Mini-LED backlight unit in Odyssey Neo G9 49’’ Samsung Monitor

Key Features

• Detailed optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photos
• Precise measurements
• Materials analysis
• Manufacturing process flow
• Supply chain evaluation
• Manufacturing cost analysis
• Estimated selling price
• Comparison between Samsung monitor and TV and Apple iPad Pro

What's new

The comparison between the Samsung TV and monitor is very interesting because it shows Samsung’s technology choices to drive the thousands of miniLEDs. It is very different from a traditional LED driving architecture in a TV or Apple’s choice for its iPad Pro.

• Samsung
• APEX
• San-an Optoelectronics

Overview / Introduction

• Executive Summary
• Reverse Costing Methodology
• Glossary

Company Profile & Supply Chain

• Samsung
• Supply Chain

Teardown Analysis

• Monitor Overview
• Monitor Opening

Physical Analysis

• Backlight Unit
• MiniLED
  • Die Overview
  • Die Cross-Section
• MiniLED Driver
  • View & Dimensions
  • Delayering & Main Blocs
  • Die Process

Manufacturing Process Flow

• MiniLED Front-End Fab Unit
• MiniLED Front-End Process

Cost Analysis

• Supply Chain
• Yield Hypothesis
• MiniLED Cost
  • LED Front-End Cost
  • LED Die Probe Test and Dicing
  • LED Wafer and Cost
• MiniLED Driver Cost
  • Front-End Cost
  • Probe Test, Thinning and Dicing
  • Dies Cost
• Backlight Unit Cost
  • Complete Unit Cost
  • Complete Unit Price
• Comparison
  • Back Light Unit
  • Back Light Unit Cost
  • LED
  • Driver

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About Yole SystemPlus

After more than three years of hype, excitement, and unfulfilled promises, mini-Light Emitting Diode (LED) backlights are finally ready for primetime. Properly designed miniLED backlights allow Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) to reach contrast performance close to that of organic LEDs (OLEDs), while maintaining the high brightness characteristics of LCDs. They offer reduced power consumption, a very thin form factor, and cost and price competitiveness with OLEDs. MiniLED monitors and laptops have been available since late 2020. Samsung launched its newest Odyssey Neo G9 49” Monitor in 2021. This System Plus Consulting (SPC) teardown report provides great insights into Samsung’s choices.

In this report, SPC provides a full reverse costing study of the miniLEDs and their assembly in the backlight unit of the curved monitor display in the 49-inch 2021 Odyssey Neo G9 49”

The backlighting system is composed of 4,096 miniLEDs divided into two panels of 1280 miniLEDs and one panel of 1536 miniLEDs. The backlight unit integrates 2048 dimming zones.

• The miniLEDs, which are GaN-based dies on patterned sapphire substrates, have an engineered light-emission pattern using dedicated top and back dielectric reflectors. We think that they are manufactured by San’an Optoelectronics in China.
• We believe that the chip-on-board assembly of over 4,096 miniLEDS is done by Samsung in Vietnam. The miniLEDs are mounted in flip-chip configuration.
• The miniLEDS are driven by 512 driver dies from Samsung. These drivers are wafer-level chip-scale packaged.

This report provides insights regarding technology data, manufacturing cost, and selling price of the backlight unit, with a focus on the miniLEDs and their drivers. A comparison with the Samsung TV and the Apple iPad Pro shows the different technology choices. Moreover, a specific comparison between the monitor and the TV from Samsung helps understand impact of the size of the dimming zones on the electronic bill-of-materials.