GaN-on-Silicon

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.

UK-based Seren Photonics has successfully completed the first tranche of a £1 million investment round with funding from existing and new investors. Seren says that these funds will be used to continue the manufacturing scale-up of its template technology along with the further development of green LED epitaxy structures.

Seren develops a suite of long wavelength LED epitaxy on its novel semipolar GaN aimed at delivering higher efficiency and more color stable green, yellow and red devices. Seren says that its Semipolar enabled LEDs overcome shortcomings of green LEDs manufactured on polar GaN, mainly low wall plug efficiency and poor poor wavelength stability over a range of current densities.

Veeco and ALLOS Semiconductors have completed their micro-LED strategic initiative and demonstrated 200mm GaN-on-Si wafers for blue and green micro-LED production. Veeco transferred ALLOS' proprietary epitaxy technology onto Veeco's Propel Single-Wafer MOCVD System to enable micro-LED production on existing silicon production lines.

ALLOS says that it now has an MOCVD technology that is capable of high yielding GaN Epitaxy that meets all the requirements for processing micro-LED devices in 200 millimeter silicon production lines. Within one month the two companies managed to establish the ALLOS technology on Veeco's Propel systems and have achieved crack-free, meltback-free wafers with less than 30 micrometers bow, high crystal quality, superior thickness uniformity and wavelength uniformity of less than one nanometer.