VR / AR - Page 9

Diffrative waveguides for AR developer WaveOptics (owned by Snap) announced a strategic supply partnership with Jade Bird Display (JBD) for MicroLED microdisplays. JBD will supply its 0.13-inch VGA microdisplays to WaveOptics, to be incorporated into the company's Leopard development kit.

The Leopard AR reference kit has a form-factor similar to traditional consumer eyewear available, with a single projector (right-side only), providing a monochrome (green) image. The Leopard uses WaveOptics’ ‘Katana’ waveguide platform, its thinnest and lightest waveguide at 1.15 mm thick and 7 grams. The light engine, called Loki, is designed by WaveOptics with the JBD microLEDs and weighs 6 grams and has a volume of 760 mm³.

SAPIEN Semiconductors, based in Korea, is a fabless design company that provides innovative PWM CMOS backplane and μ-driver ICs for Micro-LED displays. The company utilizes its own patented technologies to achieve lower power consumption, lower leakage, better repairability and improved testability.

In the following interview, we discuss the company’s technology and business with its CEO, Myunghee Lee.

Q: Hello Mr. Lee, thank you for your time. Can you give us a short introduction to SAPIEN and your microLED technologies?

SAPIEN specializes in developing CMOS Backplane SoCs (System-on-Chip) for Micro-LED display applications. SAPIEN was founded in 2017 by industry veterans who have over 230 years of combined design experience in Display Driver ICs (DDI).

Vuzix have officially launched its microLED display engines, based on three JBD monochrome microLED microdisplays.

Vuzix says that samples of the new engines are now available upon request. These are monochrome devices, and one would have to use three (red, green, and blue) for a full color display. Vuzix is developing full-color and higher-resolution (HD) engines. Vuzix says that its next-generation smart glasses will adopt these devices which are now on offer to customers.

DSCC says that the AR and VR markets are set for quick growth, and display sales for AR and VR devices will grow at a CAGR of 52% between 2020 and 2026, to reach $4.2 billion in sales (up from $347 million in 2020). This forecast does not include military applications.

The main bulk of the market will remain displays for VR, as actual see-through AR will remain a relatively small market even in 2026. DSCC see microLED technologies providing a breakthrough in this market, but actual microLED display shipments will remain low, around 5%. The market will be dominated by OLED microdisplays.

In 2020 Compound Photonics (CP) announced its high-performance IntelliPix microLED microdisplay backplane technology. CP's backplane supports resolutions up to 2048x2048 and a pixel pitch from 1.5 um and up.

Compound Photonics now announced a partnership with specialty foundry GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF) to produce the IntelliPix backplanes. CP's devices will be realized on GF’s best-in-class 22FDX specialty semiconductor platform.

Belgium-based microLED microdisplay developer MICLEDI announced that it has raised 7 million Euro from FPIM and KBC Focus Fund. The funds will enable the company to transition from the pilot line technology development to product design and subsequently to the manufacturing phase.

MICLEDI reveals that its next steps will be to demonstrate its native-RGB microLED display on 300 mm wafers, prepare its technology IP for transfer to a foundry partner for manufacturing and launch its product development phase.

Last year, smart glasses developer Vuzix announced that it will release its first microLED microdisplay powered AR glasses in 2021. The company today announced that it is using JBD's microdisplays, and has published the video you see below which shows the new glasses.

Vuzix revealed that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with JBD (Jade Bird Display) to collaborate on the co-development and cross-supply of solutions incorporating microLED display engines and Vuzix waveguides. Under the agreement, JBD will provide microLED displays and Vuzix will provide newly developed proprietary waveguides and display engine optics to work with these displays.

Yole Développement (Yole) says that the microdisplay market is set for impressive growth in the next few years. By 2025, the total market will reach $4.2 billion in revenues (CAGR from 2020 to 2025 at 100%), while microdisplays for AR headsets will generate $1.8 billion.

This optimistic forecast has a warning though - it all depends whether next-generation display technologies will deliver on their promises - and whether actual use-cases will be found and commercialized.

According to Digitimes, Foxconn is developing its own AR glasses product, which it hopes to launch in 2022. The report says that Foxconn will first target smart retail, factories and medical care for its AR system.

Digitimes also says that these AR glasses will be based on microLED microdipslays, which are being developed by EOSRL (part of ITRI). EOSRL apprantly developed its own blue-light 5-micron LED technology with QD color conversion that enable it to produce 2000 PPI displays. First displays are expected to be produced in Q1 2021.

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.