Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its LED Products business unit (“Cree LED”) to SMART Global Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGH) for up to US$ 300 million, including fixed upfront and deferred payments and contingent consideration. Mark Adams, President and CEO of SMART Global Holdings has discussed their acquisition of Cree LED. Adams indicated that he was the former CEO at Lumileds and during his time there they started down the path looking at Cree. Cree is a...

Upon closing, creates a pure-play global semiconductor powerhouse focused on providing disruptive technology solutions to high-growth segments including EV, 5G and industrial applications Transaction represents a key milestone in Cree’s transformation to focus on silicon carbide and gallium nitride devices, as well as materials Consideration includes $50 million upfront payment; $125 million seller note and up to $125 million earn-out DURHAM, N.C. – Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) today announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agree...

Axus Technology, a provider of CMP, wafer thinning and wafer polishing surface-processing solutions for semiconductor applications, announced the collaboration with Compound Photonics (CP, also known as CP Display), a microdisplay solutions developer for AR/MR. The two parties will work to accelerate sub 5 µm pixel Micro LED development to the mass market. (Image: Compound Photonics) Axus and CP are partnering to integrate critical wafer-scale processes needed for mass-production scale up of CP’s 2 µm pixel, 1080p Micro LED displays fo...

Company closes first of 3 tranches in Series D round. Backing will be used to complete product development near Grenoble and create a new display manufacturing facility based on Aledia’s proprietary technology of 3D microLEDs. Aledia, a French startup that is pioneering a disruptive technology for microLED displays, has closed an €80M first tranche of its €120M D-round financing. The company will use the proceeds to complete its product development and create the first-of-its-kind, high-volume 3D microLED manufacturing facility in the Grenoble are...

New research published in EPJ B reveals that the higher-than-expected efficiency of PLEDs can be reached through interactions between triplet excitons, and impurities embedded in their polymer layers. (Image: EPJ B) Polymer LEDs (PLEDs) are devices containing single layers of luminescent polymers, sandwiched between two metal electrodes. They produce light as the metal layers inject electrons and holes into the polymer, creating distortions which can combine to form two different types of electron-hole pair: either light-emitting ‘singlets,’ or a non-...

Hydromea, a spinoff of École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), has developed a miniature optical modem that can operate down to 6,000 meters below the ocean’s surface. It is sensitive enough to collect data at very high speeds from sources more than 50 meters away. Radio wave can hardly work underwater as they are easily absorbed by water. So wireless internet connection underwater is nearly impossible. But it would be another story if the connection is based on light. Hydromea is using light to transmit data below the ocean or lake surfac...

GE Current announced its disinfecting lighting product based on the latest patent pending technology. These solutions represent a first line of defense that fights a broad spectrum of germs including the SARS-CoV-2 virus around the clock. GE Current’s 365DisInFx™ technology leverages a business’ existing lighting infrastructure to deliver germicidal UV light in places where people gather. The technology implement UVA LED and demonstrated a 99.7% disinfecting rate of common pathogens on surfaces over an eight-hour period at 3 W/m2 with in-vitro t...

Researchers at Hiroshima University offered first proof that UVC light with a 222 nm wavelength, which many claim to be safer for human and animals, can effectively kills the SARS-CoV-2 virus, pathogen of COVID-19. The study was published in the American Journal of Infection Control on September 4, 2020, titled “Effectiveness of 222-nm ultraviolet light on disinfecting SARS-CoV-2 surface contamination.” The article demonstrated the results of an in vitro experiment of the research team which showed that 99.7% of the SARS-CoV-2 viral culture...

With applications featuring Mini LED display technology about to enter the market, the industry seems to hold a more optimistic view towards Micro LED. Two Micro LED technology builders unveiled their plans to set up new Micro LED production lines this week, including Taiwanese company PlayNitride and French Aledia. (Image: LEDinside) PlayNitride is going to commence construction of its second Micro LED chip production line with its secured funds of US$50 million. The production is scheduled to be completed and begin mass production by mid-2021, boos...

French company Aledia who focuses on 3D LED technology announced that it will invest EUR 140 million (US$ 165.82 million) to set up GaN-on-Si Micro LED production line. The production line will be set up in Champagnier, France and the company plans to begin Micro LED production by 2022 with the new site. By the end of 2019, Aledia began to collaborate with TowerJazz to accelerate Micro LED production based on Aledia’s nanowire-LED display technology and TowerJazz’ Transfer Optimization and Development Process Services (TOPS). Al...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent won by Apple describing displays based on Micro LED technology for its future products, reported Patently Apple. Apple’s plan of adopting advanced display technologies including Micro LED and Mini LED for its new products is no news for the market. The company has been dedicating to drive the progress of these cutting-edge display fabrication methods and has won several related patents. The latest one published elaborates displays that incorporate timing controller to deliver different display areas over...

