On October 22, U.S.-based AI interconnect chip company Palomino Laboratories announced that it had secured its first commercial purchase order from a strategic hyperscale cloud service provider for high-performance GaN-based Micro LED chips designed for AI optical interconnects. The order marks a key step toward commercializing Micro LED optical interconnect technology. The customer requires ultra-high-performance Micro LED chips specifically engineered for AI optical interconnects. Palomino noted that Micro LED technology originally developed for displ...

BMW has filed a patent application in Germany (DE102025114033A1) for a glass-covered car door handle with an integrated microLED display and a fingerprint sensor. In BMW's design, a thin microLED film sits behind transparent glass or plastic, so nothing protrudes from the car's bodywork. The display could show the car's lock status (one graphic when locked, another when unlocked), the BMW logo or animated light effects. Sensors would detect an approaching hand or a touch, and wake the display only when needed. The fingerprint sensor would allow an auth...

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has achieved a record modulation bandwidth of 2.75GHz in a gallium nitride (GaN) blue micro-LED (Abdelghany Abouelnagga et al, IEEE Electron Device Letters (21 October 2026); doi: 10.1109/LED.2026.3745737). The work provides a systematic scaling roadmap for the micro-emitters, showing how they can replace conventional electrical copper links to break energy and bandwidth bottlenecks in data centers and next-generation AI computing. As the demands of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing s...

AUO transparent Micro LED Display technology made its debut in the PEUGEOT RCZ VISION concept car at the 2026 Paris Motor Show, demonstrating how advanced display technology can open up new possibilities for cockpit design and human-machine interaction. In collaboration with the PEUGEOT Design teams, AUO’s 12.4-inch Transparent Micro LED Display HMI is integrated into the driver display positioned above the Hypersquare® steering control and the floating central display. With its high transparency, exceptional image quality...

Nexilumen, a spin-off from Fudan University, has made new progress in Micro LED optical interconnects, increasing aggregate bandwidth through space-division multiplexing (SDM) and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM). Its 16-channel Micro LED array achieved a data rate of 37 Gbps, while a five-channel WDM solution reached a data-rate density of approximately 201 Gbps/mm². In SDM, Nexilumen uses a 4 × 4 green Micro LED array integrating 16 independently driven pixels. Each pixel delivers an average data rate of approximately 2.3 Gbps, with ...

France-based car maker Peugeot unveiled a new concept car, the Peugeot RCZ Vision, building on the company's 2009-2015 RCZ coupe - with a host of new technologies. The RCZ Vision, build on Stellantis' STLA One architecture, is an electric car, with a range of up to 600km, a powerful 500 hp engine, solid state batteries, and more. The concept utilizes two transparent microLED displays: a transparent instrument cluster, positioned directly above the "Hypersquare" steering control, and a central screen that provides infotainment and navigation. ...

MicroLED-based optical I/O developer Avicena raises $10 million from Korea-based Intervest. Avicena raised $130 million today, with its previous $65 million round B announced last year. In March 2026, Avicena launched an evaluation platform for its microLED optical connectivity using ASIC-based transceivers with integrated microLED, photodetector (PD) and micro-lens arrays connected via a multi-core fiber bundle. The kit integrates 320 microLED data channels operating up to 3.5 Gbps. Last month the company launched a new version of its LightBundle ev...

Hongshi Intelligent's XC6 full-color MicroLED light engine is used in Skynea's binocular full-color AI glasses, unveiled at New York Fashion Week in September 2026. Skynea, a brand under Shenzhen CDL Precision Technology, introduced the glasses in collaboration with New York fashion label The Blonds. According to published product information, the glasses weigh less than 50 g and combine binocular full-color waveguide displays with real-time translation, image capture and audio interaction. The show featured a custom colorway for The Blonds, styled a...

In September 2026, Hongshi Intelligent brought its 0.15 cc Yunjin XC7 full-color MicroLED light engine from CIOE in Shenzhen to MicroLED Connect + AR/VR Connect in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The two events gave specialists across the AR display industry a close look at Hongshi's latest product development. At CIOE, the Yunjin MicroLED light-engine platform received the 2026 SIVA AWARDS honor for "Best Microdisplay Solution of the Year." A forum for hands-on industry discussion Held on September 16-17, MicroL...

Micro LED optical interconnect technology emerged as a focal point during CIOE (China International Optoelectronic Exposition) 2026. A wide range of ecosystem players—from epitaxy, chip, and display module providers like Enkris Semiconductor, LEKIN, Starksemi, and Raysolve, to system architecture vendors such as Nexilumen (Shanghai) and Intelligence Computing Optical Interconnects (An affiliated company of Wuhu Token Science)—showcased their latest breakthroughs in Micro LED optical interconnect solutions. From an architecture perspec...

