At the Beijing InfoComm China 2024 exhibition site, Lehman Optoelectronics, the world's leading supplier of LED direct display large screens, made a grand appearance with its series of star products and world premieres, setting an innovative benchmark for the high-quality development of the audio-visual industry of the conference.
Taking the opportunity of this conference, Projection Times had the honor to interview Mr. Zuo Jianming, vice president and secretary of the board of directors of Lehman Optoelectronics (hereinafter referred to as Mr. Zuo). Mr. Zuo had an in-depth exchange with us on the market development, technological innovation and growth trend of Lehman Optoelectronics LED direct display products, and pointed out that contemporary mainland LED direct display enterprises are facing the best opportunities of the times and shouldering a greater historical mission.
信念铸剑,COB LED第一如何炼成
In March 2024, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology announced the list of "The Eighth Batch of National Manufacturing Individual Champion Enterprises" released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China and the China Federation of Industrial Economics. Among them, Lehman Optoelectronics was successfully awarded the title of national manufacturing individual champion.
As the world's leading enterprise in COB small pitch, Lehman Optoelectronics once again demonstrated its profound heritage in COB technology at the IFC2024 exhibition: Lehman Optoelectronics' "the world's first PM driver glass-based Micro LED ultra-high-definition home giant curtain wall" was unveiled, which adopts TGV glass substrate and Lehman Optoelectronics' unique new COB packaging patent technology, with a series of world-first elements and leading innovation. Lehman 8K Micro LED ultra-high-definition energy-saving cold screen, using Lehman Optoelectronics' self-patented pixel engine display technology and unique COB packaging process, this product can save 50% energy compared with similar products, and has achieved a win-win breakthrough of high image quality and low-carbon environmental sustainability of large screens.
Mr. Zuo believes that there are two main reasons for how Lehman Optoelectronics has continuously innovated and made breakthroughs in COB, a recognized high-end application category of small-pitch LED displays, and maintained the first place in the industry market for three consecutive years: First, Lehman Optoelectronics has deployed COB technology earlier. Lehman Optoelectronics has been preparing for COB technology since 2014 and officially started mass production and sales in 2018. Lehman Optoelectronics currently has the largest number of COB products in the industry, and in this segment, "we started mass production early and started early, so this is one of our first-mover advantages".
The second is the technical reserve. It is understood that "Lehman Optoelectronics has a deep technical reserve in the field of COB". For example, Lehman Optoelectronics has applied for many patents in China and around the world in COB formal installation, COB flip installation, pixel engine, etc. Glass-based COB products and the 220-inch glass-based giant screen on display in IFC2024 are world premieres. ——"Therefore, the leading technology of (COB) and our first-mover advantage have jointly formed the leading edge of Lehman Optoelectronics in the market: we have accumulated a lot in COB technology, gone far and fast. ”
Lehman Optoelectronics has a forward-looking layout of technology trends, from the very beginning to focus on the world's leading goal to carry out technical reserves, to form product performance, quality, price and scale advantages in the real market, which is the "original practice" of Lehman Optoelectronics's product belief of "R&D and innovation".
Lehman Optoelectronics' current national manufacturing single manufacturing champion and the first brand in the COB LED market for three consecutive years is not a sudden achievement, but the inevitable result of continuous innovation, R&D investment, and tireless pursuit of cutting-edge technology. With "world-class leading technology" as the benchmark, it will also promote the mainland LED industry and related enterprises to enter a new realm of development.
Living up to the times, Micro LED technology has moved to the top of the world
When it comes to further technological innovations, Mr. Zuo is particularly "excited". He pointed out that "China's Micro LED display industry in the world (advantages) are very obvious, and the progress of technology is also the world's leading." This will give domestic LED companies a bigger stage and a broader potential space.
Zuo Jianming, vice president and secretary of the board of directors of Lehman Optoelectronics
In this regard, Lehman Optoelectronics completed a new round of financing at the end of last year (raising a total of 461 million yuan), and the funds raised will further expand the production capacity of high-performance ultra-high-definition display panels. "Our vision is to 'make the world shine brighter because of Lehman'. Then our goal is to become a leader in the Micro LED ultra-high-definition display industry. ”
It is understood that Lehman has 10 years of experience in Micro LED R&D and manufacturing, and has accumulated nearly 800 independent patents, among which "LED and its packaging method" and "an LED light-emitting device and display" have won the China Patent Excellence Award. Its Micro LED ultra-high-definition display products based on its self-patented COB advanced technology have a series of products and solution systems such as ultra-high-definition large screens, smart conference interactive systems, digital interactive education display systems for colleges and universities, and ultra-high-definition home giant screen walls, and have been sold to more than 100 countries and regions around the world.
Not long ago, the world's first 8K 163-inch Micro LED ultra-high-definition home giant screen wall product independently developed by Lehman Optoelectronics was unveiled at the AWE 2024 Shanghai Home Appliance Exhibition in March. As the only ultra-100-inch 8K giant screen in AWE 2024, it has been selected by CCTV's 8K ultra-high-definition video production and broadcasting project.
