The MicroLED Industry Association, in collaboration with Techblick, concluded a highly successful microLED industry event last week. MicroLED-Connect 2024, which took place in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, brought together over 200 industry professionals, supply chain companies, researchers, investors and early stage developers.

During the event, over 40 speakers, including microLED professionals from Google, Meta, Osram, Coherent, Continental, VueReal, GlobalFoundries, and others, discusses the latest innovations, roadmaps, challenges and applications of microLEDs. 

MicroLED Industry Association member XPANCEO announced a partnership with Jade Bird Display (JBD) to develop integrated microLED displays for XPANCEO's smart contact lens platform.

It turns out the two companies have been working already on two different approaches. The first one (shown in the image above) uses a project and hologram combination, projecting an image at a distance so the eye can focus on it. XPANCEO already tested this approach with JBD's microLED projector, as an external device to the contact lens, and now the two companies are aiming to integrate the microLED projector unto the lens.

Meta announced a new AR headset, called Orion. The glasses, that Meta says costs $10,000 to produce (and will probably be sold to something like that as well) are powered by microLED microdisplays. Orion packs quite advanced technology, including Silicon Carbide lens and advanced AI, but this is of course actually a prototype device, that Meta will offer commercially to developers or (very) early adopters. The Orion glasses weigh 98 grams, which still way more than what people consider to be light weight glasses (usually under 30 grams).

It is very nice to see the adoption of microLED technology by Meta. While some speculate that these microLED displays are made in-house by Meta using the Plessey Semiconductor technology and production line, it is also known that the company gave up on that course, and others speculate that these displays are produced by JBD, and are made from 3 separate monochrome microLED panels.

This is a sponsored post by Coherent

Excimer-based laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) is a practical mass transfer process for today and tomorrow

MicroLEDs stand at the forefront of next generation display technologies because they offer superior brightness, efficiency, and longevity over other panel types. In fact, the advantages of microLEDs are so significant that they promise transformative applications ranging from advanced smartwatches to expansive AR/VR experiences.

However, the display industry faced a significant setback when tech giant Apple abandoned its ambitious microLED project after years of heavy investment (estimated at over US$3 billion since 2014). Apple hasn’t publicly announced their reasoning for this move.

Pyramidical GaN microLED develop Polar Light Technologies announce a partnership with die bonding solution developer Finetech, to co-develop microLED technologies. The two companies already started developing microLED microdisplay applications. 

Polar Light Technologies and Finetech developed a modified flip-chip cold bonding technique that ensures accurate alignment between the microLEDs and the electronics. The two companies say that in early trials, this method showed an impressive 85% success rate, proving its potential for large-scale manufacturing.

Israeli-based display inspection developer InZiv has recently expanded its management team, as the company reports increased interest in its microLED inspection systems. Dr. Tali Hurvitz has joined InZiv as its new R&D manager, bringing with her years of experience in the flat panel display industry and in the technology sector in general.

Dr. Tali Hurvitz earned her BSc, MSc, and PhD from Tel Aviv University, where she focused on physics and materials science. She has held significant positions, including her latest role as the Head of the Physics, Materials, and Innovation group at KLA, and has previously worked in various capacities within the technology sector. Dr. Tali will now lead InZiv’s R&D as the company matures and expands its solution portfolio.

Hello Dr. Tali, we first of all want to wish you the best of luck at InZiv. What drew you initially to the field of physics and materials science? 

As long as I remember myself, I preferred technical toys (like LEGO) to social ones (like dolls…). When in middle school I was directed to participate in cooking classes, while the boys went to study electronics - I rebelled and joined the boys! It was inspiring to learn how simple and straightforward electricity was. It is either zero or one. That led to my studying electronics in high school. My plan was to continue to higher education in that field as well. However, before starting my first year I took a preparation course in Physics - and I was hooked, till this day. Understanding the physical laws around us and forming these laws in simple equation - it's like magic!

Garmin recently released several new smartwatches, under the Fenix 8 series, and it turns out that when pairing some of the new devices, the software lists some non existing Garmin watches - including a Fenix 8 MicroLED edition.

This is not confirmed yet, but will be interesting to see whether Garmin is close to release such a project. We do know that several microLED developers are ready with wearable displays - and AUO has already announced it has started to mass produce wearable panels. It could be that Garmin is one of AUO's first customers.

In 2021, Visionox's Vistar announced that its full-process pilot microLED production line is now capable of producing displays, from driver backplane, through transfer process to full module production. The LED chips themselves are produced by a third party.

Today we understand that Vistar's Chenxian Optoelectronics (its JV that is in charge of the microLED line) has held a ceremony as it has moved in equipment to its mass production line. It is reported that the company will install more than 200 pieces of equipment in the next 2 weeks. It could be that Vistar is scaling up its line, or maybe it is also adding capabilities.

The Netherlands based roll-to-plate nano-imprinting technology developer Morphotonics announced that it has secured its Series B funding round, raising over $10 million from 3M New Growth Ventures, BOM and Innovation Industries. The company expects to add to this round and close it by the end of the year.

Morphotonics provides large-area nanoimprint systems, based on its unique roll-to-plate technology. The company's main markets are 3D displays and AR glasses. The company's technology can also be used as a flexible stamping system for microLED mass transfer.

MicroLED microdipslay developer Mojo Vision, a MicroLED Industry Association member, announced a partnership with CY Vision to develop next-generation heads-up displays (HUDs) for the automotive market.

These HUDs will use Mojo Vision's microLED technology, and will also leverage AI and 3D imaging to provide drivers with an "immersive and personalized driving experience with informative, line-of-sight overlays that promote driver safety and provide essential information".