April 2025

Aixtron reported its financial results for Q1 2025, with revenues of 112.5 million Euro, saying that it demonstrated a strong performance in a soft market environment. The company exceeded the upper end of its guidance range. Particularly encouraging are the positive developments in the market for photonics applications. The company did not change its guidance for the full year 2025. 

Aixtron says that demand in its send markets is still weak, though, and especially its LED and microLED revenues were lower (and will remain lower throughout the year) compared to 2024.

In January 2025, microLED developer VueReal launched reference design kits (RDKs) to enable product designers to buy microLED display samples and integrate into new designs. There were three different kits: monochrome microLED lighting panels, microLED microdisplays, and passive matrix and active matrix (LTPS) transparent microLED displays, ranging in size from 3.5-inch to 10-inch.

Now VueReal announced that it is expanding its RDK portfolio, with new industry-specific bundles (what they refer to as vertical RDKs). These new kits are specifically built for automotive and consumer electronics.

Seoul Semiconductor announced that the Local Division Paris of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which has jurisdiction across 18 European countries, has issued a judgment that Laser Components SAS infringed Seoul Semiconductor core WICOP microLED technology patent. The court ordered an immediate ban on sales, as well as the recall and destruction of infringing products.

The UPC found that Laser Components, a global electronic components distributor, have sold products that infringed upon Seoul’s WICOP No-Wire microLED technology and structure.

We're happy to introduce QNA Technology, a company developing advanced quantum dots for the display industry, focusing on materials optimized for electroluminescent (QD-EL) and UV microLED display devices. Through proprietary surface engineering, QNA enables its quantum dots to be delivered in a variety of forms, including polar and non-polar solvents, monomers, and powders - and is advancing the development of quantum dot inks for inkjet printing and UV-curable applications.

We’re excited to feature Artur Podhorodecki, CEO and Founder, who shares his insights and vision in this exclusive Q&A:

• Hello Artur, can you introduce your company and technology?

QNA Technology is a manufacturer of semiconducting nanomaterials and nanomaterial-based inks. The company is located in Wrocław, Poland, and was established in December 2016. Since 2023, it has been listed on the NewConnect - alternative stock market in Poland.

The company’s flagship products are heavy-metal-free, blue light-emitting quantum dots and UV-curable inks based on these materials.

QNA Technology focuses on developing nanomaterial synthesis technologies, including upscaling and purification methods, as well as the development of new nanomaterials, surface modification of quantum dots, and the formulation of inks and photoresists based on quantum dots. This year, the company will launch its first pilot synthesis line in Wrocław and is going to introduce a new pilot product.

Kopin announced that it has been awarded a US army contract that involves a soldier display trade study to define the optimal MicroLED characteristics for  XR HUDs for warfighter solutions.

A 2k OLED microdisplay by Kopin

The Soldier Display Trade Study focuses on identifying ultrabright MicroLED tradeoffs to optimize see-through XR applications, prioritizing daytime-readable displays that are brighter, more energy-efficient, and capable of delivering clear visibility across diverse lighting conditions—from intense daylight to overcast starlight. The trade study will culminate in a comprehensive “Microdisplay Requirements and Performance Matrix,” setting the standard for next-generation soldier vision systems.

The MicroLED Industry Association (MIA) recently had the pleasure of hosting a dinner for its members and distinguished guests, including executives from local Taiwan-based microLED developers. The event brought together around 30 attendees and was held at a charming local restaurant near the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, the evening before the start of the 2025 Touch Taiwan event.

The atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming, fostering engaging conversations and meaningful connections among industry leaders. This dinner served as an excellent kickoff to Touch Taiwan, setting a positive tone for the days ahead at one of the world’s leading display technology exhibitions.

We are grateful to all who joined us and look forward to continuing these valuable interactions. We hope to see all our members again soon at the MIA dinner hosted by Smartkem at the upcoming SID Display Week in San Jose, and later this year at MicroLED-Connect in Eindhoven in September. These events promise further opportunities to explore innovations and strengthen our industry community.

PlayNitride teamed up with Realfiction Holding to develop a microLED-based 3D display, powered by Realfiction’s Directional Pixel Technology. PlayNitride exhibition this 9-inch microLED display at Touch Taiwan 2025.

Realfiction's technology is a spatial light modulator, that enables immersive multi-view, glasses-free 3D displays. It can work with any display technology, including MicroLED, OLED, LCD, and LED. MicroLEDs have the advantage of high brightness, which is highly useful for Realfictions' technology.

OTFT developer Smartkem demonstrated a 12.3" MicroLED-in-a-Package (MiP) backlighting unit, based on its unique and proprietary technology. At the core of this development is Smartkem's proprietary Redistribution Layer (RDL) material, which interconnects four chip-first MicroLEDs in a series to form a single high-voltage chip—the MiP4.

Smartkem says that its MiP4 package is designed to replace existing MiniLED packages in LCD backlights and signage applications, offering higher brightness, high efficiency, low production cost and compatibility with existing MiniLED die bonding equipment.

The MicroLED Industry Association has published its first yearly plan, detailing its activities in 2025. The 2025 plan outlines key initiatives designed to foster innovation, strengthen industry connections, and provide valuable resources to its members.

You can download the MicroLED Industry Association 2025 plan here. The plan in 2025 includes three in-person meetings, topical webinars, new market and industry update meetings, new Fireside Chat meetings, white papers and roadmap publications, and the launch of the microLED international standards project, among additional discounts, speaking opportunities and other member benefits.

Lumileds, in collaboration with researchers from the Eindhoven University of Technology have managed to significantly improve the directionality of microLED emission, using metasurfaces.

The researchers embedded a metasurface consisting of nano-sized disks within the p-contact layer of the MicroLED device, and stimulated collective resonances with emitting dipoles in the active region. The enhanced light outcoupling and radiative recombination led to notable improvements in LED efficiency. Additionally, the design of the nanostructure lattice was tailored to manipulate the far-field emission pattern of the LED. The team successfully showed that on-axis candela can be doubled for comparable LED output.