Germany Launches Joint R&D Project for Silicon-Based Micro LED Microdisplays

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has officially launched the microPRO joint R&D project, aiming to develop GaN-on-Silicon Micro LED microdisplays for augmented reality (AR) applications and verify the feasibility of large-scale manufacturing of related products in Germany.

Project members include industry chain enterprises and research institutions such as ALLOS Semiconductors, Fraunhofer IPMS, Jabil Optics, Mimetik, Maintastic, and SUSS MicroTec. The project will combine the smart manufacturing concept of Industry 4.0, leveraging the mature silicon-compatible manufacturing processes of GlobalFoundries and X-FAB to promote the R&D and manufacturing verification of GaN-on-Silicon Micro LED microdisplays, accelerating the industrialization of the technology.

In recent years, the heating up of the AR smart glasses market has drawn increasing attention from enterprises to the GaN-on-Silicon route. Compared to traditional sapphire substrates, GaN-on-Silicon is compatible with CMOS processes, supports the manufacturing of 8-inch and larger wafers, and offers lower costs, making it one of the important technical routes for the future large-scale production of Micro LED microdisplays.

As one of the project members, ALLOS Semiconductors continues to intensify its layout in GaN-on-Silicon Micro LEDs. The company is working with Ennostar to promote the mass production of 8-inch GaN-on-Silicon LED epitaxial wafers, targeting high-integration Micro LED display applications such as AR smart glasses. This collaboration combines ALLOS's GaN-on-Silicon epitaxial technology with Ennostar's manufacturing capabilities in Micro LED mass production, and is considered an important step in the industrialization of large-size silicon-based Micro LEDs.

The launch of the microPRO project also signifies that ALLOS is extending its industrial layout from epitaxial materials to Micro LED microdisplay manufacturing, partnering with equipment, optics, research institutions, and wafer foundries to jointly build a local industry chain covering materials, processes, and manufacturing.