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New 3D uLED-structures based on a novel bottom-up approach based on InGaN/GaN pyramidal quantum well structures. The pyramidal uLEDs are fabricated by means of a re-growth process on lithographically patterned SiN-masked GaN templates. Quantum wells on the facets of the um-sized pyramids act as the active emitters. The emission from pyramidal uLEDs have recently demonstrated with a high brightness and external quantum efficiency (EQE) in a wide spectral range. The high quality of homogeneous pyramidal uLED structures combined with a flexible design paves a promising route for uLEDs

Displays are our window into the connected world. Nearly every consumer device today has a display. Lasers play an essential role to produce state-of-the-art displays especially when it comes to high-end high-resolution displays. Today we are talking mainly about OLED displays for smart phones, next will be the adoption of OLED displays in the IT sector, and beyond there is an incremental market opportunity for MicroLED displays from the very small range in AR to the very large 4K TV market. Over the last years more and more UV short wavelengths lasers are implemented and required in the production due to the display material combinations, increase of active display areas, and pixel sizes down to the Micron level.

Achieving high efficiency MicroLED based micro- and pico-displays still has many challenges. With desired pixel sizes below 5 micron this leads to significant challenges in re-combination to RGB display chips and low LED efficiency due to the large surface ratio of the LED chip edges to the LED emission area. It is possible to produce / grow an all nitride RGB LED chips by nano-patterned templated growth on a single wafer, e.g. nano-wire LEDs. This would eliminate the re-combination steps and increase LED efficiency due to damage free LED edges. To do so, there is a need to accurately pattern sub-50nm patterns with less than 1nm size variation and overlay alignment of ~ 500nm, preferably sub-100nm, on a wafer that is bowed and not flat anymore due to topology from previous LED growth runs. Accurate placement of the sub-pixels on the epi-wafer is also required when the LED chips are bonded to the driver IC’s. Any pattern distortions will add to potential losses due to bad connections. Conventional (deep) UV lithography uses light to define patterns and is therefore limited by the diffraction limit and related critical depth of focus issue. Nanoimprint lithography, or NIL, uses a physical process of a stamp that has the pattern information coded into it in height / depth. On stamp contact with the wafer, liquid resist will flow into the nano-features before hardening into a 3D inverse shape of the stamp. NIL therefore is not limited by the diffraction limit and can faithfully replicate complex shapes and features with sub-10nm resolution. The disadvantage with NIL is that intimate physical contact needs to be made over the whole wafer. To allow this, the industry has moved to stamps that are flexible in order to accommodate for wafer bow, thickness variations and topology. However, the flexibility of the stamp hinders the overlay alignment accuracy. We’ll demonstrate that by using the proper processes for stamp fabrication, the NIL step, stamp release and resist material systems, we are able to achieve sub-500nm overlay alignment over full 300mm wafers and show the potential to reach sub-100nm overlay alignment.

The application of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) devices is growing rapidly in industries as diverse as gaming, military, education, transportation, and medicine. The increasing importance of AR/VR technology demands control solutions that ensure visual performance. However, achieving a quality, seamless visual experience poses a challenge for device designers and manufacturers due to the limitations of measurement systems. Measuring the display characteristics of AR/VR headsets involves evaluating various parameters to ensure they meet the required standards for clarity, accuracy, and user comfort. To help manufacturers ensure display quality, various optical solutions comprised of AR/VR and XRE lenses paired with an Imaging Photometer or Colorimeter provide unique optics engineered for measuring near-eye displays, such as those integrated into virtual, mixed, and augmented reality headsets. The innovative new geometry of the lens design simulates the size, position, and binocular field of view of the human eye. Unlike traditional lenses where the aperture is located inside the lens, the aperture of the AR/VR and XRE lens is located on the front of the lens to enable the connected imaging system to replicate the location of the human eye in an AR/VR device headset and capture the entire FOV available to the user. The optical solution can be paired with a powerful software, which would enable analysing accurately different optical characteristics namely. 1. Resolution (The number of pixels per eye). 2. Field of View (FOV: The extent of the observable environment, measured in degrees). 3. Pixel Density (Pixels Per Inch – PPI - The number of pixels per inch on the display. Calculated using the resolution and the diagonal size of the display. 4. Optical Distortion: Distortion of the image caused by the lenses. 5. Colour Accuracy: The accuracy of the colours displayed compared to the real world. 6. Brightness and Contrast- The luminance of the display, measured in nits (cd/m²). 7. Image Clarity and Sharpness - Detail and clarity of the displayed to measure Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), which quantifies the display’s ability to reproduce fine details. By systematically measuring these characteristics, the manufacturers can evaluate the performance and quality of AR/VR displays accurately. AR/VR display test solution is an unique measurement system with unique optical components that replicate the human pupil size and position within AR/VR goggles and headsets to capture a display FOV to 120° horizontal. The system offers the high resolution and efficiency AR/VR device makers require, employing a compact camera/lens solution to capture all details visible across the near-eye display in a single image to quickly evaluate the human visual experience. Therefore, by leveraging advanced optical components and replicating human vision, AR/VR headsets can achieve high standards in display measurement, ensuring immersive and realistic user experiences.

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The increasing standardization of AR devices based on waveguides has brought attention to the importance of designing and ensuring the durability of waveguides. While ultrashort pulsed lasers hold promise for achieving precise and strong free-form cutting at scale, optimizing the laser process parameters and material compositions of high-index glasses remains a challenge in achieving optimal glass strength. To address this challenge, we have partnered with a reputable producer of specialized glasses to develop a separation process that prioritizes high and predictable bending strength. This process has been integrated into a modular machine concept, allowing for scalability from lab to mass production. Our presentation offers an overview of this fully automated machine solution designed for cost-effective free-form cutting of high-index glass used in AR waveguides. It highlights the thoughtful considerations behind the development and demonstrates how our various process, handling, and quality inspection modules offer high flexibility and scalability.