"We are constantly developing new technologies and processes, and we hope to strive to be a leader in technology supply and product application in the industry." Continuous innovation and continuous leadership of industry technology trends is one of the core strategies of Lehman Optoelectronics. Especially in the field of "new quality products" such as COB+Micro LED, which has gained global advantages in the domestic industrial chain as a whole, domestic enterprises are eager to promote the arrival of an era of "LED large screen global" belonging to mainland enterprises through ecological symbiosis, competition in cooperation, and cooperation in competition.
"Cooperation and growth" This is the other side of the current domestic LED screen, especially the "competitive involution" of the Micro LED industry. The strong rise of domestic LED direct display in recent years is based on the state of competition and cooperation between leading manufacturers to jointly promote the growth of this industry...... Competition and cooperation have achieved the benign development of this industry. According to incomplete data, China currently has the world's largest and most complete Micro LED R&D, innovation and investment industry chain, both upstream and downstream and application integration have formed a certain scale advantage.
It is precisely because there are so many leading manufacturers to shout that this market will become bigger and bigger. Because any industry that sings a one-man show, the product of a one-man show, it does not survive for long; At the same time, jumping out of the domestic involution, facing the future development of the international "most areas are less used (advanced LED display), and there is a very broad (international) market waiting to be developed", the domestic LED industry chain also needs to "form a joint force".
Therefore, the era of COB+Micro LED is an opportunity to "make the world bright because of Lehman". This kind of opportunity is also a kind of historical mission. Under the background of such an era, every Chinese LED company should have a dream of "being the world's top stream".
Technological innovation and application innovation have accelerated growth
For the continued expansion and development of the LED direct display market, Mr. Zuo believes that the problems that need to be overcome are not only on the side of the continued stacking height of technology, but also in the direction of real "solid landing", in the direction of application feasibility, application innovation, and application value.
For example, for the market application of large-screen display, the resolution below P0.4 pitch, the industry generally believes that making products with smaller dot pitch is actually a waste of resolution. Because the limits of the visual resolution of the human eye have been exceeded - physiologically meaningless. At the same time,Infinite pursuit of smaller spacing,It will also bring a significant increase in price and cost,It is not economical,Especially when compared with OLED、LCD and other color TV products,This is even more so。
In this regard, Lehman Optoelectronics emphasizes more on the demand layer in the market competition, "LED direct display should play a dislocation advantage". For example, in the conference room, classroom and other markets, Lehman Smart Conference/Education Interactive Large Screen focuses on the "large screen", which is oriented to large conference rooms and large classrooms, and is subdivided and cut with traditional LCD products. It is understood that in the university market, about 15%~20% (classrooms) have requirements for large sizes. There are hundreds of thousands of higher education classrooms in China, combined with large-scale conference room scenarios, the market scale has begun to take shape, and the demand of the global market is also waiting to be developed.
Technological development should be based on the logical premise of application, and then give full play to its own advantages, this kind of industry development cognition, is also reflected in the selection of Lehman Optoelectronics' technical route. In 2023, Lehman Optoelectronics will be the first in the world to release PM driver glass-based Micro LED display technology. In this regard, Mr. Zuo said, "We judge that (TGV glass-based technology) can enter the market faster, because it is more conducive to reducing costs" - at present, there are AM TFT glass-based products in the market, but they are generally faced with the dilemma of "the yield is still quite low, and the cost is still very high". The choice of TGV glass-based technology can allow Lehman Optoelectronics to "achieve some obvious advantages in the subsequent competition".
At the same time, Lehman Optoelectronics is also a staunch COB technology liner. For the long-term strategic advantages of COB technology route, its core performance is as follows: First, COB is always a package, a time in place (technology). Then it is the least tooled in the production process of its products. This guarantees the lowest failure rate and the highest reliability. Second, COB products naturally have many (performance) advantages, and at the same time, they have better theoretical cost advantages in a single package with a very simplified process. "Minimalist structure and craftsmanship are the best products." Mr. Zuo concluded that the simple principle is the basic philosophical law of science and technology.
Technological innovation must ultimately be application-oriented, and let the application test the value of innovation. At the same time, the application is also driving the "dimensionality" development of LED direct display technology. At present, Lehman's technological innovation is not only "selling a single product", but also has many subsystems or functions including portrait tracking, automatic real-time audio processing, physical screen interaction, visual presentation, and writing on the same screen, constituting an overall solution of all elements of software and hardware. Home screens, education and conference screens, XR virtual production, glasses-free 3D advertising...... Lehman Optoelectronics has applied solutions to the ground, innovative functions have driven value upgrades, core technologies have been leading to establish differentiated experiences, and continue to promote the "better use and ease of use" of the LED direct display industry.
Postscript: In the interview, Mr. Zuo attaches great importance to the dialectical relationship between "cutting-edge technology" and "application landing", emphasizing the "general trend of moving towards the world's leading synergy in the involution of the domestic market", and fully demonstrates the "strategic pillar position of innovation and R&D in driving the rise of new economy, new applications and new production capacity"...... This is also the road taken by Lehman Optoelectronics today, a road to promote national enterprises to the top of the world.