Stanley announced that it has confirmed high effectiveness of virus inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by using its 265nm UVC LED, following a testing result in collaboration with Yamaguchi University. The company also reported its establishment of an integrated production system for UVC LED. Stanley and professors at Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, jointly tested the UVC LED of Stanley on deactivating SARS-CoV-2 virus. They put 10 ml of virus solution (5 x 10⁵ PFU/mL) in dishes a...

Cornell researchers have developed microsensors that are tiny enough to fit 30,000 on one side of a penny. These microscopic sensors are equipped with an integrated circuit, solar cells and Micro LEDs that enable them to harness light for power and communication. The research was published in PNAS in April, titled “Microscopic Sensors Using Optical Wireless Integrated Circuits.” The research team devised a platform for parallel production of their optical wireless integrated circuits (OWICs), microsensors the size of 100 µm. Researchers in the st...

Amphenol LTW provides connectors for industrial automation and machine vision, horticultural lighting, LED lighting and display, fishing light and other markets. Under the influence of COVID-19, the industrial automation and machine vision markets are still making remarkable progress. LEDinside had the honor to interview Charles Wu, the Global BD of Amphenol LTW, to share with us Amphenol LTW solutions for machine vision applications in industrial automation. (image: Amphenol LTW) Charles Indicated that, due to the impact of COVID-19, the growth ...

LG officially launched its Micro LED signage solution, named “LG MAGNIT,” on September 10, which is the first Micro LED display product debuted by the company. LG is releasing the Micro LED display to the markets of the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. (Image: LG) LG has already included the Micro LED category including a few product details to its Business Solution webpage earlier this year as LEDinside covered in July. With the official launch, LG further updated several features of its Micro LED display. L...

Lucid Motors unveiled production details of its electric vehicle, Lucid Air. This new electric-powered automobile features cutting-edge technologies including its LiDAR embedded ADAS and advanced headlamp lighting. (Image: Lucid Motors) The Lucid Air's ADAS is called Lucid DreamDrive, which is a platform combining comprehensive sensor suite with a Driver Monitoring System (DMS). According to Lucid Motors, it is the first system of its kind to offer 32 sensors, covering vision, radar and ultrasonics, plus high-resolution LIDAR in an E...

Even without a physical presence, Display Week 2020 still functioned as a major arena for competing technology providers to showcase their offerings. Noteworthy participants that unveiled their latest Micro LED products included LGD, AUO, Tianma, and BOE. In demonstrating their cutting-edge solutions, exhibitors used videos, images, and other media resources to overcome the limitations of the virtual venue. The lack of physical exhibitions and conferences did not diminish the excitement over Micro LED displays during Display Week 2020. Many prominent developers ...

Researchers continue to focus on the current technology bottlenecks of Micro LED display manufacture. Recently, a team consisting of researchers from Guangdong Institute of Semiconductor Industrial Technology (GISIT), University of Tokyo, and Foshan Debao Display Technology reported their new transfer technique that integrates adhesive tape and laser lift-off (LLO) technology. The study was published in Advanced Materials Technologies, titled “Wafer-Scale Micro-LEDs Transferred onto an Adhesive Film for Planar and Flexible Displays.” I...

A Korean company announced that it has developed “12-inch sapphire wafer” with required quality which can help to support local demands of semiconductor materials, reported ETNEWS, a Korean media. Japan imposed restriction on exportation of three semiconductor materials that are critical for display manufacture to South Korea due to disputes between the two countries. The Korea government and companies have thus been pushing the development of materials, components and equipment so that they will be less reliable on imposed products. (Image: Samsung) The...

According to the latest report of TrendForce, “2020 Global Automotive LED Product Trend and Regional Market Analysis,” demands for automotive LED increase stably driven by advanced applications such as intelligent headlamp, central tunnel taillights, HDR automotive displays, ambient lights and more. Headlamps play the major role in the development of automotive LED lighting. The driving momentum include halogen replacement, small aperture, adaptive driving beam (ADB) and projection. TrendForce analyzed that halogen replacement and ADB will occup...

