Micro-LED News - Page 1

Yesterday we reported that Plessey partnered with AR supplier Vuzix to bring Micro-LED display engine, Quanta-Brite, for next generation AR Smart Glasses - which Vuzix expects to introduce in 2019.

An interesting article at LED Inside explains Plessey Semiconductor's technology. The Quanta-Brite display engine is not a 'true' Micro-LED display - it is an LCoS or DMD (digital mirror) display engine that is lit by a micro-LED array and special optics. Usual LCoS and DMD displays are lit by larger LEDs, and Plessey claims that its micro-LED solution will provide a more efficient and more uniform display.

UK-based GaN-on-Si MicroLED developer Plessey Semiconductor announced that it has partnered with AR supplier Vuzix to develop advanced Micro-LED display engines for Vuzix waveguide optics to enable next generation AR Smart Glasses. Vuzix expects to introduce the Micro-LED microdisplay based AR glasses in 2019.

Vuzix says that Plessey's Quanta-Brite light engine is highly efficient and bright, and will enable smaller and more efficient AR devices. The Quanta-Brite engine is based on Plessey's advanced and proprietary gallium-nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology, with an integrated monolithic array of RGB pixels with advanced micro-optical elements.

During the SID DisplayWeek, China-based OLED developer Visionox demonstrated its first Micro-LED prototype.

Visionox did not disclose any details. The prototype display was a tiny monochrome display.

The world's leading display conference, SID DisplayWeek, is now over, and it was a very exciting event. This is just a quick first impression post - you can expect several MicroLED-Info articles in the next couple of weeks after we get back to the office and sort through all the materials, interviews, photos and videos we have.

DisplayWeek is all about display technologies - and it seems that this year Micro-LED technologies and displays were all over the place. We've seen many Micro-LED demonstrations, prototypes and technical discussions. Of course LCDs and OLEDs are still the dominant technologies, but it seems many companies are investing in Micro-LED R&D as it is a promising next-generation display technology.

According to LEDsInside, Taiwan-based driver IC developer Macroblock continues its Micro-LED driver development, and the company aims to unveil its first prototype device in H2 2019.

The report says that Macroblock aims to become a "total solution provider" for Micro-LED display technologies, as it believes that Micro LED will have a "revolutionary impact on the display industry". This could mean that by the end of 2019 the company aims to demonstrate a complete display and not just the driver IC. Macroblock is collaborating with Taiwan's ITRI on its Micro-LED driver technology.

According to a report from Taiwan, Foxconn acquired US-based eLux - a company that was established in 2016 to develop a scalable assembly process for micro-LED devices. Foxconn was already an investor in eLux (through its Subsidiary CyberNet Venture Capital).

Foxconn also acquired a 7.32% stake in Taiwan-based LED developer and producer Epileds Technologies. This is reportedly just a first step as Foxconn aims to become Epiled's largest stakeholder in the near future. Digitimes reports that the motivation behind this takeover is mostly Epiled's micro-LED technologies.

TrendForce's LEDinside published a new roadmap for Micro-LED technologies and applications. According to the company, mini-LED and micro-LED revenues could reach $1.38 billion by 2022, and $2.891 by 2025.

LEDinside sees Micro-LEDs restricted in the short and medium terms to niche and premium displays such as large format displays and microdisplays, which means that total display shipments will not be larger.

Digitimes posted an article on recent advances at Epistar, and according to the article Epistar has achieved a recent breakthrough in micro LED technology. Epistar will unveil the achievement in the second-half of 2018.

Last year Digitimes posted an interview with Epistar's president, Jou Ming-Jiunn, in which Jou says that the most optimistic scenario is for micro-LED displays to enter production by the end of 2018, with real devices appearing in 2019.

China-based CVD and plasma etching equipment maker AMEC has signed an agreement with the Nanchang city government to setup an MOCVD R&D and production base.

The new R&D center will focus on MOCVD technologies for applications such as power devices and Micro-LEDs. In collaboration with Nanchang University, AMEC will develop and commercialize silicon-based LED technology. AMEC will start producing in the facility next month, and the facility will be expanded in 2019.

UK-based Optovate recently announced that it has developed a parallel aligned Micro-LED transfer process. Today the company revealed more details about its Micro-LED technology.

Optovate p-LLO transfer process

Since 2008, Optovate develops catadioptric micro-optic arrays to enhance the benefits of micro-LED, mini-LED and OLED displays. The company also developed a patterned laser lift-off (p-LLO) micro-LED transfer process.