Intel has recently disclosed a patent originally filed in 2022, revealing an IC packaging architecture that integrates Micro LEDs. The architecture features semiconductor dies embedded directly into a glass substrate, where Through-Glass-Via (TGV) within the substrate deliver power straight to the Micro LEDs on the dies. The power and signal connections are then routed to the mainboard via a package substrate. According to the patent, the Micro LEDs can utilize nanowire structures to emit red, green, and blue (RGB) light. Potential applications include pe...

ECOC 2026, the European Conference on Optical Communications, has been taking place this week in Málaga, Spain. Researchers from both industry and academia and professionals came together to discuss and explore advances in optical communications. The conference program covered all aspects in the field of optical communications and networks, including emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Quantum Technologies. optics.org has here gathered together a selection of notable launch announcements: Avicena, a developer of microL...

Just as the transition from a 15 cm vacuum tube to a 1 cm transistor triggered the IT revolution, light-emitting devices are also evolving beyond conventional LEDs used simply for illumination into ultra-miniaturized opto semiconductors that will drive the AI era. Based on proprietary technologies developed in Korea, including WICOP, device dimensions have been reduced from conventional packages of approximately 2,000 µm to an extreme scale of 1 µm — roughly 1/2,000 of the original size. These nearly invisible 1 µm opto semiconductors are expecte...

Product development and volume production at Hongshi MicroLED At the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE) 2026, Hongshi Intelligent showcased a new-generation full-color MicroLED light engine based on its Yunjin platform. Using three-color optical combining, the 0.15 cc light engine has entered pilot production in selected customer projects and is being prepared for mass production. Jiguang Yaoying, presented in CIOE 2025, is now being delivered in volume for customer projects. Deliveries of the previous generation and validation of the new...

Vuzix® Corporation, a leading supplier of AI-powered smart glasses, waveguides and augmented reality technologies, today announced that it has begun shipping its first Causeway™ waveguide bridge samples to select prospective customers and ecosystem partners, and is making a broader optical interconnect evaluation kit available for AI data center optical interconnect applications, including co-packaged optics (CPO) architectures. Industry forecasts point to significant growth in this emerging market. TrendForce forecasts that the combined co-packaged optics and near-...

According to TrendForce’s 2026 Micro LED Display and Non-Display Application Market Analysis, due to sluggish consumer market demand and the AI spending crowding-out effect, the Micro LED industry has seen a broad-based shift in business resource allocation toward commercially viable applications. For display applications, barriers to market adoption can be minimized by modular designs and supply chain integration, while future deployment pivots toward interactive and high-value-added sectors. For non-display applications, Micro LED technology is entering the C...

During its Investor Open Day on August 28, TCL Technology detailed its strategic layout in optical communications for the first time. TCL’s management noted that the optical communications industry is on the verge of major development opportunities. The company expects to execute its roadmap following the sequence of “optical chips → optical components → optical modules.” In the optical chip segment, TCL stated that it has already established a foundational capability. Through the acquisition of the Fuzhou Huazhao, TCL secured techn...

As AI applications continue to proliferate, demand for high-performance computing and high-speed data transmission is accelerating, making AI infrastructure capacity a critical enabler of industry growth. Targeting key technologies at the forefront of AI infrastructure, AUO will showcase its latest advancements in optical communications and advanced semiconductor packaging at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, taking place September 2-4. At the booth of AUO Group company Daxin Materials (L1210), AUO will present an optical communication solution featuring a system-level M...

VIJO (Suzhou) Optoelectronics Technology (VIJO), a Micro LED optical chip manufacturer, has completed a new financing round of nearly 100 million RMB, according to an official statement on the company’s WeChat account on Monday. The investment round was backed by Xinhe Capital, the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Seed Investment Fund, and Appotronics, a Shanghai-listed semiconductor laser technology company, alongside Peng Qian, chairman of Wuhan Jingce Electronic Group, a Shenzhen-listed semiconductor inspection equipment s...

Amorepacific, in a joint study with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), has confirmed that using a skin-conformable Micro-LED mask in conjunction with skin injection procedures significantly enhances skin rejuvenation outcomes. The research findings were published online in August in Nano Energy (IF 16.7, JCR Q1), an international journal in the field of energy and nanomaterials. (Paper Title: "Clinical validation of skin brightening and rejuvenation enabled by a skin-conformable surface-emitting micro-LED mask with injecti...

