Photo: Liberty Times
As a pioneer in the Micro-LED industry, PlayNitride has been at the forefront of the ultimate display technology since its establishment in 2014. On August 18, 2022, the first trading day of PlayNitride on the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB), we had the opportunity to interview Dr. Charles Li, the founder, Chairman, and CEO of PlayNitride. Entering PlayNitride's factory in Zhunan, Dr. Li and his team warmly greeted us and introduced us to the office area as well as the free karaoke room and massage chairs for employees. The industrial style office space is filled with the ambiance of a start-up company. Dr. Li's enthusiasm for the future of Micro-LED was evident from the beginning of the interview: "Starting in 2023, I believe Micro-LED will offer a great opportunity for Taiwan's display supply chain to change the competitive landscape of the global display industry beyond LCD and OLED. As the leader in Micro-LED technology and the first publicly traded Micro-LED company in the world, we will continue to invest in R&D to lead this decade-long paradigm shift in the display industry and in the global technology and capital markets.
Promoting the evolution of Micro-LED for a wide range of applications
To understand the potential for development of Micro-LEDs, it is essential to understand what they are. On its underlying technology, Dr. Li explains: “Micro-LED, as the name suggests, results from miniaturizing the structure of LEDs by removing the package and substrate, so that the size of the LED device can be reduced from 1mm to less than 50μm. Removing the substrate leaves only the epitaxial film, resulting in a light, thin, and short Micro-LED Chip that can meet the pixel sizes of displays through Mass Transfer. Playnitride's core capability is the transferring of the three-color chips of R/G/B from their respective epiwafers to the temporary substrate, which we call Chip On Carrier (COC). COC is our exclusive technology and has become the industry standard and a key process in Micro-LED display production. It arranges the chips in the correct position according to the pixel size of the display to facilitate the subsequent process of Mass Transfer.”
Why did Dr. Li choose to specialize in the field of Micro-LED? Dr. Li explains his motivation for starting the business: "Traditional display technologies, including LCD and OLED panels, have inherent limitations in size, energy consumption, brightness, contrast, image resolution, color, product lifetime, reliability, and flexibility. In the early-stage of our business, based on years of in-depth research into the fundamental science of LEDs, we planned on developing an ultimate display technology that would break through the technological limits of the traditional panel industry with disruptive innovation and create an unprecedented visual experience. Presently, we firmly believe that Micro-LEDs are on their way to realizing the vision we set when we started. "
Dr. Li spoke passionately about the future applications of Micro-LED: "The Micro-LED display combines the technologies of LED miniaturization and arraying, and directly mass transfers and bonds the Micro-LED chips to the driving backplane, which has a circuit structure design. Ordinary large-size LEDs can only be used in large video walls, while micro-scale Micro-LED chips can be used in watches, mobile phones, cars, computer screens, TVs, AR/VR and other display applications in various sizes and fields. This has led international brands to incorporate Micro-LED into their product designs, including Samsung's 146" modular 4k Micro LED TV "The Wall" in 2018 and the 110", 101" and 89" high-end Micro-LED TVs announced at CES earlier this year, continuing to reduce the cost of Micro LED displays and expanding their potential market applications. According to Omdia, a research institute, the market size of Micro-LED displays is estimated to be $19.38 million in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 127.8% to $6.18 billion in 2029, accounting for 4.3% of the total flat panel display market size. Such a huge market potential has attracted many traditional panel and LED companies to invest in its development and to promote the commercialization of Micro-LED applications."
