Microdisplays are defined as very small displays, usually under 1-inch in diameter, used for near-eye applications. These displays feature very fine pixels and usually deliver very good image qualities. Microdisplays are used in markets such as military (HMDs, rifle sights, etc.) and industrial markets.

Most microdisplays on the market today are either LCD/LCoS displays or OLED displays. MicroLED technology is highly promising for microdisplay applications as it promises the high image quality of OLED displays coupled with very high brightness, high efficiency and long lifetimes. While the microLED industry is still emerging, the microdisplay sector is relatively mature and some displays are already deployed on the market.

Do NOT miss the most important event of the year: Book your tickets before September 13 and save up to 200 Euro per person!

MicroLED-Connect is the world's first global  MicroLED-dedicated conference and exhibition. The event includes an excellent agenda, exhibition, tours and masterclasses.

It is also an excellent chance to meet your fellow microLED professionals, from leading companies including:

   3D-Micromac    Aixtron   ALLOS Semiconductors    ams Osram   
   Applied Materials   Barco    CEA-Leti    Coherent    
   Continental Corporation    Fraunhofer    GlobalFoundries    Google
   Holst Centre    Huawei Technologies    imec   Infineon Technologies
   Jabil Optics   JCDecaux   KAUST   Konica Minolta
   Mercedes - Benz AG   Meta   Microsoft   Mikro Mesa
   Nissan Chemical Corporation   Notion Systems   Omdia   Samsung
   Sony   TCL CSOT   The Swatch Group   Tianma
   Toray Engineering   UBI Research   UC Santa Barbara   University of Sheffield
   University of Strathclyde   VueReal   Yole Group   And many more!

MicroLED-Connect is the world's first dedicated MicroLED conference and exhibition. The event, organized by TechBlick and the MicroLED Association, will take place at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, also known as "the smartest square kilometer in all of Europe", and will include an excellent conference program, masterclasses, tours - with a special emphasis on social/professional gatherings and networking opportunities. Register now and enjoy a discounted rate (until August 16).

The microLED industry is backed by the largest companies in the display industry, and has the support of the world's consumer electronics industry. But the technology is still at an early stage, and the road to success is not yet clear. MicroLED-Connect will present a great opportunity to understand the current status of the industry, learn the different roadmaps, understand the key application areas and what the near- and far-future holds for microLEDs.

Researchers from Zhengzhou University, the Zhengzhou University of Railway Engineering and North Minzu University has developed a new method to improve the efficiency of deep ultraviolet (DUV) microLEDs.

The researchers explain that standard DUV microLEDs suffers from serious electron leakage, and low hole injection efficiency. And the smaller they get, the more sidewall defects reduce the efficiency even further. The researchers introduced polarized bulk charges into the hole supply layer and the electron  supply layer (p-HSL and n-ESL) to enhance the binding of carriers and increase the injection efficiency of carriers.

During the company's recent conference call, AUO said that the company is undergoing a strategic transformation, focusing on mobility solutions, vertical solutions, and the display segment. The company gave several interesting statements regarding its microLED project and investments.

First of all, the company says that microLED is a priority for the company, and it plans to allocate more resources into its microLED projects. AUO says that its microLED technology is 'gaining traction', and that it is producing microLED displays commercially, but it did not detail more. The company believes it is the leader in microLED development.

MicroLED-Connect is the world's first dedicated MicroLED conference and exhibition. The event, organized by TechBlick and the MicroLED Association, will take place at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, also known as "the smartest square kilometer in all of Europe", and will include an excellent conference program, masterclasses, tours - with a special emphasis on social/professional gatherings and networking opportunities. Register now and enjoy a discounted rate (until August 16).

A major challenge for microLED production lies at the mass transfer process, in which LEDs have to be transferred from the processed epiwafer to the final display substrate. A good mass transfer process has to be quick, efficient, and accurate - not an easy feat to achieve. MicroLED-Connect will present ample opportunities to learn more about transfer technologies, the challenges, the different processes and the latest innovations.