Avicena, the pioneer in microLED-based optical interconnects, today announced that it has begun shipping 1 Tbps LightBundle™ evaluation kits (eKits) to customers and partners developing next-generation AI infrastructure. The shipment milestone follows the introduction and demonstration of the LightBundle eKit in March 2026 at the Optical Fiber Conference (OFC26) and advances the platform from initial evaluation availability to terabit-class operation in customer laboratories. The latest LightBundle eKit incorporates a 335-channel microLED array, with each...

ECOC: Driving optical interconnect innovation for AI data centers ams OSRAM combines expertise in micro-emitters, micro-photodiodes, CMOS and advanced packaging to enable integrated optical solutions for the next generation of AI infrastructure. At ECOC 2026, we show how our “wide & slow” architecture addresses the rising bandwidth density and reach challenges in AI data centers. Combining ams OSRAM’s groundbreaking micro-array technology with system-level co-optimization, we enable scalable, cost-effective and energy-efficient optical...

SK hynix is moving from a memory supplier to a bigger role in the AI infrastructure. According to the company, it has teamed up with leading researchers worldwide to lay out a roadmap for co-packaged optics (CPO) in the journal Nature Electronics. Notably, beyond its HBM leadership, SK hynix’s paper tackles data bottlenecks at the rack and pod levels, outlining an optics-centric architecture that links memory and processors through optical interconnects. As hyperscale AI clusters scale to thousands of GPUs and HBM stacks, conventional copper links are ...

In the first half of 2026, the AR glasses industry entered a stage of accelerated commercialization. The integration of AI foundation models and near-eye display technologies has gathered momentum, with global tech giants and domestic innovators launching new products in quick succession. Capital continues to flow into core components, including optical engines and waveguides, driving the transition of AR glasses from “technical exploration” to “market cultivation”. According to TrendForce, global AR glasses shipments are projected to surpass 1 millio...

AUO Corporation and faytech Tech. Co., Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to deepen their long-term business partnership centered on transparent Micro-LED offerings. The MOU, signed Friday, August 7, 2026, at AUO Corporate Headquarters in Hsinchu, formalizes cooperation across product development, integration, manufacturing, and go-to-market activities to accelerate deployment of transparent Micro-LED displays in commercial and industrial applications. Under the agreement, AUO and faytech will collaborate on joint development proje...

As parameter counts in generative AI models expand exponentially, single-GPU configurations can no longer meet processing demands. While clustered computing has become industry standard, it introduces severe physical limits: the Bandwidth Wall and the Power Wall. In modern AI server architectures—specifically within chip-to-chip (Die-to-Die) and board-to-board Scale-Up expansion topologies—traditional copper interconnects are rapidly hitting physical ceilings. Signal attenuation, elevated latency, and unsustainable power dissipation have sparked a clear cons...

Researchers based in China have reported 34% enhanced external quantum efficiency (EQE) of a 5μm gallium nitride (GaN) blue light-emitting diode (LED) from a neutral reactive nitrogen/hydrogen (N/H) treatment [Kai Li et al, Appl. Phys. Lett., v129, p032103, 2026]. The team from University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, and Jiangsu Institute of Advanced Semiconductors, reports: “Treatment of neutral reactive N/H species effectively mitigates the surface Fermi-level pinning and reduces the defect...

Ennostar Inc. today held its earnings conference and announced its consolidated financial results for the second quarter of 2026. Consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2026 totaled NT$6.32 billion, increasing by 20.6% quarter-over-quarter and 10.2% year-over-year. Net income attributable to parent company amounted to NT$1.25 billion, with a basic earnings per share of NT$1.69. Second-quarter results reflected improving market conditions as global demand continued to recover gradually. Customer inventory replenishment supported double-digit sequential revenue growth ac...

Ennostar today announced a breakthrough in Micro LED optical communications. The company’s R&D team has increased the single-channel -3 dB modulation bandwidth of its blue Micro LED to 2.1 GHz at a current density of 2 kA/cm². The sample further demonstrated a modulation bandwidth of up to 3.3 GHz at a current density of 5 kA/cm2. These results place Ennostar’s technology among the industry’s top-tier performance benchmarks and approaching the commercial specifications required for short-reach optical transmission using Micro LEDs. The...

ams OSRAM delivers Q2 at guidance high end and readies microLED arrays for next-generation AR smart glasses Key Performance Update Q2/26 Revenues EUR 805 m, 16.9 % adjusted EBITDA margin, at the high end of the guidance; 14.2 % (non-adjusted) EBITDA margin +13 % year-on-year like-for-like growth of the semiconductor core portfolio at constant FX Design-wins of more than EUR 1.6 bn in semis (H1/26: approx. EUR 2.5 bn) EUR 1 bn of new senior notes at 7.25 % placed, saving annual interest cost of approx. EUR 40 m Digital P...