Patents

US-based Ingantec announced that it has entered into an exclusive patent licensing agreement with the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). Under the agreement, Ingantec has acquired the exclusive rights to patents that cover innovative systems and methods for achieving industry-leading devices using Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) as well as other growth and fabrication processes.

Ingantec will use the technology developed at UCSB to produce highly-efficient next-generation microLED devices. The company is focused on developing efficient native GaN red devices.

According to The Elec, LG Display acquired 14 microLED related patents from Taiwan-based Ultra Display Technology. The patents mostly detail microLED transfer technology, but some are also related to microLED microdisplays. 

LG Display is stepping up its microLED projects. It has reportedly signed a deal to supply microLED backplanes to Apple, and has recently demonstrated 12" stretchable microLED displays. UDT's technology is focused on stamp-based microLED transfer. LG is also looking into fluidic processes for microLED transfer. 

Yole Developpement updated its MicroLED industry IP landscape report, and the company presented some interesting findings.

The number of MicroLED patents is now over 8,900, filed by almost 480 organizations. 40% of the patent families have been published in 2020.

LED developer Lextar and microLED display developer X Display Company (XDC) announced that the two companies entered into a development, licensing and services agreements. Lextar licensed XDC's IP and Lextar will supply its high-performance microLED chips to XDC's customers.

Lextar says that this agreement will accelerate the commercialization of next-generation microLED displays, and its customers can now benefit from a one-stop service, from microLED chips to display modules.

Yole Developpement reports that about 5,500 microLED patents (2,500 patent families) have been filed, by more than 350 organizations. The rate of patent filing is growing exponentially - 40% of the patents were filed in 2019.

According to Yole, the recent patent filing shows that the industry is moving from prototypes to commercial consumer displays. Other notable new finding include that startup companies are a major innovation force, Apple is slowing down with its IP (but this could mean that the company is now focused on commercialization), and Samsung pursues multiple development tracks. BOE is another strong microLED IP player, with almost 150 patent familiies filed in 2019.

UK-based GaN-On-Si MicroLED microdisplay developer Plessey Semiconductor announced that it managed to deposit native blue and green microLEDs on the same wafer. Plessey’s new patented process forms microLEDs that exhibit high current density operation and long operational lifetime.

Plessey said that to achieve this important milestone they had to overcome several challenges - including a magnesium memory effect, diffusion from the p-type cladding of the lower junction into the upper junction and the requirement for the precise tuning of the thermal budget during the growth of the second junction to prevent indium phase separation in the blue active region.

US-based VerLASE Technologies announced that it is developing technologies for massively parallel assembly of microLED dies or films. The company has already files for multiple patents for its new technology.

VerLASE says that it is using practical methods and well-proven semiconductor and MEMs industry methods and existing tools. The company's technology will enable "deterministic, massively parallel transfers of microdie, with provisions that allow selective repair". The methods involve techniques used daily in Ink-Jet Printing but is not printing per se.

The Korea Intellectual Property Office released a report on the Micro LED industry IP situation - in which it says that Korean display companies may lose their current industry lead as they account for less than 15% of all micro LED display patent applications.

The leading countries in Micro-LED IP are China and the United States - which together account for more than 50% of all applications.

In September 2018 we reported that China-based San'an Optoelectronics is gearing up to setup its first micro-LED epitaxial wafer and chip production line in Q1 2019, and in early 2019 it was reported that San'n plans to start sampling Micro LED chips as early as January 2019.

In a new press release, San'an announced that it is advancing with its Micro-LED R&D and capacity investment, and the company has filed for 27 patents and has signed several key partnerships. San'an also says that it has "expanded its manufacturing capabilities and facilities for micro-LED production".

The Korea Herald reports that Apple and its subsidiary LuxVue Technology applied for over 30 Micro-LED patents in Korea in the past 10 years. As Apple's Micro-LED project is progressing, the company aims to prevent its competitors in Korea (mainly Samsung and LGD) from using its key Micro-LED technology.

According to the report, Apple applied for 11 patents directly, while LuxVue applied for 23 patents. LuxVue was acquired by Apple in 2014. Apple applied for patents that related to the Micro-LED chip structure, the pick-and-place process and the driving system.