The Difference between SMD and COB Technologies in LED Display

These days, with the fast growth of the commercial display industry in recent years, LED Display, which are really important in it, have seen a lot of new tech changes. Among all the techs, SMD (Surface Mount Device) packaging tech and COB (Chip on Board) packaging tech are really eye-catching. Today, let's take a look at the differences between these two.

What is SMD LED display?

First off, let's talk about it from the tech side. SMD packaging tech is a way of packaging electronic parts. SMD, short for Surface Mounted Device, is something used a lot in electronic making. It's used to package integrated circuit chips or other electronic bits so they can be put right on the surface of a PCB (Printed Circuit Board).

Indoor digital signage and Outdoor Led Display from RGBDancing Company both use the SMD packaging tech.

The main things about SMD packaging tech:

It's small: The parts packaged with SMD are tiny, so you can fit a lot in one place. That's good for making small and light electronic stuff.

It's light: SMD parts don't have pins, so the whole thing is light and great for things that need to be light.

Good for high frequencies: The short pins and short connection paths mean less inductance and resistance, so it works well at high frequencies.

Easy for automatic production: SMD parts are good for machines that put them on the PCB automatically. This makes production faster and better.

Good at getting rid of heat: SMD parts touch the PCB directly, so it's easier to get rid of heat and the parts last longer.

Easy to fix and take care of: The way they are put on the surface makes it easy to fix and change parts.

Types of packaging: There are all kinds of SMD packaging, like SOIC, QFN, BGA, LGA, and each has its own good points and where it's best used.

How it's changed: Since SMD packaging tech came out, it's become one of the main ways of packaging in electronic making. As tech gets better and the market wants more, SMD is changing to be better, smaller, and cheaper.

What is COB LED display?

COB packaging tech, short for Chip on Board, is a way of soldering the chip right onto the PCB (Printed Circuit Board). This is mainly to deal with the heat problem of LEDs and make the chip and the circuit board work well together.

How it works: With COB packaging, the bare chip is stuck to the connection base with something that can conduct or not. Then the wires are joined to make the electricity work. During this, if the bare chip is out in the open, it can get dirty or broken. So usually, they use glue to cover the chip and the wires. This is called "soft packaging".

Micro COB LED Display and Indoor All In One Led Display from RGBDancing Company both use the COB packaging tech.

The main things about COB packaging tech:

It's packaged tightly: By putting the packaging and the PCB together, you can make the chip smaller, fit more in, make the circuit better, and make the system more stable.

It's stable: The chip is soldered right onto the PCB, so it can handle shaking and hitting well. It works fine in bad conditions like high heat and damp, and lasts a long time.

Good at getting rid of heat: Using heat-conducting glue between the chip and the PCB makes it better at getting rid of heat. This makes the chip last longer.

Low cost to make: It doesn't need pins, so you save on some of the hard bits of making and it's cheaper. And you can make it automatically, so it's cheaper and faster.

Things to watch out for: Hard to fix: Since the chip and the PCB are soldered together, you can't just change the chip. Usually, you have to change the whole PCB, which costs more and is harder to fix.

Problems with being reliable: The chip is in the glue and when you take it apart, it can break the little bits and cause problems with making it.

The place where it's made has to be really clean: COB packaging can't have dust or static in the workshop or it won't work right and you'll have more failures.

All in all, COB packaging tech is good value and great. It has a lot of potential in smart electronics. As tech gets better and there are more places to use it, COB will keep being important.

The difference between SMD and COB technologies

How it looks: COB displays give a nicer, more even look because of the surface light source. Compared to the point light source of SMD, COB is brighter in color and better at showing details. It's better for looking at close up for a long time.

Stability and how easy to fix: SMD displays are easy to fix on the spot, but they aren't protected that well and can be affected by the outside. COB displays, though, are protected better because of how they are packaged. They are better at keeping water and dust out. But if something goes wrong, you usually have to send the COB display back to the factory to fix it.

Power use and energy efficiency: Because of the way COB is made with no blockages, the light is more efficient and uses less power when it's as bright. This saves you money on power.

Cost and how it's going: SMD packaging tech is used a lot because it's been around for a while and is cheap to make. COB tech should be cheaper in theory, but because it's hard to make and the good ones aren't that many, it's still more expensive for now. But as tech gets better and they can make more, the cost of COB should go down.

Right now, both COB and SMD packaging techs have their good points. With people wanting better and better displays, Micro Led Display with higher pixel density are getting more popular. COB tech, with how it's packaged all together, is a key to getting high pixel density for Micro LED. At the same time, as the space between pixels on LED screens gets smaller, the cost advantage of COB is more obvious.

In the future, as tech keeps getting better and the market gets more grown-up, COB and SMD packaging techs will keep being important in the commercial display industry. We can believe that in the not-too-distant future, these two techs will work together to make the commercial display industry better, smarter, and more eco-friendly.