDS.

Key Word 2: Micro LED

Another hot product in the LED display space is the micro LED. In essence, the micro LED is similar to the mini LED mentioned above. There are similarities and differences between the two.

In common: both use tiny LED crystal particles as pixel points.

The difference is that the former uses 1-10 micron LED crystals to achieve a 0.05mm or smaller pixel particles display screen. The latter uses tens of microns of LED crystals to achieve a 0.5-1.2mm pixel particle display screen. While the well-known small spacing LED uses sub-millimeter LED crystals to achieve a 1.0-2.0 mm pixel granular display.

In short, the biggest difference between the three technologies of the same type is the size of the crystal unit. However, the manufacturing process, cost, and other related factors brought by this factor precisely determine which technological route can be truly commercialized.

Key Word 3: Double Backup

In recent years, with the increasing profitability of the small-pitch LED display market, the LED display industry and applications have become more popular. For example, small-pitch LED screens frequently appear in various conferences and competitions such as the G20 Summit.

As a kind of high precision equipment, the customer’s requirement for small spacing LED display is strong stability and expects excellent display effect. After all, once the main venue has a black screen and other faults, it will cause serious losses. Because of this, no black screen has become the core demand of screen enterprises research and development, but also brought the “double backup” design boom.

Keyword 4: Visualization

In recent years, in the field of large-screen display business, the call for visualization is very high. With the deepening of the industry’s understanding, visualization is different from the simple requirement of “signals on the wall” in the past, and applications have begun to be upgraded. On the basis of “visibility”, it is necessary to realize the deep integration of the large screen and the user’s own business system and realize the efficient business linkage across departments and regions.

Keyword 5: Naked-eye 3D

The “Crystal Ball” of Shanghai Meiluo City is a famous landmark of Xujiahui. Since its establishment in 1998, it has carried the precious memory of several generations of Shanghai people. Last year, the “crystal ball” was upgraded again, with 3,888 4K display screens replacing the original ribbon particles, making the crystal ball the world’s first naked-eye 3D screen, and also the prelude to the metaverse of Meiluo.

The initial main function of the large screen on the facade of shopping malls and shopping centers is actually “advertising”. With the development of the Internet and the progress of The Times, this functional attribute is being weakened.

With the “3.0 version” of the upgrade of the crystal ball appearance, the city also intends to continue to base on the basis of science and technology genes, combined with the young people love all kinds of IP, explore to create a new “metaverse of Meiluo”.

Keyword 6: Metaverse LED Display

In 2022, the concept of “metaverse” emerged and was gradually adopted. Consider the “metaverse of Meiluo” mentioned above to explain what a metaverse is. A citizen standing on the second floor of a shopping mall, for example, can reach out and interact with a virtual cartoon character displayed on a ball screen. The consumer’s character image can be copied to the surface of the ball screen in real time using holographic projection and portrait capture technology. At the same time, it can connect online and offline via mobile phones to create a more interactive game experience with topics. The present “impossible” is transformed into the future “possible” through imagination.

As the main display medium of XR technology, LED display is the key hardware equipment for building XR virtual studio. The rapid development of XR technology has put forward new requirements and new challenges for all links in the industry chain such as display screen, packaging, and content production. At the same time, it also reserves new market momentum for the future development of the LED display industry.

At the beginning of this year, ChatGPT obviously grabbed the spotlight, which has opened up a new round of crazy arms races in the technology industry. However, judging from the actual situation of the industry, relevant trends are particularly evident in CES and ISE, the two major exhibitions that the display industry has recently paid attention to. For example, “Metaverse” is still one of the technical focuses, and LED display is also continuously expanding its boundaries on the application side, moving towards a broader market.