Micledi Microdisplays and GlobalFoundries collaborate on displays for AR glasses

23 Mar 2022

Partners’ technology combination offers capabilities to mass-produce microLED arrays.

Micledi Microdisplays, a developer of microLED arrays for augmented reality glasses, has announced a manufacturing collaboration with GlobalFoundries to enable AR glasses to achieve the brightness, resolution, power, and size to become affordable for consumers, say the partners.

Under the agreement, Micledi’s microdisplay array will be combined with GF’s 22FDX platform that provides the performance, ultra-low power and feature integration capability needed to build Micledi’s microLED arrays in mass production.

Micledi says that such companion integrated circuits, which can be customized for different customer applications, “will provide the image processing, driver and control functions needed to complete the display modules using wafer-to-wafer hybrid bonding.”

The overall global AR market is estimated by analyst Markets And Markets Research to reach a total sales value of $88.4 billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 31.5% from 2021 to 2026 as it becomes the next consumer platform.

Ed Kaste, VP Industrial & Multi-Market at GlobalFoundries, commented, “Demand for AR and VR products will soar as users experience more immersive augmented reality. Micledi’s microLED solution, combined with GF's 22FDX platform, addresses the demanding needs of future AR glasses by providing ultra-high resolution displays and advanced imaging technology that make stunning visual detail and color possible.”

Sean Lord, CEO at Micledi, said, “We are pleased to collaborate with GF as we move from pilot-line manufacturing to mass production in a world-class fab. To enable optimum microdisplays for AR, we have developed a unique and innovative solution for microLED manufacturing integrating both the controller IC and emitter module to leverage GFs 300mm semiconductor manufacturing technology.”

Micledi is a fabless developer of microLED display modules for the augmented reality market. The company was spun-out from imec, a nanotechnology and photonics technology research center, based in Leuven, Belgium, in 2019.

The technology is based on an innovative combination of III/V materials processing, 3D integration and 300mm silicon-based processing combined with a proprietary ASIC to provide a self-contained, compact monolithic AR display with high image quality and power efficiency.