In June 2022, Tianma Microelectronics announced plans to establish a 1.1 billion Yuan ($164 million USD) full-process microLED pilot line, in Xiamen. A few days ago, Tianma announced that its production line has commenced trial production. The new production line is co-located with a 8.6-Gen LCD fan at the Tongxiang High-Tech New Town in Xiamen.

Tianma also detailed the first microLED display is produced at the new plant, a 7.5" module aimed towards tiled displays, that offers a brightness of 600 nits and a low 5% reflectance. This is the first time we hear of a tiled microLED display from Tianma, and hopefully Tianma will soon show a large-area TV based on these modules.

Even Realities launched a new smart glasses product, called the G1 - a lightweight solution that is based on dual JBD 0.13" VGA monochrome green microdisplays.

The G1 Glasses are available for pre-order for $599 (or $749 with prescription lenses). Shipments will begin in August.

MicroLED-Connect is the world's first dedicated MicroLED conference and exhibition. The event, organized by TechBlick and the MicroLED Association, will take place at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, also known as "the smartest square kilometer in all of Europe", and will include an excellent conference program, masterclasses, tours - with a special emphasis on social/professional gatherings and networking opportunities. Register now to attend MicroLED-Connect and enjoy our special discount (up to 400 per ticket), valid until August 15, of up to 400 Euro.

One of the themes to be highlighted at the event is microLED material platforms, the basis of all microLED emission technology. As MicroLED technology competes with high-end and cost-effective OLED displays, microLED developers need to deeply innovate their material platforms and technologies and we believe that this is one of the keys for microLEDs' future success.

MicroLED display developer VueReal announced a strategic partnership with PMOLED producer RiTDisplay display, that will enable device makers to access VueReal's microLED display technologies.

VueReal and RiTDisplay have been collaborating for several years, co-developing automotive displays and lighting solutions. The two companies will now target the consumer market with high-performance and cost-effective displays. The displays will be based on RiT's passive-matrix backplane and VueReal's microLED frontplane solutions.

Today we published a new edition of our Transparent MicroLED and OLED Market Report, with all the latest information and updates from this interesting upcoming industry and market, including the many new prototypes and displays recently unveiled by microLED developers.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• Transparent OLED and MicroLED properties and advantages
• The transparent OLED and MicroLED industry
• What kind of transparent OLEDs are currently on the market
• The transparent OLED lighting market

The report package also provides:

• Transparent OLED display product listing
• A guide into buying transparent OLEDs
• The main challenges towards transparent displays
• Free updates for a year

This transparent displays market report provides a great introduction to transparent OLED and MicroLED technologies and covers everything you need to know about the market and industry now and in the future. This is a great guide for anyone who's thinking about adopting transparent displays in their products or that wants to understand this industry and market throughout.

The MicroLED Industry Association (MIA) welcomes new members Applied Materials, Corning, WEVE, and XPANCEO, joining over 40 existing members (including large corporations, startup companies, research institutes and more). The MIA aims to accelerate the adoption of microLED display technologies, bringing together companies, researchers and organizations active in the MicroLED industry and providing an ideal forum for solving common technology issues, fostering cooperation and sharing relevant information, resources and tools.

The recently joined members commented:

"Applied has developed and demonstrated a novel path to manufacturing microLED displays. We also bring decades of experience in scaling breakthrough technologies for our customers. We are glad to join microLED Association and look forward to engaging with potential partners and customers."

"Corning has joined the MicroLED Industry Association to help advance this promising display technology. Several key customers have already designed in Corning’s display glass substrates for the backplane in tiled MicroLED TVs. Besides this contribution, we are closely collaborating with key players on other opportunities that may help address the challenges of MicroLED production such as such as glass carriers for efficient MicroLED transfer, wrap-around electrode designs for seamless tiling, and glass solutions for improved light extraction."

