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Taiwan Struggles to Become a Leader in Micro LEDs
December 17, 2017

Foxconn invested in Micro LED startup eLux and is partnering with AOT on Micro LED development. Meanwhile, Sharp led by Taiwanese Entrepreneur Tai Jeng-wu is attempting to integrate Micro LED technology with ‘IGZO’ technology to create high-end displays. Samsung Electronics will show a Micro LED TV at CES.  Over the past year, Korean companies visited Micro LED companies in Taiwan several times. Korean engineers could be seen in the Tai Yuen Hi-Tech Industrial Park almost everyday in the past 30 days, a source from the industry unveiled. At the 2017 Micro LED International Symposium in Taipei, many attendees were from Samsung and LG Display, and they asked a lot of questions, according to Dr. Chih-I Wu, Head of ITRI’s Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories. Epistar general manager Ming-Chun Chou also once said that it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Samsung launch a Micro LED TV.
Samsung found the supply chain in Taiwan, which is outside Apple’s task force, has already been able to independently develop 300 DPI full color Micro LED displays. These company may even be able to create flexible displays by replacing rigid backplanes with flexible ones. They are likely to produce transparent displays as well.  In Taiwan, lots of R&D teams are developing Micro LED. Micro LED displays also require driver ICs, components, and circuitry, which Samsung has these components.  Despite the interest of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display has not been active in developing Micro LED technology, although there are reports that hundreds of engineers are conducting R&D,” a supposed insider said. The insider claims Samsung has been secretly developing the Micro LED technology when Apple set up an R&D base in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Even though Micro LED technology has yet to take off, a lot of companies are already secretly competing with each other in the R&D process.