Citizen Electronics announced it has signed a licensing agreement with Valoya, a Finnish LED grow light technology developer. With the partnership, Citizen Electronics will apply Valoya's spectrum technology know-how in order to strengthen its COB (chip on board) LED products intended for the horticulture industry. (Image: Valoya) Valoya has launched its patent licensing program in June this year. The patent portfolio accounts Valoya's inventions in the field of light spectra for plant cultivation and lighting applications. “Access to the Valoy...

Researchers from Tokyo University of Science reported an achievement of developing transparent films that can tune the emitting color. This innovation of color tunable transparent films may provide a wide range of application potential for LED displays and illumination. Published in The Royal Society of Chemistry's Materials Advances, the research team described the mechanism it has developed to tune the photoemission of a solid polymeric film. The method is to control the flow of protons in it by applying a voltage. The study provided insights into the creation of mo...

Vuzix announced that it is developing next generation product line of smart glasses powered by Micro LED technology that are expected to become available in 2021. (Image: Vuzix) The smart glasses maker said that the Micro LED-based product line will include middle-end consumer-facing product and a higher end enterprise version with built-in cellular connectivity. (Image: Vuzix) Micro LED will be used as projectors for the smart glasses to deliver high density pixel arrays with both monochrome and full color solution. The glasses will also feature a larger field...

University of Texas at Dallas researchers and their international colleagues have developed a method to create Micro LEDs that can be folded, twisted, cut and stuck to different surfaces. The research, published online in the journal Science Advances, helps pave the way for the next generation of flexible, wearable technology. The research team created a detachable Micro LED with flexibility, aiming to fulfill the growing demand for bendable, wearable electronics. Researchers develop the flexible LED through a technique called remote epitaxy. To make it detachable, res...

Micro LED technology developers from Taiwan unveiled their latest progress in quantum dots (QD) color conversion and wafer production. Lextar introduced its progresses in reliable QD development to realize full color Micro LED displays while PlayNitride shared its achievement of 6-inch Micro LED epitaxial wafers with advanced uniformity. (Image: screenshot from PlayNitride video) Lextar, a vertical integrated LED company based in Taiwan, shared that the company has been working on deploying QD color conversion technology on Micro LED display. Since M...

Sharp’s mass production plan for Micro LED displays marked a progress of the Foxconn Group in next-gen display technology development. Incorporates LED chip production, packaging technology, panel manufacture and TV brands, the Foxconn Group is known for its ambition to set up an internal Micro LED supply chain. The Micro LED displays developed by Sharp, a 0.38-inch full color panel featuring 1053 PPI and a 0.13-inch blue display with 3000 PPI, were designed by the semiconductor group under Foxconn and manufactured by Sharp Fukuyama Semiconductor. ...

A new research by Stanford scientist demonstrate a new approach to slow down light so that photons have more chances to interact with other materials, opening a door for new applications such as LiDAR, LiFi and AR/VR. The research paper was published in Nature Nanotechnology on August 17, 2020. To slow down light, the Stanford researchers structured ultrathin silicon chips into nanoscale bars to resonantly trap light and then release or redirect it later. The approach is like creating an echo chamber to hold onto sound and direct it. These "high-quality-factor&quo...

Researchers from Taiwan’s National Tshing Hua University (NTHU) developed a method of adding salt water to quantum dots to make the materials more stable and easier for inkjet printing for optimized Micro LED display manufacture. Their results were published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, titled “Inkjet-Printed Salt-Encapsulated Quantum Dot Film for UV-Based RGB Color-Converted Micro-Light Emitting Diode Displays.” (Image: NTHU) Full color Micro LED display fabrication is challenging due to poor performanc...

Micro LED display technology based on self-emitting pixels delivers advanced contract ratio, high brightness and wide color gamut. Many believe that the technology is bringing revolutions to the display industry and can be widely adopted in different forms of applications. However, after years of development with more and more players joining the ecosystem, the fundamental issues for mass production are yet to be tackled. The most well-known difficulty of Micro LED display manufacture is mass transferring as most of the LED companies do not have equipment capable of process ...

Perovskite LED promises higher color quality and ease of manufacture, so it is oven considered a solution to breakthrough LED applications. However, it has been known to fail when subjected to the kind of electrical current typically needed for practical uses. A research team from Princeton University has demonstrated improvement of perovskite LED in stability and performance by better managing the thermal dissipation. (Photo by Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy; image source: Princeton) The research, published in Advanced Materials, is titled “Thermal Management ...