MicroLED-Connect is the world's first dedicated MicroLED conference and exhibition. The event, organized by TechBlick and the MicroLED Association, will take place at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, also known as "the smartest square kilometer in all of Europe", and will include an excellent conference program, masterclasses, tours - with a special emphasis on social/professional gatherings and networking opportunities.

One of the themes to be highlighted at the event is AR/VR, which is perceived as one of the key markets for microLED display makers thanks to the high-brightness and efficiency of microLEDs - making them an excellent candidate to drive future AR and VR headsets and products.

This is a guest article by Dr. Reza Chaji, founder and CEO, VueReal

Imagine a future where your smartwatch evolves from a timepiece to a powerful digital hub, seamlessly integrating all aspects of your life. The potential for smartwatches to become central to daily routines is immense, especially with AI and cutting-edge technologies.

These advanced technologies enable smartwatches to support seamless communication, health and fitness tracking, environmental awareness, biometric security, and more. As a result, smartwatches are becoming indispensable tools that enrich our lives and enhance our health and security in an interconnected world.

MicroLED-Connect is the world's first dedicated MicroLED conference and exhibition. The event will take place at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, otherwise known as the smartest square kilometer in all of Europe, and includes an excellent conference program, masterclasses and tours and lot's of networking opportunities.

MicroLED-Connect's agenda has been finalized, and we have an amazing speaker line-up that includes Google, Meta, Yole, Continental, Aixtron, Applied Materials, Toray Engineering, TCL CSOT, JCDecaux, CEA Leti, Coherent, VueReal, Omdia, and many others. You can see the full agenda above (click to enlarge the image), or access it online.

UK-based OTFT developer Smartkem demonstrated its first microLED display, which was produced with its own proprietary OTFT materials. The company says that its materials could reduce the cost of microLED production thanks to their low-temperature processing.

Smartkem demonstrated a sapphire wafer with arrays of 96x96 microLEDs with dimensions of 18um x 25um (produced by Enkris), planarized with Smartkem’s materials (cross-linkable polymers). Vias were then formed down to the device contact pads using photolithography and etching, and finally a metal layer was sputtered and patterned to form the anode and cathode contacts to the microLEDs. The metal connections were made selectively to generate a patterned image (see photo above).

Today we published a new edition of our MicroLED and OLED Microdisplays Market Report, with all the latest information. The AR/VR market is of high interest and companies are investing heavily in microdisplay technologies, both OLEDs and MicroLEDs. The new edition offers 14 updates and bringsg this report up to date, including the latest prototypes and technologies announced at Displayweek 2024.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• The advantages of OLED and MicroLED microdisplays
• The microdisplays that are available on the market today
• Information on all companies involved in this market
• Future technologies and roadmaps

The report package also provides:

• A list of all OLED microdisplays on the market
• A list of all OLED and MicroLED microdisplays makers
• Microdisplays spreadsheet
• Over 25 datasheets, presentations
• Free updates for a year

This microdisplays market report provides a great introduction to MicroLED and OLED microdisplays, and covers everything you need to know about the current status of the market and industry. This is a great guide if you're considering to adopt OLED microdisplays in your product, if you're looking to learn more about next-generation micro-LEDs and if you want to understand this industry better.

The MicroLED Industry Association released a new internal market note, detailing its member views on the current goals and direction the industry should take. The market note includes analysis into the current industry situation, future projections and display segmentation based on members’ opinions, and also includes a market/industry sentiment review.

Following Apple’s decision to cancel its main microLED wearable display project, many in  the industry feel that there is a strong need for the microLED industry to align its strategy to make sure the industry moves in the right direction and manages to achieve a successful market introduction of microLED display technologies.

As you can see in the graph above, most microLED association members believe that the first goal of the industry should be to target niche applications, as it is highly challenging to target the display industry’s main segments (TVs, smartphones, wearables and IT devices). Targeting niche applications may be easier as the volume requirements are lower, the price pressure may be lower and such applications could benefit from the performance gains enables by microLED displays. 