Dr. Li further explained, "When PlayNitride was founded, the industry was still skeptical about the commercialization of Micro-LEDs. Like Tesla who has led the popularization of EVs, we have been focusing on the research and development of Micro-LED technology for years, from epitaxy and crystal growth to mass transfer and display modules. We have regularly participated in major global forums on display and technology, winning multiple awards as a significant promoter of the global Micro-LED technology. In addition to technological leadership, we are attempting to build a Micro-LED supply chain based on the existing panel and LED industry chain to further accelerate the commercialization of Micro-LEDs in various applications. "
Ensure technological leadership, building industry ecosystems to accelerate commercialization
One of PlayNitride's key competitive advantages is its industry-leading Micro-LED technology. Dr. Lee confidently disclosed Playnitride's technological strengths and patent strategy: "PlayNitride's team has accumulated years of technological prowess to lead the Micro-LED industry. Coupled with the ability for rapid optimization of production efficiency, it is one of a few companies that owns and has integrated the complete set of Micro-LED display technologies. For each application, PlayNitride has a highly capable team working to innovate and develop the respective technologies. We can produce high uniformity 6-inch R/G/B LED wafers with uniform brightness across wavelengths and no need for binning. PlayNitride can also produce high yield R/G/B Micro LED chips with a higher than 99% chip on wafer yield. PlayNitride's core technologies include exclusive COC, industry-leading mass transfer, inspection, and testing, all of which are produced by our customized equipment to provide a one-stop Micro LED solution developed in-house. Over the years, PlayNitride's patent strategy has focused on the key technologies mentioned above. As of 2022, the team has accumulated 683 patents for Micro-LED, ranking 6th in the world. The patents cover the complete Micro LED key processes, including core production technology such as epi, microchip, COC, mass transfer, display modules, and other display technologies. "
For Taiwan's display panel and LED industry, PlayNitride's successful IPO will also benefit the development of Taiwan's Micro LED supply chain. Dr. Li's high expectations for the establishment of this business ecosystem is evident in his speech: "In addition to the evolution of traditional display panel technology, Micro-LED is an important driver for the sustainable development of Taiwan's panel and LED industries. The technology, production capacity, and talents in the traditional display panel industry that Taiwan has accumulated is now beginning to connect to the larger applications of Micro LED displays. With our strategic partners, PlayNitride hopes to accelerate the establishment of a complete Micro LED ecosystem in Taiwan, including IP, technology development, equipment, production, sales, and module application. We have begun cooperating with leading Taiwanese supply chain players to provide Micro-LED technology in the interest of supporting our supply chain partners in meeting the vast market demand through technology licensing, production line development, and outsourcing. In the paradigm shift from traditional display panels to Micro-LED, we hope to establish an ecosystem similar to that of Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain clusters and establish a dominant position for Taiwanese companies in global Micro-LED technology and production.”
For the next five years, Dr. Li has an elaborate plan for the development of PlayNitride's technology and product applications: " PlayNitride has been developing and completing various types of Micro-LED display applications. The Pixel type COC for large displays and commercial displays are already in trial production, and the Pixel type COC for automotive displays panels and flexible mid-size displays have been exhibited in prototypes this year. Playnitride's prototype of the micro display for AR/VR won the SID Best New Display Technology Award, and the trial production of the wearable display panel is expected to start in 2023. In the next five years, product shipment will begin to expand from large-size applications like TV and commercial displays and small-size wearable devices. In 2023, car manufacturers are expected to launch concept cars equipped with PlayNitride's micro LED display panel, followed by AR/VR glasses. As for smart phones, the product with highest demand, Micro-LED displays will not be adopted until the cost and production capacity of Micro-LEDs achieve a greater scale.” Dr. Li continued: "Our continuously evolving technology will ensure steady progress of product applications. In June 2020, PlayNitride sought to reduce the cost of micro-LED pixels by 45% to 50% per year and 95% in five years through chip scaling, production yield improvement, and increase in throughput. It is still continuing on this path. In addition, we plan to increase the yield of chip on wafer from 99% to 99.2%, and LED wafer utilization from 80% to 83% by 2023. PlayNitride’s current manufacturing facility in Zhunan, Taiwan, has a production capacity of approximately 2,000 six-inch wafers, with ample room to further expand R&D production lines for Micro-LED. PlayNitride integrates patented technologies into customized manufacturing processes and transfers R&D and manufacturing technology capabilities to a larger supply chain. With the assistance of our supply chain partners, in line with Moore's Law of semiconductors, it is possible for Micro-LED development to challenge the physical limits of LED wafer size with increased precision in production in the long run. Micro-LED is expected to move from 6" to 8" and 12" wafers for production in the future, further reducing costs and expanding the market for its applications."
The long-term goal post-IPO: to pursue sustainable growth and create long-term industry and shareholder value
As the world's first Micro-LED listed company and the first successful listing on the Taiwan Innovation Board, Dr. Li is confident of the development of PlayNitride in the future: " In addition to reaching an important milestone since the establishment of our company, we have also become a pioneer in Taiwan's start-up field. We hope to inspire other start-up companies with core technologies to raise capital through TIB to establish a strong foothold in Taiwan and beyond. PlayNitride is already a partner of many leading global companies, including major display manufacturers and well-known consumer electronics brands in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Looking ahead, we will continue working with our supply chain partners to develop key technologies, chips, systems, and new forms of display applications, as well as build a leading ecosystem of Micro-LEDs to seize the opportunities amidst the paradigm shift of the global panel and LED industry. In the coming years, we expect to maintain a high growth rate in revenue, keep sustainable growth momentum after breakeven and provide steady ROE for our shareholders while introducing more long-term international investors."
If you would like to arrange a meeting with the Chairman of PlayNitride - Dr. Charles Li, please contact yvonnehuang@qtumic.com.
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