GaN-on-Silicon

China-based Star Key Semiconductor has officially inaugurated its microLED production line in Wuhan. This line is based on 8-inch GaN-on-Silicon microLED wafers, and will produce microLED microdisplays. The yearly capacity is around 12,000 wafers.

Star Key started producing this new fab in October 2024, and managed to complete the fab construction and all equipment placement in eight months. The company produces the microLED wafers, and processes these to create AR microdisplays. The company's first products will be monochrome microLED displays, but it is also developing color microLED displays.

MicroLED microdisplay developer Mojo Vision, a MicroLED Industry Association member, announced that it has closed an oversubscribed Series B Prime investment round, raising $75 million. 

The round was led by Vanedge Capital, with significant investments made by current shareholders, including Edge Venture Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Fusion Fund, Knollwood Capital, Dolby Family Ventures, and Khosla Ventures, and new shareholders, including imec.xpand, Keymaker, Ohio Innovation Fund, and Hyperlink Ventures.

MicroLED-Connect is the microLED industry's top event series, offering a combination of exciting online webinars and a flagship annual on-site event. Our next meeting is on 23-25 September 2025, at the High Tech Campus, Eindhoven, Netherlands. MicroLED-Connect is co-organised by TechBlick and the MicroLED Industry Association and offers the best way to connect with the global MicroLED and AR/VR display industries and markets.

In this article, we will share a few short videos from past events. First up, we have Continental's Kai Hohmann that discusses how the company looks at the four competing display technologies, and the opportunities for microLED technology in the automotive industry.

MicroLED-Connect is the world's first dedicated MicroLED conference and exhibition. The event, organized by TechBlick and the MicroLED Association, will take place at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, also known as "the smartest square kilometer in all of Europe", and will include an excellent conference program, masterclasses, tours - with a special emphasis on social/professional gatherings and networking opportunities. Register now to attend MicroLED-Connect and enjoy our special discount (up to 400 per ticket), valid until August 15, of up to 400 Euro.

One of the themes to be highlighted at the event is microLED material platforms, the basis of all microLED emission technology. As MicroLED technology competes with high-end and cost-effective OLED displays, microLED developers need to deeply innovate their material platforms and technologies and we believe that this is one of the keys for microLEDs' future success.

Veeco reports its financial results for Q2 2023, with revenues of $162 million (towards the high-end of its guidance) with a net income of $24 million.

Veeco says it remains committed to its microLED opportunities, as its long-term outlook on the microLED industry is positive. In the short term, however, it has sold some GaN-on-Silicon tools, but it has seen market pushing out about a year, and does not expect any significant orders until 2025.

AR microLED microdisplay developer Mojo Vision announced that it has achieved a process milestone and has lit-up its first 300 mm GaN-on-Silicon blue microLED array wafer. The company says it is on track to maturing its 300 mm CMOS fab process.

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Mojo Vision is developing microdisplays based on blue LEDs and quantum dots color conversion. The company developed the world's highest density microLEDs, achieve up to 28,000 PPI (sub-micron LEDs).

MicroLED microdisplay developer Mojo Vision announced that it has raised $22.4 million in a Series A investment round, to further develop and commercialize its microLED display technology. 

We're happy to interview ALLOS Semiconductors, as part of our new series of interviews with MicroLED Industry Association members. ALLOS Semiconductors is an IP licensing and technology company that focuses on GaN-on-Si technology for the microLED industry. ALLOS offers a turn-key technology transfer to establish a super-uniform CMOS-compatible large epiwafer process at customers within only 12 weeks.

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

ALLOS Semiconductors is the global leader for gallium nitride on silicon epiwafer technologies (GaN-on-Si) for next generation, micro LED-based display solutions and other applications building on more than 20 years track-record.

Our customer and partner base includes top-tier companies from the electronic device, display, LED and semiconductor foundry industries. They benefit from the cost, yield and performance advantages of our patent-protected 200 and 300 mm GaN-on-Si micro LED epiwafer technologies – including our unique 1 bin® technologies.

Kyocera Corporation announced that it has successfully developed a new process technology to produce microLED (and micro-laser) devices. The process is based on lateral growth of GaN layer on a silicon wafer, in a way that limits defects in most of the area.

The basic process has three steps. First you grow a GaN layer on silicon. The second step is to apply a mask with a has a horizontal gap. The third step is to continue growing the GaN layer. The defects are concentrated in the opening nucleus, but the rest of the growth area remains almost defect free. The actual microLED devices are fabricated from the low-defect region.

China-based GaN epiwafer producer Enkris Semiconductor launched new microLED epiwafers. The "Full Color GaN" series offers GaN-on-Si microLED epiwafers, with wafers sizes of up to 300 mm.

Enkris' new epiwafers offers blue, red and green LED arrays, all based on the same material platform. Enkris Semiconductor uses its patented strain engineering and polarization engineering, which it says is unique, to expand its GaN-on-Si LED epiwafer product portfolio to all colors (with wavelengths of 390-650nm).