Japan Display Inc. (JDI) announced this week that it has completed development of its first Micro LED module. The prototype of the Micro LED module, which is a potential building block for next generation displays and TVs, offers a 265 PPI pixel density. JDI will be demonstrating the module at Fintech Japan 2019 later this week.

JDI’s Micro LED display prototype is a square module with a 1.6-inch diagonal, and offers a resolution of 300×300 pixels along with a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits. The prototype uses gallium nitride LED chips developed by glo (a Micro LED pioneer) and JDI’s LTPS backplane.

JDI's Micro LED Display Module Prototype
Feature Characteristic
Screen size 1.6 inches
Resolution 300×300×RGB
Pixel density 265 PPI
Luminance 3,000 cd/m²
Viewing angle >178°

As part of the development process for Micro-LED displays, the hope is that display makers can assemble full-sized displays by building them out of individual modules such as JDIs. A modular approach not only offers more control over yields (as opposed to having to fail a full-sized panel over a flaw), but it would also allow manufacturers to easily support multiple resolutions and aspect ratios just by changing the number of modules. That said, being able to produce commercial panels in volume is still years off, and for now Japan Display has made significant progress just in completing their prototype module.

Micro LED technology is a promising candidate for higher-end displays and television that will be available three to four years down the road. The technology has virtually all the quality advantages that OLED has to offer (over LCD), including individually-controlled LEDs, high contrast, fast response times, and wide viewing angles. But equally important, it does not come with the major disadvantages that OLEDs are known for, such as off-axis color shifting and aging-related burn-in. There are many small companies working on Micro LED technology, but so far only a handful of actual displays/TVs manufacturers have showcased their Micro LED prototypes, and only two of them have started to commercialize this technology on a very small scale.

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Source: Japan Display

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  • ksec - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    Well even the Apple Watch has 326PPI, so 265 isn't good enough ( yet )
  • Kamus - Monday, December 2, 2019 - link

    "Micro LED technology is a promising candidate for higher-end displays and television that will be available three to four years down the road."

    3 to 4 years? Think 10, if we're lucky. We might see it earlier at these sizes though.

    In 3-5 years, these might end up being on AR/VR headsets.

    But as far as televisions go. Just stop living in the future, and get an OLED. Its as good as it's going to get for a decade or so.
  • Retycint - Monday, December 2, 2019 - link

    I've started to see noticeable burn-in on my OLED Samsung S8+, after 2.5 years of use. So I'm not very convinced on the longevity of OLED TVs, especially since OLEDs have only achieved mass-market recognition in the past 2-3 years and there hasn't been enough time to say whether burn-in will be an issue or not
  • nathanddrews - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    Categorically, burn-in is inevitable on OLED just as the LED backlight of an LCD can burn out. The only question that matters is: will it happen before you throw it away and replace it? It can be mitigated and slowed, but not eliminated. Not trying to hate, just being realistic. I refuse to buy a phone WITHOUT an OLED screen, I love how it looks. To date, my Galaxy S5 is the only OLED device in my life that suffered burn-in before I was ready to upgrade to a newer phone (manifested after 18 months). My S3 went almost 4 years without any signs of permanent burn-in.

    When talking about MicroLED timing, it's important to remember that there's a big difference in manufacturing between MicroLED in small applications like this (iWatch 5/6) and MicroLED in large applications (Sony Crystal LED/Samsung Wall). We're going to see MicroLED in watches and stadiums before we see them in our living rooms.
  • Kamus - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    That's very interesting to me. I used a galaxy note 4 for 5 years, and I never had any burn in, what so ever.

    I just switched to a Xiaomi mi 9 after deciding my note 4 was just due for an update (I still loved the screen though) and I'm even less afraid of burn in now that everything is dark mode.

    Back when I used the note 4, dark modes were just a pipe dream for most content.
  • ianmills - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    The PPI is a bit small and I can see the 282ppi mi band 4 dots 30cm away
  • bansheexyz - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    If the costs of OLED come down dramatically to match LCD prices, then the uneven pixel wear issue would be tolerable, as you could simply buy replacements more frequently. It's only a problem due to current prices, so they need to start printing these panels like paper the way they say they can.
  • Vitor - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    The pixel density is actually suitable for any TV. A 4k 22" has a pixel density of 200. So yeah, this tech could easily be better than lcd everywhere without the burn in issue of oled.
  • Lolimaster - Tuesday, December 3, 2019 - link

    Seems microled i wayto inmature, remenber rhe promuse of mled qled tvs from samsung in 2021...

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