Micro-LED Production

During AUO's recent investor conference call, the company updated on its microLED project and made some interesting comments. First of all, AUO says that it has started to ship wearable microLED display panels at the end of 2024 (that's in line with AUO's previous announcement).

As far as we know, AUO is working with a Swiss luxury watch producer (like Tag Hauer) that will announce its microLED smartwatch soon. AUO says that it expects to expand its wearable microLED production soon.

US-based signage leader STRATACACHE announced that it has signed a strategic research and IP licensing agreement with US-based Lumiode that will enable STRATACACHE to integrate Lumiode's technology in its upcoming E4 microLED production line in Eugene, Oregon.

Lumiode's technology enables the deposition of an active matrix backplane directly on the LED structure. Lumiode's technology enables the production of both large-area displays and small microdisplays, and it is likely that STRATACACHE is interested in the former. 

Porotech announced a strategic partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC), to bring Porotech's microLED displays top market. 

The two companies did not disclose much, but Porotech says that this collaboration is an important step forward toward mass production of its microLED microdisplays. 

Finland-based Comptek Solutions develops passivation technology solutions for III-V compound semiconductor materials and devices, based on its novel surface treatment process. Comptek's research leader Marjukka Tuominen will give a talk at the upcoming MicroLED-Connect startup showcase event on February 2024, and Comptek's CEO and co-founder, Vicente Calvo Alonso, was kind enough to send us a short update on the company's technology and status, and his views on the microLED industry and market.

Q: Hello Vicente, thank you for your time. Can you tell us a bit about Comptek, your technology and current status?

Comptek Solutions is an expert in passivation technology solutions for III-V compound semiconductor materials and devices. With our novel surface treatment process, KontroxTM, we are able to control how the oxidation process happens on the surface of the compound materials, and for the first time ever, we can create high quality, crystalline native oxides which are thermodynamically stable and present very low levels of surface state defects.

Poland-based inkjet printing pioneer XTPL has launched its latest printing system, the Ultra-Precise Dispensing (UPD) System that enables the printing of high-precision electronically conductive or insulating structures.

The new systems are suitable for industrial production, and XTPL is targeting the display market, and specifically the microLED display market with its new systems. For microLED developers, UPD offers the ability to deposit precise conductive interconnections, supporting the integration of the microLEDs into heterogeneous microelectronic systems. These interconnections manage control, driving, and power distribution for microLEDs, expanding potential applications in AR/VR devices, smartwatches, automotive displays, and more.

VueReal announced that it has developed and started shipping high-resolution and high-transparency microLED displays to its customers. Using the company's own MicroSolid Printing Platform, Vuereal integrates microLEDs into an active-matrix microLED display to enable high-efficiency and high quality displays with tunable transparency (from 80% to zero).

VueReal offers a turnkey platform that enables its partners and customers to develop a custom display and fabricate it at VueReal's own pilot production line. VueReal says that it is now accepting new orders for high-resolution and high-transparency displays.

AU Optronics announced an agreement with PlayNitride, to build a 6-inch microLED production line at AUO's Longtan factory. AUO will pay PlayNitride NT$700 million (around $21.5 million USD) for this new line.

AUO says that the new line will utilize PlayNitride's Chip-on-Carrier (COC) technology, that produces the microLEDs on temporary substrates ready for the transfer process. This will enable AUO to more easily realize the production of display panels based on these microLEDs. AUO says that this new line will also enable it to reduce microLED production costs. 

Researchers from the  Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and MIT, published a review article on Micro-Scale Concentrating Photovoltaics, or micro-CPV, a new technology that uses miniaturized solar panels and optics that concentrate the sun's energy into these micro panels. The benefits of micro-CPV compared to normal solar panels include potentially lower cost (much less solar absorption area), better thermal management, shorter optical path and lower resistive losses.

There are many challenges yet before micro-CPVs can be produced in large volume and at competitive prices. Interestingly, microLED production processes can be applied to the production of micro-CPVs, as these solutions can be seen like inverted technologies - tiny devices that either absorb or emit light.