MicroLED-Info.com: the Micro-LED experts

US-based AV integration company Just One Touch Video&Audio Center reports that it recently completed the first US residential installation of Samsung's The Wall Professional MicroLED TV.

The 146" 4K installation, done for a client in Los Angeles, was completed in three days. Just One Touch says that Samsung sent its own personnel to assist with this project. Just One Touch has already secured three more installations - in a hotel lobby, in a luxury mega-yacht and at a home of a "Hollywood Star".

Market analysts at Yole Developpement say that microLED shipments will reach over 125 million panels by 2027. In their aggressive scenario, shipments will reach almost 450 million.

Yole says that microLED technologies are advancing rapidly - and on all fronts, but there are still many challenges to overcome before mass production arrives. MicroLED makes a strong case for the AR, smartwatch and automotive market. For the smartphones and TV markets it is less clear whether MicroLEDs could succeed.

UK-based GaN-On-Si MicroLED microdisplay developer Plessey Semiconductor announced that it managed to deposit native blue and green microLEDs on the same wafer. Plessey’s new patented process forms microLEDs that exhibit high current density operation and long operational lifetime.

Plessey said that to achieve this important milestone they had to overcome several challenges - including a magnesium memory effect, diffusion from the p-type cladding of the lower junction into the upper junction and the requirement for the precise tuning of the thermal budget during the growth of the second junction to prevent indium phase separation in the blue active region.

Taiwan-based microLED developer Mikro Mesa announced that it achieved a breakthrough in its microLED transfer and bond process, which now enables the company to transfer 2-5 um microLED chips using a large 4-inch stamp.

Mikro Mesa's new process can transfer color (RGB) vertically-structured microLED chips and create a full-color display. It can be used to create high-density dipslays - up to 1,800 PPI and be used to create large microLED TVs, over 55-inch in size. The new process is a low temperature one (below 200 degrees Celsius) and can be used on flexible substrates - and be also used to create transparent displays.

A few days ago we reported that Foxconn canceled its microLED R&D project as it aims to improve its profitability. Foxconn however denies this and says that indeed an R&D group was dismissed, but it did not belong directly to the Foxconn group.

This was indeed a surprise as only a few months ago Foxconn was reportedly bullish on its microLED project, had commented that it may produce such displays in the US in the future and also asked three of its subsidiaries to push forward with Micro-LED development - Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (AOT) Epileds Technologies and Marktech.

Samsung Electronics announced that it now offers its large-area tiled "consumer" microLED "The wall Luxury" displays globally. The model number of the Wall Luxury is IW008R, and it is based on 0.84 mm microLED pixels offering a 120Hz refresh rate, a peak brightness of 2,000 nits and a maximum brightness of 250 nits.

The Wall Luxury is configurable and customizable to a variety of sizes and ratios from 73-inches in 2K definition, 146-inches in 4K, to 292-inches in 8K. Each Wall "Tile" is 806.4 x 453.6 x 72.2 mm (WxHxD) in size, with a resolution of 960x540.

UK-based GaN-On-Si MicroLED microdisplay developer Plessey Semiconductor announced a new microLED segmented microdisplay platform, which it calls Direct-Drive. Such displays can be used in applications that require high brightness, low power - and a simple display that is not dot-matrix but segmented.

Plessey says that its native green segments can emit 2 million units, and the total input power can be only 250 mW (probably for a monochrome green display, it is not clear). The Direct-Drive displays will be available in a size of less than 5x5 mm, will include a small size rechargeable battery and include Bluetooth, USB, UART, I2C and SDI interfaces/protocols.

Switzerland-based deposition equipment maker Evatec has secured a 2nd order for automated thin-film production tools from microLED developer PlayNitride. The equipment will enable PlayNitride's microLED production ramp-up.

Evatec says that PlayNitride first ordered its cassette-to-cassete production tool in 2017.

A few months ago we reported that Taiwan-based Foxconn is increasing its Micro-LED involvement, but now a new report from Taiwan says that the company canceled its microLED R&D project as it aims to improve its profitability.

Foxconn had an internal team that aimed to develop microLED displays for smartwatches and smartphones. Foxconn stopped the funding, and the team failed to find outside financing and so had to disband.

US-based Lumiode has been developing MicroLED Microdisplays for many years, but the company has been very quiet and did not disclose much about its technology. We have recently met with Vikas Dhurka (VP Marketing) and Eddy Hsu (director of Display Systems) who explained and demonstrated the company's technology.

Lumiode has developed a unique technology for the fabrication of TFT backplanes directly on top of Micro-LED arrays. This enables an entirely monolithic process (with no wafer bonding) to create highly bright and efficient microdisplays.