MicroLED-Connect

Chinese TV producer TCL announced its first commercial microLED TV, the 163-inch 4K TV X11H Max. The TV offers an XDR peak brightness of 10,000 nits, 22bit+ color depth, extremely fast response speed (nanosecond level) and a lifetime of over 100,000 hours. The price is set at 799,999 Yuan, or around $110,000.

This is obviously an ultra-premium product, but it is great to see TCL formally enter the microLED market. TCL first demonstrated a prototype 163" microLED panels back in 2023. It is likely that this new tiled TV features an Oxide-TFT (IGZO) backplane.

MicroLED Connect is a global forum for microLED and related technologies and applications, which will take place at the Convention Center on the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven on 25-26 September. The MicroLED Connect is organized by two industry veterans, Metalgrass’ Ron Mertens and TechBlick’s Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, each bringing his unique knowledge and experience to plan this extraordinary event.

We had a few questions to ask Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, our co-organizer, about his vision for this conference.

Q. Hi Kasha! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the MicroLED Connect event - what did you have in mind when planning it and what’s special about it? 

Hi! Well, it is the first worldwide onsite conference and exhibition dedicated to MicroLED technology. Up until now, MicroLEDs were highlighted in other display events, but never as the main technology in a dedicated conference. We felt that this emerging technology deserves to be the main focus. The event will bring together the entire value chain from around the world- from material suppliers to equipment makers to display makers and semiconductor companies and final OEMs. There is enormous interest in this technology and in our event, and so we expect a sell-out crowd.  

When planning this event, we put extra emphasis on social events and networking opportunities. We have a rich agenda that transcends the usual talks and lectures, and includes social gatherings, organized visits to companies in the area and more. We wish to give attendees the chance to not only listen and learn, but also interact and connect. We put a strong focus on in-person experience, hoping to forge deep partnerships amongst our participants. That’s actually where the name “MicroLED Connect” comes from!  

US-based Terecircuits develops technologies and manufacturing processes for microassembly based on a new class of photo-chemical polymers. The company focuses on the development of a microLED photo-chemical mass transfer process. The company's CEO, Wayne Rickard, will give a talk at the upcoming MicroLED-Connect startup showcase event later this week, and he 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.

Hello Wayne, thank you for your time. Can you tell us a bit about Terecircuits, your technology and current status?

Terecircuits is a Materials Company with leading-edge know-how in synthesis, characterization, and delivery of proprietary encapsulants, polymers, and thin film coatings for the semiconductor and display industries. 

In general, our materials address the unique advanced packaging challenges of precision assembly: die-on-die, heterogeneous integration, 3D stacking, chiplets, SiC die attach, and – as it relates to displays - MicroLED mass transfer.

Eindhoven, Netherlands (25-26 SEPT 2024) + Year-Round Online

The MicroLED-Connect flagship event will take place in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, on September 24-26, 2024. This will be an exciting gathering of industry players, researchers, investors, application developers and analyst, to discuss the latest microLED industry trends, roadmaps, technologies and more. The agenda and exhibition for the MicroLED-Connect event is shaping up, with prominent speakers and exhibitors like Bugatti, Fraunhofer, TCL CSOT, Global Foundries, Google, KAUST and more.

If you want to get more exposure at the microLED industry and market, connect with leading suppliers, partners and customers and expand your marketing reach, then it is time to book your exhibition package at MicroLED Connect! Contact us for more details.

US-based iBeam Materials develops a technology that uses ion-beam to grow microLED devices on a variety of large-area substrates, including thin, flexible large-area metal foils. iBeam's founder and president, Vladimir Matias, will give a talk at the upcoming MicroLED-Connect startup showcase event on February 2024, and he 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.

Hello Vladimir, thank you for your time. Can you tell us a bit about iBeam, your technology and current status?

iBeam Materials is an early stage technology company developing a revolutionary approach to the epitaxial semiconductor growth process required for making LEDs and microLEDs such as in the next generation of displays. Instead of GaN crystal growth on expensive, rigid single crystal substrates that are limited in size, iBeam technology allows growth of the same high-quality semiconductor material on large-area, low-cost metal foil that permits roll-to-roll processing due to its flexibility.

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.

NS Nanotech, based in the US, develops nanowire microLED technologies, branded as nanoLED, using MBE deposition. The company targets the microLED display market, and also the LEDs for pathogen-neutralizing far-UV. NS Nanotech's CEO, Seth Coe-Sullivan, will give a talk at the upcoming MicroLED-Connect startup showcase event on February 2024, and 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:

Seth Coe-Sullivan: NS Nanotech is a spin-off from McGill University and the University of Michigan, with offices in Ann Arbor and Montréal near both campuses. We have exclusive licenses to portfolios of patents for breakthroughs in sub-micron-scale vertical nanowire LEDs, and we have published peer-reviewed results showing world-class efficiency for red and green nano-LEDs. And now we are working to demonstrate how this technology can scale to commercially relevant processes and wafer sizes for both main displays and microdisplays.

Our go-to-market strategy involves partnering with larger companies that have the balance sheet to scale quickly, while we remain a technology provider. As we map a clear path to commercialization of our nanowire technology, we have started to fabricate demonstration wafers to make samples available to potential manufacturing partners.

Rayleigh Vision was established in 2023 in Hong Kong, to developed stacked microLED microdisplay technologies. The company's technology enables the stacking of LEDs on top of each other, to create high-density displays. The company's founder and CEO, Prof. Jr-Hau HE, will give a talk at the upcoming MicroLED-Connect startup showcase event on February 2024, and was kind enough to answer a few questions we had regarding the company's status, technology, and his views on the microLED industry and market.

Hello Prof. Jr-Hau, Can you tell us a bit your company, and technology, and your next steps?

Rayleigh Vision is a company that specializes in disruptive MicroLED technology, with a focus on solutions for full-color microdisplays. Our team includes pioneers in MicroLED technology, who have over a decade of experience in this field.

Although we've seen significant advancements in MicroLED technology, challenges remain. These include developing a full-color solution for microdisplays, improving mass transfer efficiency, and enhancing process yields. From the perspective of microdisplays, achieving a full-color display with a high Field of View (FOV) and Pixels per Degree (PPD) is crucial for an immersive Extended Reality (XR) experience. However, no product currently on the market meets these specifications. 

MicroLED-Connect is a hybrid event series, a year-long program of virtual and onsite events, all focused on the microLED industry. The first online 2-day webinar was hosted successfully last month, with over 25 lectures (all recordings accessible for pass holders). The next event is a startup showcase, that will be hosted on February 22, 2024.

The startup showcase includes lectures from 8 leading microLED startup companies, covering topics such as microdisplays, AR headset development, microLED production, transfer processes and microLED inspection.

Now is a great time to reserve your ticket and make sure you stay updated with the latest innovation from the following startup companies: Rayleigh Vision, Inziv, Comptek Solutions, QustomDot, Terecircuits, iBeam Materials, Kura Vision and NS Nanotech. You can read the complete agenda here.