Researchers develop approach that can enable inexpensive mass
manufacturing of micro-LED displays
A continuous roller printing approach can precisely transfer thousands of microscopic semiconductor devices in a single shot

Date:
July 13, 2023
Source:
Optica
Summary:
New research describes a continuous roller printing approach that
can precisely transfer thousands of microscopic semiconductor
devices in a single shot. This method paves the way to creating
large-scale arrays of optical components and could be used to
rapidly manufacture micro-LED displays.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers have demonstrated a continuous roller printing process that
can pick up and transfer over 75,000 micrometer-scale semiconductor
devices in a single roll with very high accuracy. The new method paves
the way to creating large-scale arrays of optical components and could
be used to rapidly manufacture micro-LED displays.

Micro-LED display technology is of great interest because it can
accomplish highly accurate color rendering with high speed and resolution
while using little power. These displays can be applied in a wide range
of formats including smartphone screens, virtual and augmented reality
devices and large displays several meters across. For larger micro-LED displays, in particular, the challenges of integrating millions of tiny
LEDs -- which are sometimes smaller than a grain of fine sand -- onto
an electronic control backplane are enormous.

"Transferring micrometer-scale semiconductor devices from their native substrate to a variety of receiving platforms is a challenge being tackled internationally by both academic research groups and industries," said
research team leader Eleni Margariti from the University of Strathclyde
in the UK. "Our roller-based printing process offers a way to achieve
this in a scalable manner while meeting the demanding accuracy necessary
for this application." In the journal Optical Materials Express,
the researchers report that their new roller technology can match the
designed device layout with an accuracy of less than 1 micron. The setup
is also inexpensive and simple enough to be constructed in locations
with limited resources.

"This printing process could also be used for other types of devices
including silicon and printed electronics such as transistors, sensors
and antennas for flexible and wearable electronics, smart packaging and radio-frequency identification tags," said Margariti, who developed the
new printing process.

"It could also be useful for making photovoltaics and for biomedical applications such as drug delivery systems, biosensors and tissue
engineering." Large-scale device transfer Today's semiconductor
devices are typically manufactured on wafers using growth techniques
that deposit exquisitely detailed, multi-layer semiconductor thin films
onto semiconductor substrates. Compatibility issues between these thin
film structures and the types of substrates suitable for this deposition constrain the ways in which the devices can be used.

"We wanted to improve the transfer of large numbers of semiconductor
devices from one substrate to another to improve the performance and
scaling of electronic systems used in applications such as displays and
on-chip photonics, where the aim is to combine various materials that manipulate light on a very small scale," said Margariti. "To be used for large-scale manufacturing, it is crucial to use methods that can transfer
these devices efficiently, accurately and with minimal errors." The new approach starts with an array of tiny devices that are loosely attached to their growth substrate. The surface of a cylinder containing a slightly
sticky silicone polymer film is then rolled over the suspended array of devices, allowing adhesive forces between the silicone and semiconductor
to detach the devices from their growth substrate and array them on
the cylinder drum. Because the printing process is continuous it can
be used to simultaneously print numerous devices, which makes it highly efficient for large-scale production.

Highly accurate printing "By carefully selecting the properties of the
silicone and receiving substrate surface and the speed and mechanics
of the rolling process, the devices can be successfully rolled
over and released onto the receiver substrate while preserving the
spatially arrayed format they had on the original substrate," explained Margariti. "We also developed a custom analysis method that scans the
printed sample for defects and provides the printing yield and positioning accuracy in just minutes." The researchers tested the new approach
with gallium nitride on silicon (GaN/ Si) semiconductor structures. GaN
is the dominant semiconductor technology used for micro-LED displays,
and using silicon substrates facilitated the preparation of the devices
as suspended structures that could be picked up by the roller. They
were able to transfer more than 99% of the devices in an array of over
76,000 individual elements with a spatial precision below a micron with
no significant rotational errors.

Next, the researchers are working to further improve the accuracy of
the printing process while also scaling up the number of devices that
can be transferred at once. They also plan to test the method's ability
to combine different types of devices onto the same receiving platform
and determine if it can be used to print to specific locations of the
receiving platform.

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========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Eleni Margariti, Gemma Quinn, Dimitars Jevtics, Benoit Guilhabert,
Martin
D. Dawson, Michael J. Strain. Continuous roller transfer-printing
and automated metrology of >75,000 micro-LED pixels in a
single shot. Optical Materials Express, 2023; 13 (8): 2236 DOI:
10.1364/OME.483657 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230713142011.htm

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