December 2022

AUO, together with ITRI, developed a new 17.3" transparent microLED display, and deployed a few of these displays in a ferry operated by the Taiwan Kaohsiung Shipping Company. The Snoopy-featured Yawan Smart Ferry, will set sail for the first time on December 24, connecting Zhanerku, Cijin, and Gushan. The gesture-controlled AI smart window screen navigation system combines AR and eye tracking to show tourists information based on what they are looking at. 

The LTPS microLED displays offer a 1820x720 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The transmittance is 55% and the peak brightness is 3,000 nits

In 2021, ams Osram announced that it will expand its LED production plant in Kulim, Malaysia, with an investment of around $850 million. Osram plans to produce mini-LED and micro-LED chips on 8-inch wafers in Kulim.

ams Osram already said it regards microLED as one of its key initiatives, and in a recent conference call the company's CEO emphasized that that microLED is one of the areas in which the company has clear advantages and is a market leader - and it will direct more efforts on microLEDs. The company is on track, it was revealed, to start microLED production in Kulim in 2024.

Toshiba Corporation announced that it has developed a new high-performance phosphor material that could be highly useful in microLED color conversion, among other applications. Toshiba aims to start mass producing the new material in 2025, and will soon offer samples for potential partners and customers.

Toshiba says that the new material delivers excellent solubility in polymers or organic solvents, where it is transparent and colorless under visible light, and that emits persistent red-light emissions under UV light, with excellent color purity and a luminescence six times that of current phosphors.

We're happy to interview Comptek Solutions, as part of our new series of interviews with MicroLED Industry Association members. Comptek, established in 2017 as a spin-off from the university of Turku, Finland, develops quantum technology (branded as Kontrox) that boosts the performance of devices such as microLEDs and lasers.

Q: Hello! Can you introduce your company and technology?

Vicente Calvo, Comptek's CEO and co-founder: Comptek Solutions is a forerunner in III-V compound semiconductor surface engineering. We have developed a novel surface treatment process - Kontrox - which effectively passivates the surface of the materials by forming a high-quality native crystalline oxide layer with very low surface defect state density.  In µLEDs, Kontrox is applied to the chip sidewalls to prevent non-radiative recombination mechanisms, effectively passivating the surface.  This drastically improves the performance and manufacturing yields of µLEDs, particularly at small chip sizes.

Q: Can you say why you joined the microLED association and what you hope to achieve?

The association is a perfect networking platform offering an excellent outlook on the current developments and trends in the µLED industry. We particularly appreciate the opportunity to connect to key industry players.

On February 7th the MicroLED Industry Association will host a private webinar on microLED technologies for the AR market. The AR market is a very good segment for microLED developers, as it offers high performance requirements, relative microLED maturity and an excellent horizon.

The upcoming Seminar will feature four world-leading speakers, and will also be open to a Q&A session, to help increase microLED developers knowledge and involvement in the AR industry:

• Karl Guttag: a display systems engineer, one of the most respected experts on near eye displays and HMD designs
• Assaf Levy-Beeri: CEO at JoyaTeam, an optical design team focusing on AR solutions
• Soon-gi Park: AR specialist at LetinAR, a Korea-based AR optical system developer
• Reza Chaji: CEO at microLED microdisplay developer VueReal (and a microLED association member)

Heraeus Electronics, part of Germany-based technology group Heraeus, manufactures products and materials for the electronics, consumer goods and automotive industries.

Heraeus Electronics says that the company is expanding its product portfolio and exploring new markets  - including the microLED display market.