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Focal Plane Array (FPA) imaging and detector devices, such as infrared (IR) thermal imaging sensors, Quantum computing processors and micro LED displays are seeing higher demand as more practical applications requiring these components are coming into research and development, military, industrial and consumer markets. This paired with higher pixel and Qubit count and interconnect density on larger and larger chips is driving hybridization and monolithic integration in these technologies. This is showing a marked increase in demand for fine pitch micro Indium Bump Interconnect (IBI) flip chip die bonding. However, some critical challenges facing these technologies are: larger component sizes mean higher density interconnections over increasing surface area. Sub-micron accuracy is required to align fine pitch micro interconnect arrays. This together with the challenges facing the materials that are becoming the industry standard for these applications, such as the requirement for the assembled components to remain stable in extreme conditions such as cryogenic application environments, combined with low loss high strength mechanical / electrical interconnect requirements on components containing sensitive materials, structures and unmatched coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) means that processing gases such as formic acid or high temperature reflow bonding can no longer be used to bond these devices. These challenges mean that the industry is fast approaching the limitations of even state-of-the-art die bonders and die bonding methods on the market today. This paper is going to highlight these challenges and the methods used to address them to produce large format, high density Infrared (IR) thermal imaging devices, Quantum processors and micro LED displays using fine pitch micro Indium Bump Interconnections (IBI) that meet today's industry requirements.

Additive manufacturing of electronics offers substantial benefits for the packaging of next-generation semiconductor devices, such as miniaturization, design flexibility, and cost efficiency. We will review the state of the art of microdispensing, highlighting its advantages over existing fabrication methods. Additionally, we will discuss the challenges for the widespread use of microfabrication in production lines, such as yield and repeatability. We will provide practical solutions to overcome these limitations.

When things have to be attached together, glue offer several advantages in our daily life. In highly automated industrial mass production processes glue is called adhesive. Adhesives are functional polymer materials, which offer several benefits and can be tailored to customers process and needs. The shrinking pad and pitches for upcoming miniLED and microLED necessitate new conductive materials, which can be dispensed on rigid as well as flexible substrates. Besides the electrical and mechanical connection, functional polymer materials offer versatile dispensing process capabilities. In contrast to isotropic materials mask openings can be increased and lead to smoother printing process.

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Inorganic Halide Perovskite Thin-films are evaluated as color-conversion layers (CCL) for MicroLED displays. Green and Red-emitting, thin-film CCL exhibit very narrow emission band, opening the possibility to covering 90% of the color space defined by Rec. 2020. They show very high absorption which allows to envisage CCL thicknesses of only ~ 500 nm, which paves the way to reaching pixel-pitches below 1 µm. These films exhibit very promising stability under high optical power. They appear to be very well suited for high demanding Augmented and Mixed reality applications.

After experiencing a slowdown in 2022 and 2023, the augmented reality (AR) market is now poised for resurgence, fueled by compelling AI-driven use cases. At the same time, microLED displays are emerging as a superior solution for AR devices, providing the high brightness and energy efficiency essential for daylight visibility within sleek form factors. This talk will explore the technical challenges unique to AR display requirements and explain why microLED technology is expected to surpass established solutions like LCoS by 2028. We will also discuss the remaining efforts needed to drive this technology toward a projected $900M market by 2030.

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The conductive ink market is undergoing significant transformations driven by advancements in technology and growing demands for efficient, cost-effective solutions. While silver-based conductive inks have long been the standard, their high cost, limited availability, and sustainability issues are raising concerns across the industry. This session will explore the current state of the conductive ink market, highlighting the economic and environmental challenges associated with silver. We will delve into the potential of copper-based conductive inks as a viable alternative, discussing recent innovations, performance comparisons, and market trends. Attendees will gain insights into how copper-based solutions can address the pressing issues of cost and sustainability, offering a more stable and eco-friendly option for future applications. Join us to understand how transitioning to copper-based inks can help industries navigate the uncertainties of the conductive ink market and achieve long-term resilience.

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Electrical resistance heating is an efficient way of applying heat directly to the surfaces requiring it. Also referred to as Joule heating, such devices can take many forms. Printed conductive inks and pastes present a versatile approach to apply heater patterns and electronic circuitry onto a variety of substrates materials like metals, textile fabrics, rigid and stretchable polymer films, leather and many more. Providing uniform heating power over a large area efficiently directs the heat to the intended surface without the need for heat spreaders or padding to prevent the heater being seen or felt. The heating elements can be printed with fixed resistance pastes, or positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTC) paste can be used to reduce power as operating temperature is achieved and to reduce overall power consumption.

ATLANT 3D technology has opened new horizons in the field of micro-optics, offering transformative capabilities for the fabrication of highly complex optical components. ATLANT 3D's technology employs a direct-write approach that enables the deposition of advanced materials at micro-scale resolutions. This precision is essential for applications in photonics, sensors, augmented reality (AR-VR), and biomedical devices, where micro-optical structures are critical for improving functionality, miniaturization, and efficiency. By integrating additive manufacturing principles with micro-fabrication, ATLANT 3D technology eliminates the need for traditional photolithography processes, thus reducing production costs, complexity, and time-to-market for micro-optic devices. The technology’s versatility allows for the direct deposition of multiple materials in a single workflow, facilitating the design of hybrid optical systems with custom properties. This approach not only enhances the performance and adaptability of micro-optics but also broadens the potential for innovation in optics-driven industries. This talk explores the fundamental principles behind ATLANT 3D technology and its significant role in advancing micro-optics applications. It discusses the advantages of this approach and provides insight into its impact on future developments in photonic and optical systems.

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