Since last year, manufacturers of LEDs, panels, and systems across the globe have displayed Micro LED-related products at major international exhibitions. Applications include automotive and indoor fine-pitch displays. This has kick started a Micro LED trend across the world. At the beginning of this year, leading industry players including Taiwan’s ITRI, Japan’s Sony, and Korea’s Samsung, LG, and Seoul Semiconductor have all presented the latest Micro LED technology at CES 2020. As one of the major focuses in the display industry, Mi...

Applied Optoelectronics, an optical products manufacturer, announced the release of a high power and narrow linewidth laser specifically designed for LiDAR applications, particularly for automotive use. Current automotive LIDAR systems are based on near infrared lasers, however these lasers are not eye safe and therefore are limited in terms of emitted power. This power limitation, in turn, restricts the effective sensing range of the LIDAR system. AOI’s laser operates at longer wavelengths near 1550-nm where eye-safe emission limits are much higher and therefore...

To address the wafer size mismatch and to tackle the yield challenge in Micro LED production, ALLOS has applied its unique strain-engineering to show outstanding uniformity and reproducibility for 200 mm GaN-on-Si epiwafers. Additionally the company reports about its success on the roadmap to 300 mm. Yield plays a crucial role to make Micro LED displays successful. It has a direct impact on the manufacturing complexity and cost. To enable the needed cost reductions, large wafer diameters are essential. This is particularly true for Micro LED applications in which...

A team with researchers at Seoul Viosys and University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) published a study focuses on features of Micro LEDs as their size goes smaller at 1 to 10 μm. External quantum efficiency (EQE) of Micro LEDs usually reduces when Micro LEDs get smaller, which becomes an issue for Micro LED technology builders. To further understand the relation between EQE and chip size, a research team of Seoul Viosys and UCSB focus on Micro LEDs down to 1 μm to compare the EQE trend for blue and green InGaN Micro LE...

The spreading coronavirus epidemic did not stop industry players from progressing advanced technology development. Chinese companies recently reported new orders and subsidies for equipment to push Micro LED technology development. (Image: LEDinside) The biggest LED wafer and chip producer Sanan Optoelectronic reported that its subsidiary Sanan Semiconductor has received subsidies from the Quanzhou government in March for purchasing equipment. The amount of the subsidies was RMB 143 million (US$ 20.16 million). Sanan Semiconductor has formed partnership with...

Wearable devices with AR/VR applications are regarded as the next generation consumer electronics that might replace smartphones. Currently, the technology is more applied in industrial or professional areas as the devices are still relatively bulky and expensive as they require complex integration of cameras, image processing solutions, power and more. To tackle the issue, Nvidia developed a new technique for gaze tracking solution, the fundamental technology for VR wearable devices as agreed by many leading industry players, reported VentureBeat. Researchers at Nvidia used...

Could there be a new kind of light in the universe? Since the late 19th century, scientists have understood that, when heated, all materials emit light in a predictable spectrum of wavelengths. But a new research published in Nature Scientific Reports by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute presented a material that emits light when heated that appears to exceed the limits set by that natural law. The new material discovered by Shawn Yu Lin, lead author and a professor of physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, defies the theory proposed by Max Planck in ...

A team from Yokohama National University in Japan believes they have developed a method to obtain a sensor by taking advantage of slow light and published the results in the Optica, a journal published by The Optical Society, on January 2020. A small-sized silicon photonics chip that can be used for non-mechanical beam steering and scanning. (Image: Yokohama National University) In modern LiDAR sensors, many of the systems are composed of a laser source; a photodetector, which converts light into current; and an optical beam steering device, which directs the light...

AIXTRON announced that Konka Group has ordered multiple AIX G5+ C and AIX 2800G4-TM MOCVD systems to build its own volume production of GaN-based (gallium nitride) and AsP-based (Arsenide-Phosphide) Mini- and Micro LEDs. Konka, which recently announced its plans to enter the North American consumer electronics market in 2020, established its Micro LED initiative as a joint venture with Chongqing Liangshan Industrial Investment. The company also increase an investment of over US$210 million for Micro LED development. Most recently, ...

UV light exposure not only kills microorganism, it can also assess meat quality. A research team with scientists of Sechenov University in Russia, Macquarie University and University of New South Wales in Australia proposed a method incorporating UV light emission to classify meat into standard quality categories. The study was published in Journal of Biophotonics under the title “Autofluorescence excitation-emission matrices as a quantitative tool for the assessment of meat quality.” Conventionally, to evaluate the quality of beef, specialists pay attentio...

