‘Samsung may postpone microLED TVs for consumers due to low yields’
Samsung may not be able to release its microLED TVs for consumers this year. According to sources from The Elec, there are production problems and low yield rates are a problem.
The original production plan for the microLED TVs has been delayed, making it questionable whether the TVs will be released this year, according to The Elec sources familiar with the matter. At the beginning of this year, Samsung showed several microLED TVs and the company then indicated through Han Jong-hee, the director of Samsung’s Visual Display department, that the models will be released in the second half of 2020. According to the information from The Elec, that can be a difficult story, because Samsung has not even started production of the necessary components yet. According to the original schedule, that production should have been completed in the first half of this year. According to the sources, certain suppliers and companies, which are not directly involved in the production of microLED panels, have also not yet received a timetable for the production.
The biggest obstacle would be the transfer process, where the very small LED modules have to be transferred from their temporary substrate to a flexible printed circuit board. Samsung claims that these are LEDs the size of a micrometer, but in reality that would be between 100 and 200 micrometers. As far as size is concerned, this means that it is more likely to compete with mini-LEDs, although a comparable process is necessary. If defects occur in this process, this is usually solved by special repair equipment, but the yield rate would be so low that the use of that equipment would also be insufficient to cope with the production problem. Increasing the yield rate is also crucial for lowering the price of the final product. Depending on the model, that price would now be between 10,000 and 100,000 dollars.
A spokesperson for Samsung indicates that the company is still on schedule to release the microLED TVs in the second half of this year. At CES early this year, Samsung showed four microLED TVs for home use, which were TVs in sizes of 75, 88, 93 and 110 inches. In addition, the manufacturer showed a 150″ and a 292″ copy for companies. During CES 2019, the company already showed a 75″ microLED screen, although seams between the LED panels were still clearly visible and there were also dead pixels. The company previously showed The Wall, a modular television with a 146″ diagonal. based on micro LEDs. However, this one is purely aimed at companies.
The inorganic LEDs used in the microLED screen technology have a number of important advantages over OLEDs. For example, they are very efficient, achieve a high maximum brightness, have a very long life and can generate very pure colors. MicroLED TVs, like OLED TVs, do not need a backlight because the pixels generate their own light and share a very high contrast and a perfect black display. Compared to OLED TVs, microLEDs would suffer less from burn-in and can achieve higher brightness values.
Samsung is also working on televisions based on quantum dot OLED panels, with which the company will eventually compete directly with the current OLED TVs, which are based on LG Display panels with white OLEDs as a basis. Samsung recently confirmed that it will begin production of quantum dot OLED panels for TVs next year.
2019 75″ Micro LED Prototype