In-Depth Analysis of MiP Display Technology

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MiP (Micro LED-in-Package) is a chip-scale packaging technology. It involves using mass transfer technology to place substrate-less tri-color Micro LED light-emitting chips onto a carrier substrate. These are then formed into discrete devices through packaging, dicing, testing, and color mixing. Its core innovation lies in integrating the "high performance of Micro LED chips" with the "mature processes of Mini LED," achieving an intergenerational compatibility of "Micro chips + Mini packaging." This significantly reduces the process difficulty and cost associated with traditional display technologies.

Packaging Process Innovation: Fan-out Architecture and Pad Enlargement Utilizes Fan-out packaging technology to rewire circuits via semiconductor processes, enlarging the pin pad size and pitch of Micro LED chips. This lowers the precision requirements for PCB circuitry and improves production yield. Compared to traditional COB technology, MiP does not require high-precision PCB substrates, drastically reducing the difficulty of placement and offering both process simplicity and cost controllability.

Mass Transfer and Efficient Manufacturing Laser mass transfer technology can transfer tens of thousands of chips per minute with an accuracy of ±5μm, significantly enhancing production efficiency and laying the foundation for reducing unit manufacturing costs.

Optical Performance: Full pixel testing and binning ensure brightness and color temperature uniformity. Black adhesive filling reduces optical crosstalk, while high-transparency silicone enhances light efficiency. The micro-scale chip size increases the black area ratio, improving panel blackness and visual contrast ratio.

Reliability: The optimized packaging structure improves heat dissipation and anti-crosstalk capability, offering long-term stability superior to some traditional technologies.

Standardized Manufacturing Process The process covers "Mass Transfer → Fan-out Packaging → Dicing & Sorting → Die Bonding." Each step relies on semiconductor-level processes for precise collaboration. For example, sub-50μm chips are transferred to a carrier to form an array, and electrode pin enlargement technology enhances subsequent integration compatibility.

Chip Binning and Color Consistency: Micro LED binning is difficult and costly. A single MiP device contains three LED chips, making it challenging to guarantee brightness and color consistency within the same production batch.

Optical and Packaging Defects: The two-stage packaging process can increase color light refraction and total internal reflection, potentially causing a "speckle" phenomenon. Differences in the thermal expansion coefficients of packaging materials can lead to interfacial stress imbalance under heat, causing layer separation and resulting in dark/bright issues at wide viewing angles.

Cost and Yield Pressure: The process is complex and requires high-precision equipment, leading to currently high overall costs. Mass production yield needs improvement, and the technical route is not yet fully mature.

Initial Penetration in High Value-Added Fields: Covers ultra-fine pitch (P0.4) to conventional pitch (P2.0), already deployed in virtual production, high-end cinemas, wearable devices, and transparent displays.

Expected Penetration into Consumer Markets: As upstream chip costs decrease, MiP is expected to expand into home displays, automotive screens, etc. Industry chain collaboration is projected to drive comprehensive cost reduction after 2025, accelerating the expansion of the high-end display market.

Value of the Technical Path: By integrating packaging architecture and processes, MiP balances the performance and cost demands of fine-pitch displays. It has become a key technology for LED displays entering the ultra-high-definition era and is poised to reshape the industry's competitive landscape.

V. Frontier Outlook: MiP Paving the Way for Display Technology Ecosystem Transformation

Empowered by the convergence of quantum dot nanocoatings, AI pixel calibration algorithms, and heterogeneous integration technologies, MiP is evolving with more advanced possibilities:

Optical Integration Breakthrough: Applying nanoscale optical films on chip surfaces via Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) can enhance light efficiency by over 30% while eliminating the speckle phenomenon entirely, achieving black levels close to OLED.

Intelligent Driving Upgrade: Integrating computing-in-memory chips and neuromorphic computing architectures enables pixel-level dynamic compensation for MiP devices, achieving sub-millisecond response times in HDR scenes, rivaling the dynamic performance of Micro OLED.

Flexible and Transparent Display Expansion: Breakthroughs in low-temperature polycrystalline silicon carriers and stretchable encapsulants have enabled MiP to achieve bending with a radius of <1mm. Future applications will include "borderless display" experiences in AR glasses, foldable automotive center consoles, etc.

From a technology evolution perspective, MiP is transitioning from a "process integrator" to an "ecosystem builder." Its semiconductor-level packaging logic is not only suitable for LED displays but can also achieve 3D integration with heterogeneous components like MEMS sensors and quantum dot lasers. This provides integrated "display-sensing-computing" solutions for frontier fields such as metaverse interactive terminals and biomedical imaging equipment. As Moore's Law continues in the display field in the form of "packaging density," MiP may become the fundamental technological lever pivoting the transformation of next-generation smart device form factors.