Nowadays, with the continuous development of LED technology, new encapsulation methods such as COB and GOB have emerged, and both methods have their unique advantages and application scenarios. The choice of which packaging method is better depends on your specific needs, and the main differences between the two technologies are discussed below.
What is COB and how it works
COB is an abbreviation for Chip on Board, which is often used in LED displays with a pitch of less than 1mm, and is an LED technology that mounts multiple LED chips directly onto a single substrate to form a uniform light-emitting surface.
In order to achieve better pixel density and resolution, these LED IC chips are arranged in a regular sequence with each other.
What is GOB and how it works
GOB stands for Glue on Board. GOB LED is an LED technology that uses transparent glue to cover the entire surface of an SMD LED module.
GOB works by combining many small LEDs into a matrix to form images and text, these LEDs are soldered to the board in the form of a grid, each LED acts as a pixel can also be lit individually. GOB display technology requires LED beads composed of red, green, and blue colors, so that GOB LED displays can present a variety of colors and shades.
How to distinguish between COB and GOB from appearance
COB packaging technology
COB technology is usually mounted using a printed circuit board (PCB). The desired color output is achieved by mounting multiple LED chips onto the PCB and applying a phosphor coating. This type of mounting does not require traditional packaging technology, which not only improves the overall performance of the LED screen but also simplifies the manufacturing process, making the technology gain significant traction among high-end customers.
COB display technology allows multiple LEDs to be tightly coupled together, usually with a dot pitch of less than 1mm, allowing customers not only to view the display at close range, but also to experience the visual effect of sustained high definition.
GOB packaging Technology
GOB technology is a layer of transparent glue applied to the surface of the LED module after it is mounted on the PCB board.
This glue plays a role in protecting the LED’s, enhancing the durability of the LED display also achieved the effect of waterproofing on the front. GOB technology uses a kind of glue is a high transparency, high hardness of the material.
GOB on-board adhesive encapsulation technology can effectively protect the LED lamp beads from dust, moisture, impact and other external factors, thereby extending the life of the LED display, GOB can also withstand the pressure brought about by different environments, this advantage makes the GOB display technology application areas more widely, and get many companies favor and investment.
Comparison between COB and GOB
Brightness and clarity: As the dot pitch of COB is less than 1mm, COB has an ultra-high resolution. When watching, the screen can display clearer, sharper and grain-free picture quality, but the pitch is too small brightness will be lowed.
GOB adhesive technology allows LED display brightness can reach 3000 nits or more, even if the GOB display does not have the same pixel density as the COB display, but in a certain distance can also show a very clear and grain-free picture quality.
Durability and protection: COB LED displays are made by bonding the LED chips directly to the PCB panel, which has a certain degree of ruggedness, and the high pixel density on the LED module can greatly reduce the risk of damage caused by physical impact, moisture and dust. However, due to the lack of a protective layer, if the sealing effect is still poor, COB LED screen will be affected by environmental factors and reduce the durability.
The adhesive layer in GOB technology provides good protection against environmental factors such as moisture, dust, and physical impact; this makes GOB LED displays more durable for inferior environmental applications, and the adhesive layer in GOB technology also helps to prevent corrosion and other forms of degradation, making GOB more durable.
Heat dissipation: COB achieves excellent heat dissipation through direct mounting and copper foil on the PCB board, which is critical to maintaining the performance and longevity of the LED display. COB with heat dissipation prevents the display from operating at too high of a temperature resulting in color shifting, reduced brightness and some component failures of the display.
Even though GOB technology also has good heat dissipation performance, the adhesive layer around the LEDs will slightly hinder heat dissipation when the GOB LED display is in operation. When GOB is subjected to stressful situations in different environments, additional cooling features must be used to dissipate heat.
Lifespan: COB LED technology encapsulates the LED chip on the PCB board and quickly saga the thermal energy through the copper foil on the PCB board thus reducing the possibility of light decay and lowering the rate of dead lights, so that the lifespan of the COB LED display can be greatly improved, usually the lifespan of 100,000 hours.
On the other hand, GOB technology using special adhesive packaging technology, coupled with specific heat dissipation features to reduce the working temperature of the LED chip and dead lamp rate, in the absence of excessive interference from the outside world GOB LED display life expectancy will be in the 100,000 hours.
Overall as long as the later maintenance work is done well, whether COB or GOB, their life expectancy will be in 100000 hours.
Cost maintenance: COB does not require adhesive technology to make it easier to assemble, but also save the cost of special glue, but if failure or damage occurs, you may need to replace the entire module; COB display unit price is higher, however, is not prone to failures and damages, it is lower long-term maintenance costs.
GOB using adhesive technology package, so the assembly is more complex, so that its production costs will be higher, from another aspect of the pixel density of GOB than COB is low, so GOB unit cost will be lowed; GOB modular design, so that the replacement and maintenance is more convenient, and in the event of a malfunction, the maintenance staff can only replace the next single LED.
Design flexibility: COB due to the module and size and shape of the fixed, so its flexibility is not strong. GOB has a high degree of flexibility, it supports customized shapes and can make triangular round LED modules.
Weight: Since COB is mounted directly to the PCB board, it also saves space and more LED chips can be added to increase the resolution and pixel density. While GOB also needs to be coated with glue, there is not too much space around its LED, and the weight of the glue is also higher than the LED, so GOB will be slightly heavier than COB.
What are the application scenarios of COB and GOB?
COB technology is suitable for indoor displays, and its small pitch advantage allows us to view the screen more closely, such as restaurants, conference rooms, retail stores, launch sites, etc.
Because, COB has a super high resolution so that its color contrast will be greatly improved, if used in restaurants can help shopkeepers to more effectively display and publicize the advantages and selling points of the product, color contrast enhancement makes the food color more realistic, can effectively stimulate the customer’s desire to consume.
GOB display technology uses a protective adhesive layer that is positively waterproof, dustproof, and resistant to physical impacts to ensure its durability. Coupled with its advantages of high brightness, low cost and maintenance, and strong heat dissipation, it is usually used in billboards in shopping centers, large-scale displays in stadiums, and public transportation hubs.
Summarize
In conclusion, COB and GOB technology have their own advantages and disadvantages in the field of LED display, depending on your needs and applications. Whichever you choose, LED displays are the best environmentally friendly option, and the long lifespan of LED displays stands out from the rest, ensuring that you will be able to use them for years to come.
