By Eric Brueckner
Plasma. LCD. QLED. OLED. To anyone who has purchased a TV, phone or tablet in the past couple of decades, these terms have undoubtedly been flouted for marketing purposes, each generation of device having a display that is brighter, more energy efficient, or boasting a faster refresh rate than its predecessor. A new technology is on the horizon, and it promises all of the usual improvements over recent technology: Micro-scale light-emitting diodes, aka microLEDs.
MicroLED displays feature hundreds-of-thousands to tens-of-millions individually placed and individually addressable LEDs. Similar to OLED displays, each pixel features red, green, and blue sub-pixel elements, each being self-emissive and individually controllable. These gaudy adjectives are prophetic of the practical realities of microLED displays. That is, while niche and prototype microLED displays have been demonstrated, consumer-grade microLED displays have been absent from the market. Perhaps the closest example to consumer-grade displays is Samsung’s prototype microLED TV at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show, and their related 110” MICRO LED TV. But with a pricetag of $150,000, this is hardly ready for widescale consumer adoption. Smartwatches and VR headsets have long been thought to be the most obvious application for microLEDs, but these have been slow to mature. For example, there have been rumors each year that a major technology company will debut a microLED smartwatch in the next year or two, only to have these rumors come up empty and the proverbial can is kicked further down the road.
Cynicism aside, while commercial-scale deployments of microLED displays have been relegated to rumors and prototypes, it does appear that momentum is building and that microLED displays will be a “thing” in the not-too-distant future. While tech junkies rejoice in the arrival of the newest and greatest, microLED displays will no doubt be the focus of numerous patent lawsuits for many years to come.
microLEDs: A primer and introduction to consumer applications
To understand the intellectual property landscape is to understand the technology undergirding microLED. LEDs have been commercially available for decades and rely on wafer-level processing techniques that are similar to those used in microprocessor fabrication. Whether “traditional” LEDs or microLEDs, transforming the blank semiconductor wafer into functional LED “die” is a well-understood process. Where these two technologies diverge sharply is subsequent post-processing, where the LED die are separated into discrete, stand-alone LED chips.
For traditional LED, the die are cut from the wafer to make individual LED chips, which range in size from 0.3 x 0.3 mm2 to 1.0 x 1.0 mm2. These sizes, although still small, enable fairly rudimentary techniques to handle, transport, and assemble the individual LED chips into their final package, where they are used for common-place applications such as general lighting, signage, indicator lights, etc.
Consider, then, the enormous technological challenges associated with microLEDs, which, as the name implies, are micro-sized. Specifically, tens of micrometers and smaller. A single human hair, by comparison, is around 100 micrometers in diameter. What’s more, consider for a minute the sheer number of LEDs to make a typical 4K display – nearly 8.3 million (2,160 pixels x 3,840 pixels) – times three for RBG displays. If that beautiful 4K monitor you’re using to read this article were a microLED display, it would have nearly 25 million individual microLEDs; 8.3 million of each of red, green, and blue! The latest iPhone 15 Pro at 2,556 x 1,179 resolution, if it were a microLED display, would have about 9 million individual microLEDs, all packed in a cozy 2.78” x 5.77” screen.
On the one hand, wafer-based processing strategies for both traditional and microLEDs are similar, but on the other hand, post-processing strategies associated with microLED delineation, transfer, and packaging are radically different and an engineering feat like few others. Herein lies one potential pitfall for the microLED sector: massive technological innovation may be harpooned by patent owners exploiting the similarities in LED processing to monetize their antiquated patents directed towards “traditional” LEDs.
microLEDs: Shifting sands of the IP landscape
The intellectual property landscape surrounding microLEDs has seen a slow-but-increasingly-rapid rise in filed applications and issued patents. Furthermore, patent litigations in this space have been muted, owing to the lack of widescale deployments of commercial embodiments.
However, one can expect this sector to be fertile ground for litigious actors for years to come.
Nobody can know with certainty how litigation will evolve, but there are a few scenarios that I envision and that I will leave you to contemplate:
Antiquated patents will be asserted. Without question, there are entities currently evaluating their patent portfolios, identifying patents that they believe will cover any commercial microLED embodiment that will eventually hit the market. I would expect a wave of litigations involving antiquated patents in very short order following the first commercial example of microLED displays. Such patents may be directed towards “traditional” LED processing techniques, rudimentary LED chip transfer and assembly techniques, or perhaps power driver circuits for LEDs. Whatever the case may be, these early litigations will likely involve patents that never contemplated microLED technology.
Competitor v Competitor litigation. A relatively small number of companies have invested heavily in developing assembly and packaging techniques to push the envelope of microLED innovation. The day will come when these companies square off in a high-stakes patent infringement litigation. These litigations, while relatively few, will be truly consequential for one or both parties and will capture the attention of those who take an interest in the microLED landscape.
IP licensing, acquisition, and mergers. As the time for commercial deployment approaches, I expect IP acquisition and mergers to accelerate as companies build their IP arsenal and clear the runway for launch. Several notable acquisitions have already closed, but more are certain to transpire in the coming years. By my analysis, there are more than 6,000 issued United States patents that are at least superficially related to microLEDs. Many of these patents represent the most challenging, yet crucial, technology spaces for microLED-specific advancements: separating the active LED from the wafer, assembling individual microLEDs onto the final board, and quality control of the final display. These patents will likely be highly valuable in acquisition and merger discussions in boardrooms around the globe.
The current market for microLEDs is niche at best. But the day is coming when these tiny objects will make big waves in the world of patent litigation. We will continue to monitor microLED patents and future challenges as the technology is commercialized.
