Outlook on micro LED displays

Looking back, it is clear that some innovations were only able to establish themselves in certain market segments. One example is OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology, which is used almost exclusively in smartphones and televisions. Other promising innovations such as electrowetting technology were discontinued because commercialisation failed. But time and again, new far-reaching innovation steps are announced. Whether these can prevail remains to be seen. It is certainly worth keeping an eye on micro LED displays. They are characterised by many advantages and therefore have the potential to challenge the display industry considerably. Their most important characteristics are: very high luminance (≥ 10 000 cd/m²), extreme contrast values (≥ 100 000:1), fastest switching times (≤ 1 ms), high resolutions (≤ 2000 ppi), easy scalability, modular design, outstanding colour depth and brilliance, high electro-optical efficiency and long service life
(≥ 100000 h). However, there is a major technical production challenge here: a large number of LEDs are required, for example, to produce a display with 8K resolution. How can 33 million red, green and blue LED chips, each a few tenths of a micron in size, be efficiently and flawlessly applied to a semiconductor substrate? We will know in a few years! ▪ ds