A multi-departmental research team at Taiwan’s National Chi Nan University (NCNU) collaborated with local famers and developed a LED lighting system for water bamboo (Zizania latifolia) cultivation to improve the growth with a new design of LED lenses. The advanced technology tackled the existing issues and proved to benefit the harvest. The results were published Applied Sciences in February 2020, titled “Optimized LED-Integrated Agricultural Facilities for Adjusting the Growth of Water Bamboo (Zizania latifolia).” The optimized LED...

Micro LED technology builder VerLASE introduced a novel mass transfer technique for Micro LED display production based on its “Large Area Assembly Platform” (LAAP), which the company revealed in June, 2019. With similar concept, the company transfer the technology into a simpler, semiconductor-fab compatible solution based on Photo-Mechanical Actuation (PMA). According to VerLASE, the solution uses a novel formulation comprising of fab compatible chemistries and transfer stamp architecture in a unique way to deterministically pick-up a large ...

Mitsubishi Electric announced that it has developed a compact LiDAR solution incorporating a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) that achieves an extra-wide horizontal scanning angle to accurately detect the shapes and distances of objects ahead in autonomous driving systems. The new LiDAR solution irradiates objects by laser and uses a dual-axis (horizontal and vertical) MEMS mirror to scan for the reflected light, generating three-dimensional images of vehicles and pedestrians. Mitsubishi Electric expects this compact, low-cost solution to contribute to th...

A new type of light emitting textile may enable innovative wearable applications. Researchers at the University of Windsor in Canada published their development in the journal Matters, revealing a stretchable, lighting emitting fabric based on typical ultrasheer pantyhose coated in a thin gold film. (Image: Matters) The new development tackled some of the limitations of existing light-emitting fabrics and use the textile structure as an integral part of the wearable device design. With effective power sources, the light emitting fabric could be further developed into more fun...

Scientist at University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have created a blue LED from a new semiconductor material halide perovskite, overcoming a major barrier to employing these cheap, easy-to-make materials in electronic devices. Published in Science Advances on January 24, the study demonstrates the technology breakthrough of applying the unstable material as halide perovskite changes with temperature, humidity and the chemical environment and their optical and electronic properties are thus disrupted. Making semiconductor diodes that emit blue light has always b...

Researchers of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) develop a new material for blue light emitting LEDs which can replace gallium nitride (GaN). According to the report of BusinessKorea, the new technology breakthrough might enable Korea to reduce the dependence of Japan on LED materials. Published on Scientific Report on March 04, 2020, the study titled “Intrinsically p-type cuprous iodide semiconductor for hybrid light emitting diodes,” demonstrate the single crystal epitaxy of cuprous iodide (CuI) film grown on Si and sapphire s...

Display technology continues to advance and display companies has pushed their development in market expansion and technology improvement. OLED, Mini LED and Micro LED are currently the major technologies that players in the display industry focus on. BOE, as the leading display company in China, has also invest great amount of resources in OLED and Mini LED. Lately, BOE replied to its investors about the progress in Mini LED. BOE demonstrated its Mini LED technology at CES 2020. The company is able to provide solutions achieving ultra-thin, h...

A research team at University College London published its development of an antimicrobial coating which kills bacteria when exposed to light. The creation can be used to coat phones screen, keyboards, and the inside of catheters and breathing tubes for prevent the spread of diseases in hospitals and healthcare institutes. The research, published today in Nature Communications, is the first to show a light activated antimicrobial coating successfully killing bacteria in low intensity, ambient light (300 Lux), such as that found in wards and waiting rooms to stop healthcare-associ...

SiLC Technologies, the developer of integrated single-chip FMCW LiDAR solutions, announced that it closed US$12 million in seed funding led by Dell Technologies Capital. Decent Capital, ITIC Ventures, and several prominent angel investors also participated in the funding round. SiLC will use the funding to scale its R&D and operations to develop its frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) silicon photonic 4D+ Vision Chip platform. SiLC demonstrated its integrated FMCW chip and long-range LiDAR resolution at CES 2020. The company al...

Electroninks, the supplier of particle-free silver, gold, and platinum conductive inks and pastes, announced the strategic alliance with Enjet Inc., the ultra-high resolution printing expert to support advanced manufacturing of display, touchpanel, and packaging products. The two companies will leverage their capabilities and resources to demonstrate conductive ink and printing equipment products.    Electroninks and Enjet will work together as a dynamic team to supply conductive ink printing at <10µm in several markets including Micro LED, Mini LED, EM...

