Startup Q-Pixel has created its own core polychromatic RGB microLED technology to replace the century-old monochrome LED and solve several key problems with decade-old microLED display technology.
Silicon Catalyst Portfolio Company has developed what is described as the world's “highest resolution active matrix color display,” with an impressive 6,800 pixels per inch (PPI) resolution. While most advanced VR displays use micro-organic LEDs (micro-OLEDs), Q-Pixel's displays consist entirely of III-V composite microLED pixels synthesized from inorganic materials, which the company says were grown “at “through a single composite semiconductor wafer, without any use of subpixels, quantum dots, color filters, polarizers or mechanical stacking.”
These III-V composite microLED pixels offer higher brightness, faster response times, and better power efficiency, making them ideal for next-generation headphones like the Apple Vision Pro. For comparison, Apple's current-generation display “only” offers 3380 PPI.
Outperforming OLEDs
“By offering the world's highest resolution active matrix color display (6800 PPI), Q-Pixel has achieved two important milestones,” said company co-founder and CEO JC Chen.
“Firstly, we have demonstrated that it is possible to produce ultra-high resolution active displays based on microLED technology. Second, Q-Pixel has demonstrated that our TP-LED pixel technology outperforms more mature display technologies such as OLEDs to achieve world record pixel densities. With these latest achievements, Q-Pixel has established the company as a pioneer in the microLED field and will embark on the commercialization of dazzling displays.”
The main obstacle in commercializing microLED displays has been the complex and expensive process of assembling and testing millions of individual red, green and blue (RGB) microLED subpixels. The Q-Pixel approach addresses this challenge by replacing the three RGB subpixels with individual pixels that are fully color adjustable.
The technology was featured in Compound Semiconductor magazine, where Q-Pixel CTO Michelle Chen said: “The lack of new advancements in displays is evidenced by major industry players and startups struggling to find new technology solutions. . The entire display industry is now on the cusp of a major paradigm shift, and microLED displays are poised to play a major role in successful technologies based on organic LEDs and LCDs. “It is not so much a question of if the industry will adopt microLED technology but when.”
