Mini COB LED solution becomes mainstream

Mini LED backlight technology has gradually matured, and the industry has entered the fast lane. LCDs using Mini LED backlight can greatly improve the existing LCD screen effects, while the cost is relatively easy to control, and are expected to become the mainstream of the market. Terminal manufacturers have successively launched Mini LED backlight products since 2021, injecting fresh vitality into the entire industry chain. According to LED inside's forecast, the market size of Mini LED backlight products will exceed US$1 billion in 2023. Among them, there are differences in technical paths such as COB (that is, direct bonding of chips to PCB) and COG (chip bonding to glass substrate) in the backlight display field. At present, the COB solution is the mainstream path for mass production, which not only eliminates the LED bracket, but also has a price advantage.

Mini LED backlight COB solution promotion, copper clad laminate and PCB links benefit Mini LED backlight COB solution promotes copper clad laminate and PCB links to usher in product advancement opportunities. In the copper clad laminate link, Mini LED backlight puts forward higher requirements on the reflectivity, glass transition temperature, UV resistance and heat resistance, heat dissipation and other indicators of the copper clad laminate. For Mini LED applications in different terminal electronic devices, copper clad laminate manufacturers provide differentiated solutions, including BT-like substrates, medium and high Tg halogen-free materials and traditional FR-4 materials. We estimate that the market space in 2022 will reach 7.97 billion yuan, YoY +129.1%, and the input-output ratio of high-end display copper clad laminate material projects is about 2.3~4.3.

In the PCB link, Mini-LED uses COB packaging, which has extremely high requirements for the flatness of the circuit board. Solder mask and surface treatment are the core process barriers. Suppliers have launched HDI and multi-layer PCB solutions. We expect the market size of Mini LED backlight PCB to reach 15.98 billion yuan in 2022, and the input-output ratio of HDI solution projects is about 1:0.8.

Industry Outlook: Mini-LED COB solution is a springboard for copper clad laminate and PCB manufacturers to advance their products. In the copper clad laminate link, the BT-like substrate used by Mini-LED will increase the comprehensive net profit margin of the manufacturer's product portfolio. In the next 2 to 3 years, with the addition of new manufacturers, the profit margin will return to the profit center of conventional products. In the long run, copper clad laminate manufacturers are expected to gradually improve product performance with the formula of Mini-LED BT materials, and advance to BT materials used in IC packaging substrates. In the PCB link, HDI solutions are expected to be promoted to various types of products; from the supplier structure, the supply chain system of overseas customers is relatively closed, and domestic manufacturers will take advantage of the expansion opportunities of downstream domestic Mini LED backlight products to make up for the shortcomings of low HDI localization rate.

2021 is the first year of Mini LED mass production, and Mini LED applications are growing rapidly in 2022. The Mini LED industry chain ranges from chips, packaging, to modules and displays, to final terminal products such as tablets, laptops, cars, TVs, game consoles, VR; equipment includes die bonding machines, dispensing machines, AOI, cleaning equipment, etc.