Samsung Electronics launched two new MicroLED TVs, in sizes 89-inch and 101-inch. Samsung's "consumer" microLED TV range now includes 89", 101", 110” and 114" sizes.

The price of the 89-inch model is $110,000, and the 101-inch model costs $130,000. Samsung's largest consumer MicroLED TV costs $150,000 at 114-inches.

Trendforce estimates that the microLED market is set for fast growth in the near future, as companies continue to invest in large display applications, wearable products (mainly AUO) and AR and automotive applications. Trendforce says that microLED chip sales will increase from around $62 million in 2024 to $580 million by 2028 (a CAGR of 84% from 2023 to 2028).

Trendforce acknowledges that the inability to reduce costs and technical challenges are major factors behind the cancellation of Apple’s Micro LED watch project, and so continuous optimization of production processes remains critical for the development of the Micro LED industry. 

Tianma shows several MicroLEDs prototypes at Displayweek 2024, including automotive displays, transparent displays, and wearable ones.

The first display was an automotive, a transparent 8.07-inch octagon-shaped display aimed towards digital side mirror applications (to be placed inside the vehicle). The display offers a transparency of 55%, a resolution of 608x1204 (167 PPI) and a brightness of 1,500 nits.

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.

Visionox showed a large 88-inch tiled microLED display, with a pixel pitch of 0.5 mm, based on 25 micron LEDs and an LTPS backplane. The display feature low (<5%) reflectance and a brightness of up to 1,200 nits.

Vistar also showed a 14.5" panel, a single module that is used to build the 88-inch TV. Visionox says that it developed a dedicated microLED driver IC, that enables 10-bit color depth and "True Color" presentation. Vistar says that it reaches production yields of 99.995% in its mass transfer process, and a repair process that enables perfect displays.

MicroLED-Info offers custom-tailored seminars for companies interested in deepening their team's understanding of various MicroLED-related topics, training new personnel, assessing the relevance of a certain field for their company or simply honing their employees' MicroLED skills.

These seminars are built specifically according to the customer's needs and requests and take place online. Employees from around the world can join the meeting to learn, ask questions and discuss issues which are relevant to their interests. Such seminars have already had great success among past customers. Here's what a recent company, a world-leading materials and components manufacturer, had to say about the service:

"We recently had the pleasure of engaging with MicroLED-info for a professional training session on MicroLED technology. Their private seminar was not only detailed and knowledgeable but also incredibly insightful, providing us with a comprehensive overview of the technology and its marketplace. The depth of information extended to the supply chain, enabling our team to swiftly grasp the critical aspects necessary for strategic decision-making.

At Displayweek 2024, TCL CSoT demonstrated its impressive 163-inch 4K (0.9375 mm pitch) tiled MicroLED display on show, that offered very high brightness (10,000 nits).

TCL says that the display has a 'nanosecond' response time, and its lifetime rating is over 100,000 hours. This is TCL's X11H Max commercial MicroLED TV, priced at $110,000.

AUO had an impressive booth at Displayweek, showing some of its latest microLED prototypes. It is clear that the company is highly focused on microLED technology as its next-gen display strategy.

First up, with a 31" large area single-panel microLED, which AUO says is the world's largest. The display is produced on a single glass LTPS backplane, and offers 120Hz and a brightness of 500 nits. AUO calls this a Large Size A.R.T. MicroLED display.

Researchers from HP propose a new composable monitor design - that is based on microLED display modules (tiles) that can connect together to construct complete monitors. The researchers explain that microLED is a key technology as it enables a bezel-less design.

The main idea is to create Lego-like building blocks, both flat and curved, that can connect in both horizontal and vertical configurations. 

Vuzix announced that it has signed a multi-phase development contract with Garmin for next generation nano-imprinted waveguide-based display system. These systems will also use microLED microdisplay engines.

Vuzix will develop and deliver in succession, waveguide based optical systems with full custom microLED projection engines, and then ultimately production units. 

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.

