Belgium-based QD developer and MicroLED Association member QustomDot announced that it has raised 5 million Euros at its pre-Series A financing round.
Several investors participated in this recent round, including Noshaq, EIC Fund, Qbic Fund, Venture Capital, PMV and VIGO Venture.
Hong Kong based microLED microdisplay developer Raysolve Technology announced a new microdisplay product line, branded as PowerMatch 1. These are 0.13" 320x240 full-color microLED microdisplays, that achieve a high brightness of 250,000 nits (up from 150,000 nits in the company's previous panels). The company is using blue LEDs with quantum dots (QD) color conversion.
The company says that it managed to increase the brightness compared to its previous panels by optimizing both the GaN blue material and the quantum dots conversion materials, in addition to updates to the manufacturing process and the CMOS driver. The new dispalys achieve the same olor performance of its predecessor (108.5% DCI-P3).
OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), QD-OLED (Quantum Dot Organic Light-Emitting Diode), and MicroLED (Micro Light-Emitting Diode) share some common characteristics as emissive display technologies:
Fig. 1 XTPL Ultra-Precise Dispensing System
In the past year, microLED startups have raised over $200 million. As some companies (most notably Aledia and JBD in this case) mature and start to build production capacity, the need for funds grows, and we have indeed seen large investment rounds in these companies.
It is great to see these recent funding successes, which will hopefully lead to increased innovation and also initial production. It should be noted that most (if not all) of these financing rounds have been finalized before Apple made its decision to cancel its main microLED wearable project. We do not see Apple's decision as having a major impact on the long-term viability of microLED technologies or on the industry - but we do know that some investors are now hesitant to invest in this market following Apple's project cancellation.
Innolux showed several new microLED display prototypes at Displayweek 2024, as it focuses on microLEDs as its next-generation display solution.
First, the company showcased a large 106" tiled microLED TV display, build from 96 12.3" modules. The display uses 20x40 um blue microLED chips (with QD color conversion) and an LTPS backplane.
MicroLED display developer VueReal announced a new microLED architecture, based on blue LEDs and QD color conversion, which it brands as QuantumVue. VueReal says it developed its own patented dynamic quantum dot (QD) patterning technology which complements its unique proprietary MicroSolid Printing microLED transfer technology.
VueReal says that its QuantumVue displays offer high sustainability and affordability without compromising image quality. The technology is especially suitable for TV panels as it can offer superior performance at a competitive cost compared to a native RGB microLED display architecture.
Taiwan-based Innolux demonstrated new microLED display prototypes: a wide 187-inch microLED tiled display, a 9.6" flexible automotive microLED prototype and a transparent microLED.
Innolux did not detail much about these new prototypes. All of its microLEDs are based on blue microLEDs with quantum dot color conversion, and LTPS backplanes on glass substrates.
Researchers from several Universities in China developed a self-polarizing RGB device utilizing semipolar microLEDs and perovskite based films aimed at improving backlight applications.
Structure of an LCD based on semipolar blue μLEDs excite anisotropic perovskite NCs as backlight. Image from Opto-Electronic Advances
In standard LCD displays, the backlighting units emits non-polarized light, which then results in an almost 50% light loss as this light has to pass through a polarizer (this is part of the LCD light path). The newly developed high-performance device is designed to emit RGB polarized light which results in higher efficiency and no light-loss due to the LCD filter.
Scrona, developer of high-precision electrohydrodynamic (EHD) inkjet print heads joined forces with Avantama, developer and manufacturer of high-tech materials for electronics, and have successfully processed high-performance perovskite quantum dot (QD) ink using Scrona's EHD inkjet printing.
The two companies specifically target microLED displays with this development, as depositing QDs on microLEDs requires extremely high precision. They have demonstrated that an OD greater than 1 can be obtained with a perovskite QD layer thickness below 2µm. This can reduce the printhead nozzle count by a factor of five (compared to current non-EHD inkjet solutions) and deliver a thin QD layer that improves the overall efficiency and production tact time of MicroLED display technology.
In a recent announcement, Saphlux, Inc. revealed that its NPQD® Monolithic Full-Color Micro- LED (mLED) technology has successfully undergone a new round of technological upgrades. Following this advancement, the company has launched the enhanced T2 series micro-displays.
The Saphlux T series micro-displays incorporate core technologies, including NPQD® and large-scale silicon-based bonding, specifically tailored for the AR display applications. The series currently encompasses 0.12-inch monochrome single-color (red, green, blue) micro-displays and 0.39-inch monolithic full-color micro-displays.
