- GaN micro-LED will soon be a mass-market proposition, as millions of microscopic LEDs will replace LCDs and OLEDs
- This market is gradually finding acceptance in a wide range of applications
- North America is anticipated to remain at the forefront of it
A new business intelligence study, predicts the worldwide sales of GaN micro-LED will increase by 33 per cent year-over-year to reach US$ 197,000 in 2019, up from US$ 150,000 in 2018.
GaN is a new technology for fabricating gallium nitride (GaN) microLED displays on a CMOS process that significantly reduces transfer steps and eliminates the size limit for applications ranging from smartwatches to large televisions.
This new technology has been in the research laboratories for years, and the launch of Samsung’s Micro-LED displays, featuring self-emissive technology and modular capabilities, left consumers curious about the emerging technology.
The report expects that GaN micro-LED will soon be a mass-market proposition, as an array of millions of microscopic LEDs is set to replace incumbent technologies such as LCDs and OLEDs and penetrate major digital displays markets.
Despite their extremely high price tag and significant complexity in design, it is gradually finding acceptance in a wide range of applications, in the view of greater efficiency, improved brightness, and lower power consumption. As the war of innovation supremacy continues in the display markets, GaN micro-LED market players are putting greater emphasis on bringing the production challenges under control and costs down.
Report analysis projects the sales of GaN micro-LED to ramp up at an impressive CAGR of 43.5 per cent during the period, 2019-2029, as the technology promises to offer better and brighter displays as well as lighting than the current solutions. Sensing the application potential of the new technology in newer models of TVs, smartwatches, AR devices, and head-mounted systems such as Google Glass, stakeholders are making rigorous investments in R&D and deepening their collaborations with technology solution providers.
Mid power micro-LEDs for lighting applications to capture a robust share
As indicated by the study, the consumption of mid-power GaN micro-LEDs, which accounted for 75 per cent share in 2018, will become mainstream for lighting applications in the years ahead. However, a significantly large percentage of the cost of mid-power micro-LEDs goes to packaging, thereby limiting the advantage of lowering its overall costs. On the hand, demand for low power micro-LEDs is likely to garner significant traction in the future, in the view of maintaining full brightness without the loss of noticeable display brightness over the entire illumination time.
Greater demand for the technology displays will continue to influence the growth strategies, accounting for 79 per cent share in 2018. As identified by the study analyst, gains will remain driven by growing demand for visual aspects in modern-day devices, increasing the need for high luminance in small format for near-to-eye display devices, and the demand for high resolution and efficient luminance in battery-powered consumer electronics.
North America in the vanguard, APEJ to outdo European market
Accounting for 26 per cent share in 2018, North America is anticipated to remain at the forefront of GaN micro-LED market. According to the study, the European market is likely to lose its second position to the Asia Pacific in the foreseeable future, as many players in the latter region are constantly demonstrating their progress and latest breakthroughs in the new LED technology.
Unprecedented evolution in the number of industry verticals has pushed stakeholders to redefine their growth strategies to retain and attract a new segment of customers. In addition to focusing entirely on the new technology while ceasing the launch of conventional solutions, stakeholders are centered on collaborating with research institutes to synchronize their advances.
