Manufacturing Scalability of MicroLED Displays using UV-pumped Cd-free Quantum Dots

Polychrome microLED displays of high brightness (one million nits), high resolution (>3000ppi) on CMOS backplanes are showing potential for millimeters size, near-eye display applications. As a step towards developing these millimeter size displays, Applied Materials has fabricated direct-view microLED displays on thin-film transistor (TFT)-based glass backplanes. These displays offer enhanced outdoor visibility and improved battery life for smartwatches and smartphones,owing to their high brightness and energy efficiency. Key components of the novel display include a backplane with 4-subpxiel R/G/B/W configuration, UV-A micro-LEDs, pixel isolation (PI) structure, ink-jetted Cd-free R/G/B quantum dots (QDs), and a UV blocker that absorbs residual UV-A, together with touch and other contrast-ratio enhancement elements. We have built several active-matrix (AM) smartwatch displays using commercial-scale process and equipment scalable to manufacturing. This presentation will provide details on our pilot-scale manufacturing of smartwatch display modules as well as details on development efforts of other near-eye and direct-view microLED display applications.