This Fine-Pitch COB LED So Light And Skinny It Hangs From Aircraft Cables
October 30, 2024 by Dave Haynes
I have seen some super-interesting stuff this week in Taiwan, and I will write those up for the report that will be out in early Q1, but here’s something I can relate now – a look at tech I have noted in the past but never seen in person.
A company called PanelSemi, based at the south end of the island, has for a few years now had a crazily thin display meant to be used as a replacement for suspended vinyl and and promo banners in environments like malls.
This is super-skinny and light enough to suspend with aircraft cable. Companies have in the past also had skinny displays, like Nanolumens years ago, but this is both thin and rigid – the substrate some sort of plastic-y material. Ones I have seen in the past were lower rez, but this unit was 1.2mm chip on board, which is close to premium fine pitch.
They had units suspended in the main entry of the Taipei convention center, though not with content loaded. A show was opening today, I think … though with a typhoon also coming to town, maybe not.
There is also a rollable version that comes up out of a case.
The photo of the screen with content doesn’t do it justice, but it looks like you’d expect for a fine pitch display.
I could see this in a lot of convention centers and shopping malls, and that’s the market the company has had some success in … but in Japan.
The big barrier to adoption is price. This involves specialized manufacturing techniques and small runs, which means $$$$$. One of these rectangles is about $15K USD MSRP, which would pop a lot of enthusiasm bubbles. But, as tends to happen, prices come down.
Welcome to Taiwan