Production equipment

How XTPL's Ultra-Precise Dispensing System is Shaping the Future of OLED and MicroLED Displays Exploring the Future of Display Technology: OLED, QD-OLED, and MicroLED Compared

OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), QD-OLED (Quantum Dot Organic Light-Emitting Diode), and MicroLED (Micro Light-Emitting Diode) share some common characteristics as emissive display technologies:

1. Emissive nature: They all emit light when an electric current is passed through them.
2. Active matrix: They use an active matrix to control the emission of each pixel.
3. Pixel structure: Each pixel typically consists of three sub-pixels (red, green, and blue) that can be controlled independently.
4. High contrast ratio: They are capable of producing high contrast ratios due to their ability to turn off or dim individual pixels.
5. Fast response time: They have fast response times, which enables them to display fast-moving content without blurring or ghosting.
6. Viewing angles: They can maintain good color accuracy and contrast even when viewed from the side, although MicroLEDs tend to have better viewing angles. 

Fig. 1 XTPL Ultra-Precise Dispensing System

Justin Brown is X Display's Executive Vice President for Operations & Equipment. Justin leads the company’s supply chain development, manufacturing partner relationships and also its Equipment division, which provides mass-transfer equipment for XDC’s partners and licensees. Justin was kind enough to answer a few questions we had for XDC.

Q: Hello Justin, thanks for your time. XDC has been a bit quiet in the last few years. Can you bring us up to date on your microLED technologies, processes and products?

Thank you for the opportunity to share the progress at XDC. We have been busier in the near past than ever before. As you know, we first announced our MicroIC technology, our mass transfer process, our manufacturing equipment and the uniqueness of our approach, the IP strength we possess and the experience of the team. This led to broad customer visibility and we narrowed down our efforts to a select set of partners that we are currently working with. We have deep engagements with customers that we anticipate will result in end product announcements in the future.

Aixtron reports strong results for its recent quarter, with both revenues and profit significantly higher than last year, driven by strong demand for SiC production systems for power electronics.

Aixtron reports revenues of 19.6 million Euro (up from 6.9 million last year) for LED and microLED systems. There's a strong new momentum for microLED production systems, which accounted for 37% of the equipment order intake. This development was boosted by the continued development activities of Micro LED customers, who are continuing to invest in development and pilot lines for the commercialization of Micro LED technology.

Germany-based Singulus Technologies announced that it has adapted its modular high-vacuum sputtering TIMARIS STM system for microLED production. The first TIMARIS STM system has already been sold and delivered.

The TIMARIS platform has a modular structure and can be equipped with various process and add-on modules for a wide range of requirements. 

MicroLED display developer VueReal announced a strategic partnership with Toray Engineering. As part of this collaboration, VueReal will integrate Toray's TASMIT 3000SR-Ⅲ300 PL inspection tool into its turnkey MicroSolid Printing platform. The announcement mentions several customized and optimized tools, but does not provide more details.

VueReal and Toray say that the PL inspection tool 3000SR-Ⅲ300 seamlessly integrates with VueReal's MicroSolid Printing platform to further reduce surface inspection device review time and contribute to greater inspection efficiency. This system acquires images of defects with a high level of magnification and categorizes defect types.

Toray Engineering announced a technical partnership with semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation, to promote efficient combined production systems for miniLEDs and microLED displays.

Toray Engineering will able to offer a combined inspection, transfer, and mounting systems, by data linking its systems with Advantest's inspection equipment. The company says that these integrated systems will enable the acceleration of microLED R&D and production. 

UK-based Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology announced that it has installed one of its 200 mm atomic layer deposition (ALD) passivation systems at a UK microLED provider, in order to support the customer's latest AR microdisplay development and production. The OIPT system is used to deposit high-K dielectric ultra-thin films for high-density, very high-brightness, low-power and high frame-rate RGB pixel arrays.

OIPT says that its low-damage plasma ALD technology is optimized for smaller dies with smaller active areas, and was shown in some cases by its customers at ICNS to double external quantum efficiency. 

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.