Plessey launches micro-LED direct-drive display platform

UK-based Plessey, which develops embedded micro-LED technology for augmented-reality and mixed-reality (AR/MR) display applications, has introduced a micro-LED Direct-Drive display platform and development kit, based on its proprietary monolithic gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology.

The Direct-Drive displays provide OEMs and product developers with a solution to either retrofit existing products or develop new concept designs, around a compact, flexible and highly efficient micro-LED display.

Picture: Plessey’s Direct-Drive display.

Direct-Drive displays target specialized applications that require symbolic content, instead of individually addressed pixelized content. Due to their small form factor, they can be easily integrated into smart glasses, and head-mounted displays for navigation, sport & leisure, and optical instruments.

The symbolic content is fully customizable using monochrome or fully colourized segments with pixel capabilities down to 2μm, allowing for ultra-fine, ultra-high-resolution detail. The display is self-emissive, and it can be driven directly from an external source, requiring no backplane (which simplifies the manufacturing process and improves power consumption).

The Direct-Drive development kit is a starter package designed to be a fast, easy and scalable platform, allowing developers to explore, evaluate and interact with small-form-factor micro-LED displays.

Direct-Drive will come ready to plug and play, and will include:

Direct-Drive display (less than 5mm x 5mm);
embedded driver with open-source firmware;
the driver allows the die to be driven at a current of up to 2A;
ATMEGA processor;
rechargeable (USB) ultra-small battery;
integrated Bluetooth connection;
available protocols: I2C/UART/SDI/USB; and
technical documentation to support integration.

“With a total input power of 250mW, Plessey’s native-green segments can emit 2 million nits of brightness,” notes optical engineering manager Dr Samir Mezouari. “For AR applications, the Direct-Drive displays can achieve a much higher brightness than OLED [organic light-emitting diodes] with a power consumption as low as 50mW, allowing daytime viewing and a longer battery life.”

The Direct-Drive development kits will be available to order at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2020) in Las Vegas and are targeted toward keen display technology enthusiasts and system engineers looking for a micro-LED display solution to enhance their products. Plessey will be discussing its innovative micro-LED display solutions and demonstrating its Active-Matrix and Direct-Drive solutions in booth 21861 (South Hall 1) at CES 2020.

The firm is currently progressing with its technology roadmap and delivering on customer projects for a range of consumer and enterprise applications.

See related items:

Plessey produces record 2.5μm-pixel-pitch 4Megapixel GaN-on-Si micro-LED display

Tags: Plessey GaN-on-Si microLED

Visit: www.plesseysemiconductors.com/products/microleds