Sony showcased CLEDIS (crystal LED integrated structure) large-size displays at CES 2017 in Las Vegas during January 5-8, signaling that commercial application of micro LED will soon take off, according to Taiwan-based LED makers.
Sony unveiled crystal LED display technology as early as 2012 through adopting 6.22 million micro LED chips for a 55-inch TV, the sources said. Sony dubbed the technology as CLEDIS in 2016 and plans to start production in 2017, the sources noted. Sony-developed CLEDIS large-size displays are 403mm x 453mm RGB LED panels without bezel, with each CLEDIS unit having a resolution of 320 x 360.
Since required resolution level is below 100ppi (pixel per inch) for large-size displays, 200-300ppi for smart wearable devices, over 1,000ppi for VR (virtual reality) devices and higher for smartphones, micro LED is expected to be initially applied to large-size displays and smart wearable devices, the sources analyzed.
Taiwan-based Playnitride has been developing micro-LED technology for a while and plans to begin production of micro LED chips for use in large-size displays and smart wearable devices at the end of the second quarter or in the third quarter of 2017, with yield rates aimed at 70-80%. In addition, Playnitride is likely to begin production of micro LED chips for use in VR devices in first-half 2018.
