Researchers from France's CEA Leti have reported on the successful integration of organic photodetectors within microLED displays, to create a multifunctional display, that can combine imaging with gesture recognition, and even biometric scanning.
As microLEDs are extremely bright, it is possible to create displays with very high aperture ratio (compared to other displays such as LCDs and OLEDs) which frees up space on the display panel.
The researchers say that one of the major hurdles in integrating microLEDs with photodetectors is the phenomenon of crosstalk coupling. Crosstalk occurs when the light emitted by the microLEDs reaches the photodetector directly before reflecting off the observed scene, leading to interference and diminished sensor performance. The researchers gained key insights into how the distance between the illumination source and the photodetector affects crosstalk, providing a deeper understanding of this bottleneck.
CET-Leti says that the next phase of the work will focus on exploring the full potential of this technology for specific applications, such as physiological parameter tracking. Researchers at the institute will also investigate various photodetector technologies that can be co-integrated with microLEDs to optimize performance, reduce crosstalk, and further enhance multifunctionality.
