September 2020

Last month we reported that Taiwan-based microLED developer PlayNitride is planning to raise $50 million to establish its second microLED production line. According to Digitimes, the company secured the first part of the $50 million financing round, and is starting to construct the second production line.

PlayNitride hopes to start volume production in the new line by Q2 or Q3 2021. This new line will expand the company's microLED production capacity by 2 to 3 fold. Digitimes also updates that by the end of 2021, the company plans for an IPO at the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

France-based 3D GaN LED developer Aledia announced that it plans to establish a 140 million euros LED production fab in Champagnier, near Grenoble in France. The plan is to start LED production by 2022 - and by the company will also finalize its microdisplay production process and will start offering microLED microdisplays.

Aledia developed a microLED production process, based on a unique 3D architecture using GaN-on-silicon nanowires (branded as WireLED).

In July 2020 we reported that LG Electronics will soon launch its first microLED TV. Today LG Electronics indeed announced its MAGNIT TV product (name apparently derived from magnificent and nit).

The MAGNIT TVs are made from 160x180 modules. These modules are arranged 8 each in a so-called Cabinet (which offers a 640x360 resolution). The MAGNIT offers a brightness of 600 nits (peak 1,200 nits) and feature LG's AI solution (based on its a7 image processor). LG says it uses a new advanced coating technology that maximizes black levels and increase resistance to dust, humidly and finger marks.

Vuzix announced that it is developing its next-generation Smart Glasses, that will be powered by microLED microdisplays and other advanced technologies. The first such glasses are expected to become available in 2021.

Vuzix is developing a wide range of devices, ranging from "reasonably priced consumer-facing product" to a higher end enterprise version with built-in cellular connectivity. Vuzix says that the new advanced waveguide optics and binocular displays will enable a larger field of view and an enhanced user experience. Vuzix is developing solutions based on both monochrome and full-color microLEDs.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas developed a new method to create highly flexible microLED chips, that can be folded and twisted. The LEDs are detachable, and can be attached to almost an surface.

The researchers used remote epitaxy, to grow the LED crystals on a sapphire crystal substrate, coated with a one-atom layer of 2D graphene, which prevents the LED to stick to the sapphire substrate.