LED Pixel Technologies
SMD | IMD | COB | MIP
SMD LED
SMD LED technology uses discrete red green and blue chips mounted individually on the PCB as separate packaged light sources.
This approach provides high optical efficiency and wide viewing angles, while offering good repairability due to replaceable pixel packages.
It is mature, cost effective and works well across many pixel pitches including indoor and outdoor applications.
Limitations include pixel pitch constraints due to the physical size of the package and higher production cost compared to other LED Technologies such as COB.
SMD is often used when homogeneity and field repairability are priorities. A protective GOB cover is optional.
IMD LED
IMD groups multiple sub pixels (usually 4x) into one integrated package reducing the number of package units and increasing pixel density.
This improves production efficiency, panel uniformity, electrical routing and thermal performance compared to traditional SMD.
It enables finer pixel pitches while maintaining better repairability than COB since individual IMD blocks can be replaced.
IMD is suitable for fine pitch indoor and outdoor applications where both high resolution and serviceability are required. A protective GOB cover is optional.
COB LED
COB mounts bare LED dies directly onto the substrate and encapsulates them under a unified protective surface, without the traditional packaging process of sorting and individual encapsulation.
This enables extremely fine pixel pitches, improved thermal efficiency and high mechanical robustness, especially in high traffic or interactive environments, while offering cost advantages at scale due to reduced packaging steps.
However calibration becomes more complex and panel uniformity is typically lower compared to SMD, IMD or MIP based solutions, because no binning or sorting takes place before mounting.
Repair procedures are also more difficult since sub pixels cannot be replaced individually without compromising the integrated protection cover, so service usually requires module level intervention.
MIP LED
MIP encapsulates very small Micro LED dies into individual advanced packages before they are mounted on the module combining Micro LED durability with traditional SMD like assembly.
This allows scalable production using existing SMT production lines while enabling extremely high resolution pixel pitches suitable for future large scale Micro LED displays.
MIP improves brightness efficiency and lifetime while maintaining high homogeneity compared to SMD and IMD, while avoiding the complex repair limitations of COB.
MIP is ideal for next generation premium displays requiring ultra fine pitch, high efficiency and long lifetime.
