Product
In 2017, the hottest topic in the small-pitch LED market is undoubtedly COB packaging technology. Products of this technology have attracted much attention for their comfortable visual experience, stability throughout the life cycle, and the characteristics of facilitating the upgrade of small-pitch products to smaller pitches. However, in the context of the surface mount process already dominating the market, how can COB small-pitch LED screens achieve a breakthrough? The author believes that the key factor lies not in the choice of large-screen manufacturers, but in the changes in the upstream and downstream markets of LED screens. Let us examine the opportunities and prospects of COB small-pitch LEDs from both ends of the industry.
From the perspective of the downstream of the industry, consumers and customers are always supreme. This is an indisputable fact. Products that better meet consumer needs will eventually become the darlings of the market. In this regard, COB technology has its unique advantages and disadvantages.
On the one hand, the biggest advantage of COB technology lies in its "visual comfort". This advantage is extremely important because it is a difference that can be identified at a glance - for security monitoring, conference rooms, command and dispatch and other places, considering the visual needs of staff to "stare" at the screen for a long time, "more comfortable", "pixels without graininess", and "soft brightness" are undoubtedly the reasons why the big screen is most optimistic about COB technology.
On the other hand, COB technology is more expensive than surface-mount products. This disadvantage is as obvious as the advantage of "more comfortable picture". In this regard, I really want to say "Love you is not easy". COB's cost disadvantage is closely related to factors such as market size, process and material characteristics, and investment in packaging production lines, which cannot be changed in the short term. Therefore, whether customers accept COB products is actually a question of weighing advantages such as "comfort" and price differences. For high-end command and dispatch centers, this does not seem to be difficult. Because this market has always been generous in investment, and monitoring the eyes in front of the large screen is more important. Bosses are usually willing to use the best equipment. From the upstream of the industry, the market situation faced by COB small-pitch LEDs is more complicated. This involves the supply of auxiliary products such as materials required for COB packaging, the position of COB in packaging companies, the competition between COB packaging companies, and whether LED large-screen companies are willing to extend to the upstream industrial chain. From the perspective of materials, equipment, and auxiliary products for COB packaging, COB technology is not "difficult". It should be pointed out that COB packaging is not a patent for the LED market, but a general electronic process developed since the 1960s. For example, in 2017, one of the hottest areas of COB packaging technology, mobile phone camera module suppliers are significantly expanding production - this is entirely due to the popularity of "dual-camera" mobile phones. Therefore, the upstream materials, equipment, and auxiliary products of COB small-pitch LEDs can be supplied by the entire electronics industry.
From the perspective of LED packaging companies, COB packaging technology is the main technical route in the traditional high-brightness, high-color rendering, and commercial lighting fields. The accumulation of technology and resources in the market is already quite rich. COB technology has been applied in many fields including filament lamps, automotive lighting, and high-brightness commercial lighting. Especially in the international market, for Japanese companies that are not afraid of cost competition, COB high-end lighting products have become one of their "basic markets" for survival. Therefore, in terms of the packaging process itself, COB is not the only partner of small-pitch LEDs, but a technology with wide applicability.
However, the author must emphasize that there are significant differences in the degree of mastery of COB packaging technology by different packaging manufacturers. On the one hand, foreign brands have long dominated COB high-end packaging products, and domestic packaging factories have to seek breakthroughs in price. Especially since 2016, the low-price sales of high-power EMC products 5050 and 7070 have posed a challenge to the development of the low-end market of domestic COB packaging companies. That is, although COB is a dynamic product, there is also a relative surplus in the low-end market.