The display industry's premier event, Displayweek, is over. We will now collect our notes, thoughts, photos and images and will share it all in the coming days. In the meantime, we'd like to detail some initial impressions.

Generally speaking, it seems as if the display industry is going through a phase of relatively little innovation, especially with the mature LCD and OLED industry segments. While it has been a very busy week, and attendance at the event seems high, the number of actual demonstrations and prototypes was not stellar and compared to previous years, the booths were smaller and some companies skipped the event this year or preferred to only show their latest displays in private settings. Some thoughts we have:

The MicroLED Association's meeting took place on Monday, May 13th, at the McEnery conference center in San Jose, where SID's DisplayWeek event is currently underway. This meeting marked the second time in which MIA members gathered to network, exchange opinions and strengthen relationships within the Association.

The meeting was joined by almost 40 representatives of Association members, and was a laid-back event with an informal atmosphere, which enabled open conversation and friendly networking.

The Association's founder, Ron Mertens, gave a short speech that recounted the achievements and projects of the last year, and shared plans for future endeavors. A professional discussion followed, on a range of topics including cost reduction, target applications, microLED roadmaps, collaborations and recent shifts in the display industry.

Samsung Electronics launched a new 114" microLED TV in Korea, with a price tag of 180 million Won (about $132,600). 

Interestingly, a couple of months ago Samsung introduced four new microLED TVs in China, including the 114-inch model, but it quoted a price of $173,000 - or about 30% higher than the price in Korea. 

MicroLED developer VueReal launched a hybrid microLED-LCOS microdisplay, branded as ColourFusion microDisplay, targeting AR applications. The basic idea is to use a low-density microLED microdisplay, with an LCOS on top that increases the resolution. 

VueReal says that this solution enables high resolution, high grayscale and color depth, high contrast, and unprecedented low power consumption. VueReal developed innovative power-saving algorithm and a backplane that supports variable frame rates. The microLED unit is deposited using VueReal’s proprietary MicroSolid Printing technology. 

InZiv manufactures rapid EL testing and inspection systems for microLED development and production. The company has deployed several systems at leading display makers all over the world, and has recently launched its first mass production tool. David Lewis, the company's CEO and co-founder, was recently interviewed by display industry consultant Ian Hendy.

You are CEO of InZiv in Jerusalem. Can you tell me a little bit about the company and what makes it special?

InZiv is the technology leader in rapid EL (electroluminescent) testing and inspection for microLEDs. Currently, the quality of microLED wafers is simply not where it needs to be, and the most reliable and accurate way to get both electrical and optical information from each and every die on the wafer is EL testing.

InZiv has a proprietary method for making contact with the microLED wafer, without any damage, and at very high speeds. We offer, on average, 6M dies per hour test speed in our first mass production tool, and intend to double that in the next generation. We have a roadmap beyond that for even higher throughputs. Users understand that die densities are going to increase as microLED chips get smaller and move from flip chips to vertical chips, so a valuable tool supplier needs a roadmap that can cope with the speed race, and we have such a roadmap.

The MicroLED Industry Association has announced that in less than 18 months, there have been over 6,000 downloads of its white papers, roadmap and library documents.

The MicroLED Association has published four white papers, and towards the end of 2023 it published its first industry roadmap. The display industry is highly interested in microLED solutions, and this has created much interest in the Association’s papers, as evident by the large number of downloads.

In addition to its own white papers, a year ago the MicroLED Industry Association launched the MicroLED Library, an extensive compilation of MicroLED presentations, white papers, brochures and more. A year after the MicroLED Library was announced, the association reports over 1,000 downloads for the documents in the library, further enhancing the reach of its members and helping to educate display professionals with the latest microLED technologies, processes and topics.

During AUO's recent investor conference call, the company updated on its microLED project and made some interesting comments. First of all, AUO says that it has started to ship wearable microLED display panels at the end of 2024 (that's in line with AUO's previous announcement).

