February 2022

Aixtron announced that Wuhan-based HC Semitek is using Aixtron's Planetary AIX 2800G4-TM (IC2) and AIX G5+ C MOCVD systems to produce microLEDs. All of these systems, shipped in Q4 2021, feature a configuration of 8x6 inches.

Aixtron says that this AIX G5+ C system uses wafer-level control (based on Auto-Feed Forward) of the film surface temperature during the epitaxial process in combination with Ultraviolet (UV) pyrometry. This warrants, according to Aixtron, a very accurate control of the Indium incorporation into the Multi-Quantum wells (MQW), which will ultimately define the wavelength consistency among all produced wafers

Porous-GaN material platform developer Porotech announced that it has raised $20 million in its Series A investment funding round. The new funds Will help Porotech mass produce its microLED products,and expand its global reach. The round has been led by Ameba Capital and includes a "multinational electronics giant".

In 2021 Porotech announced it has created the world's first microLED microdisplay based on a native red InGaN LED. The microdisplay was a 0.55" diagonal panel with a resolution of 960x540 Porotech says that its native InGaN red LEDs will offer higher efficiency than currently-used AlInGaP red LEDs. Developing an RGB microdisplay all from InGaN chips will also offer easier driving and process design.

Taiwan-based laser micromachining subsystem and equipment manufacturer Bolite Optoelectronics announced its new automated side-wiring system, the laser-based Bolite SW-L, which can be used for the production of tiled microLED displays.

This laser-based tool offers high-precision alignment, advanced process control, and full automation with robotic handling. The minimum line with and spacing is 5 um. Bolite says that this system is highly compatible with TFT production processes. The SW-L systems are now available, and Bolite is already accepting orders.

The microLED transfer process is crucial in MicroLED display production, this is likely to be the most challenging part of the entire process. In this article (an excerpt from The MicroLED Transfer Process Report), we'll give an overview of the transfer process, its challenges, and alternatives.

At the beginning of this stage, there's the wafer with the MicroLED chips, and a display substrate with the backplane TFTs on top. As we said, this is a challenging process, and there are three main challenges in this step – accuracy, speed and reliability.

It is important to note that if the display is based on RGB microLED devices, it complicates this step further – which is why many MicroLED makers are expected to adopt blue LEDs with color conversion.

Quantum Dots developer Nanosys announced a joint-development agreement with OTFT backplane developer SmartKem, to work on low-cost OTFT based microLED displays.

1.6-inch LTPS microLED prototype (glo)

The two companies will develop displays that utilize SmartKem's OTFT backplane and Nanosys' GaN microLED technology. Last year Nanosys acquired glo, which developed the microLED tech.