October 7th - National LED Light Day

Micro LEDs

What is a Micro LED?

Micro LEDs are exactly what the name suggests - microscopic arrays of light-emitting diodes, otherwise known as mLEDs, or µLEDs. Compared to current LCD technology, mLEDs offer greater contrast, faster response times and use less energy. While it uses the same materials as the standard LEDs, “it will be difficult to use conventional LED designs to achieve super small sizes, while keeping the manufacturing process economic”.

Micro LED Applications

Their application is mainly in the area of smartphones and wearable devices. However, mLEDs are being considered for other LED applications as well, such as portable detection systems, VR and AR headgears and automotive uses. With the current technology, micro LEDs are not a viable option for other uses such as iPads or notebooks.

Manufacturing Micro LEDs

The latest estimate on when micro LEDs will begin being mass production is 2018. The tiny size of these LEDs means that manufacturers will have to change the way they produce them. One of the biggest challenge that manufacturers are facing is the balance between pixel density and pixel volume. In addition, the tiny size brings it’s own manufacturing issues. The traditional system of LED light manufacturing needs to be tailored for transferring large numbers of the micro LED chips.

Sources used:

www.evertiq.com/news/39874; www.appleinsider.com/articles/15/07/27/apple-owned-micro-led-display-technology-earns-high-praise-seen-as-potential-oled-replacement; www.ledinside.com/news/2016/9/ledforum_2016_micro_leds_potential_and_barriers_before_commercialization; www.phototonics.com/Article.aspx?AID55014