Seoul Viosys, a subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor focusing on UV LED technology, announced that customer inquiries for its violeds UV LED products has increased more than five times over the previous month, fueled by concerns over the continuing global spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). With the growing concerns over the global spread of the coronavirus, numerous automotive companies in China are actively reviewing adoption of Seoul’s violeds UV LED technology in sterilization systems for vehicle interiors. In addition, violeds UV LED techno...

SiliconCore showcased its Lotus 0.83mm technology with a Micro LED display at ISE 2020. The Micro LED display, according to SiliconCore is three times as bright and 50% more power efficient. (Image: SiliconCore) SiliconCore LED displays features lowest power consumption, highest brightness, and lowest operating temperatures. The Lotus 0.83mm LED display with a brightness of 2000 nits surpasses the market with the brightest and most efficient sub-1mm pitch LED display in the world. A 4K resolution display can be achieved at 144-inch with a smooth, touc...

Osram Opto Semiconductors recently began to work with a Polish company XTPL to initiate evaluation of adopting 3D printing technology solutions to address the challenges connected with the manufacture of future generations of lighting elements. Osram signed an agreement with XTPL on January 21, 2020, to access the possibility of implementing XTPL’s technology in Osram’s production processes for create conductive interconnections for semiconductors. The potential industrial application of the XTPL method in the lighting industry is yet another proof of ...

A research team at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU), Taiwan, recently announced the development of a new quantum dot material that provides more realistic color and is more stable. (Image: NTHU) Led by Professor Hsueh-Shih (Sean) Chen at Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University, the research team developed a “shield” of approximately 1-nanometer at the crystal facets of each quantum dot to overcome the current technology difficulty of quantum dot which is unstable and easily damaged. The team has already applied for patents for the new mat...

Compound Photonics and Plessey Semiconductors announced the results of their collaboration, the first fully addressable Micro LED display modules. Engineering teams from both companies have fabricated functional Micro LED display modules combining CP’s high speed digital low-latency display backplane with Plessey’s GaN-on-Silicon monolithic Micro LED array technology. Plessey produced the Micro LED array wafer bonded to CP’s backplane wafer at its facility in the UK. In turn, CP’s team assembled and packaged display modules from t...

With the goal of offering a comprehensive system solution around the ISELED technology, ISELED Alliance welcomed two new members, Elmos, who experts in automotive semiconductors and sensors, and automotive lighting manufacturer Cemm Thome. Both Elmos and Cemm Thome will provide innovative technologies and expertise around LED lighting to further strengthen and increase the ISELED ecosystem. (Image: ISELED) Elmos has its headquarters in Dortmund, Germany. The company develops, produces and markets semiconductors and sensors, primarily for use ...

British Micro LED expert Plessey continues to expand partnerships with other industry players to accelerate Micro LED development. The company reported its collaboration with Axus Technology (Axus), a global provider of CMP, wafer thinning and wafer polishing surface-processing solutions for semiconductor applications, to bring high-performance GaN-on-Silicon monolithic Micro LED technology to the mass market. (Image: Plessey) Plessey continues to invest heavily in its manufacturing facility to boost Micro LED display capabilities with the purchase of met...

UVphotonics and Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) are presenting novel UV LED developments with emission wavelengths from 330 nm to as low as 230 nm at Photonics West 2020. The versatile light sources are configurable to various application requirements. UV LEDs have opened up new prospects due to benefits like increased design flexibility, energy savings and reduced overall cost. Their customizable wavelengths, low operation voltages, ability to be rapidly switched and dimmed along with their compact size make them ideal for a multitude of applications. These include ...

CEA-Leti announced at Photonics West 2020 its new development of a silicon nitride (Si3N4) 200mm platform for developing photonics in UV through mid-infrared wavelengths. Available in CEA-Leti's SiN platform in a multi-project-wafer program, the breakthrough targets designers in integrated quantum optics, LiDAR, biosensing, and imaging whose projects require ultralow propagation losses and high-power handling capability. (Image: CEA-Leti) According to CEA-Leti, this ultralow-loss SiN layer is available for multi-level photonic circuits. It can be c...

UK-based Micro LED technology developer Plessey announced at Photonics West its’ new partnership with WaveOptics, a designer and manufacturer of diffractive waveguides. (Image: WaveOptics/Plessey) This two companies aim to create a new optical module for next generation smart glasses incorporating Plessey’s native green Micro LED full HD display with WaveOptics’ Katana waveguide technology and projector design. The full HD Micro LED display from Plessey is the result of its previously announced partnership with Compound Photonics, t...