NIO officially unveiled its flagship luxury sedan, the ET9, at the NIO Day 2024 event. The model incorporates advanced technologies in its lighting and in-vehicle display, showcasing NIO's latest advancements in the field of intelligent vehicles.
Image source: NIO
In terms of lighting, the NIO ET9 adopts Micro LED intelligent pixelated headlight technology, combined with the Aquila 2.0 super-sensing system, to achieve refined lighting effects. The ET9's headlights also feature intelligent tracking light carpet and blind spot warning functions at intersections. In addition, lane line illumination helps drivers to more clearly identify lane lines at night.
Image source: NIO
In terms of in-vehicle displays, the NIO ET9 is equipped with a full-focal-length AR head-up display system, and features a 15.6-inch AMOLED central control screen, providing high-definition display effects for front passengers; rear passengers enjoy a 14.5-inch OLED high-definition display screen and an 8-inch multi-functional control screen. In addition, the front of the center console is equipped with a 1.4-meter-long continuous skyline screen.
Image source: Screenshot from live stream
Micro LED automotive lights are increasingly prevalent in vehicles . Headlights, often referred to as the "eyes" of a car, are a crucial safety feature for nighttime driving. With technological advancements, automotive lighting technology has evolved from halogen and xenon lamps to the widely used LED lights of today. These LEDs not only significantly improve illumination but also offer advantages such as high brightness, low energy consumption, and long lifespan, making them the mainstream choice for most vehicle models.
With the advancement of automotive intelligence, automotive lighting technology is developing towards pixelated headlights, primarily using DLP (Digital Light Processing) and Micro LED technologies. Although Micro LED pixel headlights are still in their early stages and not yet widely used, they outperform DLP technology in brightness, reliability, size, and weight. Especially with mass production, Micro LED has greater potential for cost optimization, thus promising a bright future and potentially bringing a higher level of intelligence and customization to automotive lighting.
Besides the NIO ET9, the Volkswagen Tiguan L Pro, the top-of-the-line Touareg, and the Porsche Cayenne have all been equipped with Micro LED headlights; the Buick Wildcat concept car also adopted a Micro LED headlight design, bringing an ultra-thin headlight effect.
Among them, the SAIC Volkswagen Tiguan L Pro, launched in May this year, is priced from 236,800 yuan and is equipped with a Micro LED high-definition projection light. This projection light has 25,600 pixels on one side and can realize functions such as vehicle width indication in narrow passages, projection animation for welcoming guests, and lighting assistance. Last year, Volkswagen's top-of-the-line Touareg also featured high-pixel headlights, using the h-Digi® Micro LED lighting module.
LED companies are accelerating the development of Micro LED automotive lights . Besides end-user automakers, there has been frequent progress in the LED industry chain related to Micro LED automotive lights this year.
In terms of products, at the Shanghai Auto Lighting Show in June this year, BOE's HC SemiTek showcased its Micro LED ADB matrix pixel headlight module for the first time. Nationstar Optoelectronics also exhibited a Micro LED pixelated headlight using bonding technology. This light source consists of over 40,000 LED light-emitting units with a pixel pitch of only 40 micrometers, enabling high-resolution image display.
At the Shanghai Auto Lighting Show, ams OSRAM showcased the EVIYOS 2.0 high-pixel projection headlight, which integrates 25,600 individually controllable Micro LEDs. According to ams OSRAM's Q1 2024 report, it is expected that seven automakers will adopt this product in 2024, and more than 12 automakers will adopt it by 2025.
In addition, in February of this year, Marelli unveiled its new Micro LED automotive lighting module, integrating 25,600 pixels, weighing only 600g, with a lens size of 40*50mm and an aspect ratio of 1:4. This module has already been adopted by leading new energy vehicle brands. Previously, Marelli also collaborated with Osram to launch the h-Digi module based on EVIYOS 2.0.
In terms of technological innovation, in January of this year, Chipbase announced a major breakthrough in matrix Micro LED automotive lighting chips. Through core technology optimization and innovative patent applications, the brightness of Micro LED chips has been improved. Among them, chemical stripping technology has achieved lossless GaN pixel transfer, and a pyramidal microstructure has been introduced into the light-emitting surface of the pixel to enhance the uniformity of light output.
To meet the demands of high-resolution matrix headlights and automotive HUDs, LONGi Optoelectronics has developed a blue Micro LED epitaxial structure, achieving an external quantum efficiency of over 20% at 1000 A/cm².
In terms of projects, in May of this year, Jinghe Optoelectronics successfully signed a contract in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, for its Micro LED automotive lighting project. The project, with a total investment of 1 billion yuan, plans to build a research and production base for Jinghe's intelligent automotive lighting control system. Relying on Micro LED technology from the School of Microelectronics at Shanghai University, it will build its own CHIPLET advanced packaging and testing mass production line to promote the localization of domestically produced digital automotive lighting chips.
Regarding digital automotive lighting chips, Jinghe Optoelectronics will also reach a strategic cooperation agreement with Shanghai University in April this year. Jinghe Optoelectronics will leverage Shanghai University's technological accumulation in the field of Micro LED, especially the progress in Micro LED wafer-level bonding technology, to create a research and development, pilot production, and mass production platform for digital automotive lighting chips and devices, and independently build CHIPLET advanced packaging pilot and mass production lines.
Summary <br /> Currently, in the field of Micro LED automotive lighting, international giants are developing at a slightly faster pace, while domestic manufacturers are gradually catching up in terms of technology and applications. China's complete LED industry chain and technological advantages have made the development of automotive-grade Micro LED products possible, and with the advancement of cooperation between automakers and LED manufacturers, the application of Micro LED automotive lighting technology is expected to accelerate.
According to TrendForce's analysis, with the introduction of Micro LED pixel arrays into adaptive headlights, the number of pixels capable of precise independent digital control will increase significantly to 100,000 pixels. The more LED pixels there are, the more flexibly the illumination area can be adjusted to increase driving safety and meet the regulatory requirements of various regional markets. This will help automotive lighting manufacturers reduce the costs required for headlight development, production, and logistics in different regional markets.
TrendForce also predicts that the market penetration rate of adaptive headlights (ADB) is expected to reach 21.7% by 2028. This growth not only reflects the strong market demand for smart automotive lighting technology, but also provides huge business opportunities for automotive lighting manufacturers, driving the automotive lighting industry towards a more efficient and intelligent direction. (Text: Mia)