As far as we know, AUO is working with a Swiss luxury watch producer (like Tag Hauer) that will announce its microLED smartwatch soon. AUO says that it expects to expand its wearable microLED production soon.

An interesting video surfaced, showing a small (reportedly 38-inch) microLED monitor prototype by Samsung, shown at a trade show:

We do not have any more information, but this is an interesting demo by Samsung. It is estimated that the monitor has a resolution of FHD (1920x1080), if Samsung is using the same tiles as the ones used in its TVs. It could be that this is not a tiled display, but we simply do not know at this stage.

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. 

SID's DisplayWeek is the world's leading display conference, gathering display professionals from all over the world. DisplayWeek will also host the 2024 annual meeting of the MicroLED Industry Association, where members will get together to share updates, connect with colleagues and launch new business relationships in a pleasant and welcoming setting.

Last year's DisplayWeek event marked the first MIA meeting, bringing together over 40 display professionals. We look forward to seeing our members soon!

Where will MicroLED technology take us? We’re only beginning to see all the possibilities it holds for display and imaging, but there are many reasons to envision a bright future. Ioannis (John) Kymissis, is the Kenneth Brayer Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University and Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering. The president-elect of the Society for Information Display (SID) shares his engineering expertise in display technology during a conversation that illuminates how MicroLEDs are leading the way toward unprecedented innovation.  

Q. What are some of the diverse applications of microLED technology across industries, and how does its versatility contribute to innovation?

A. Today, we are seeing microLEDs primarily considered for displays but there are also a range of applications outside displays that can benefit from the technology. Applications include 3D printing, communication, and use as illumination sources in structured backlights and cameras.

France-based microLED developer Aledia announced some breakthrough advances. The first one is a new <1.5 um microLED device that has the world's highest EQE of 32%. Aledia says that this new device leads to a Wall Plug Efficiency (WPE) of 320 milliwatts of visible light output per watt of electrical power input. 

As you can guess from the first subject, Aledia has successfully reduced its microLED pixel size to 2 um, or even below. Finally, Aledia says that it has reached a 99% DCI-P3 color gamut. 

Last week during Touch Taiwan 2024, AUO demonstrated several new (and not new) microLED display prototypes. The company released this short video showing the displays in action:

AUO showed its large-area (60") microLED displays, its automotive microLED solutions (including transparent automotive displays), a 30" real-depth 3D microLED display for entertainment applications, medical-grade displays and a 31" microLED display that is a single panel (not a tiled display) - which AUO says is the world largest.

In February 2024, ams-Osram announced that it's cornerstone customer (Apple) cancelled its microLED project, which will have dire implications for Osram's own $850 million 8-inch microLED epiwafer factory in Malaysia. Back then ams-Osram estimated that it will have impairment charges of $650 to $900 million and it will also likely to cancel or delay some of its investments in Malaysia.

ams-Osram now announced its plans and strategy following Apple's decision to cancel its project. It seems as if the company has decided to pretty much withdraw from the microLED display market, and the only remaining microLED development efforts will focus on automotive lighting products. ams-Osram now believes that microLED displays will primarily play a role in several smaller applications that also will scale slower and later than previously expected. We also believe that microLED displays will take a longer time to mature than some in the industry have expected.

Aixtron reports strong results for its recent quarter, with both revenues and profit significantly higher than last year, driven by strong demand for SiC production systems for power electronics.

Aixtron reports revenues of 19.6 million Euro (up from 6.9 million last year) for LED and microLED systems. There's a strong new momentum for microLED production systems, which accounted for 37% of the equipment order intake. This development was boosted by the continued development activities of Micro LED customers, who are continuing to invest in development and pilot lines for the commercialization of Micro LED technology.

Germany-based Singulus Technologies announced that it has adapted its modular high-vacuum sputtering TIMARIS STM system for microLED production. The first TIMARIS STM system has already been sold and delivered.

The TIMARIS platform has a modular structure and can be equipped with various process and add-on modules for a wide range of requirements.