ams Osram & Fraunhofer team wins German Future Prize for Digital Light...

04 Dec 2024

...and XDC and Lumileds claim significant progress with MicroIC-driven microLED display.

Recognition for developers of novel LED matrix that converts car headlights into projectors.

Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has honored the winners of the Deutscher Zukunftspreis (German Future Prize) 2024 at a ceremony in Berlin. This year’s award was presented to a team led by Dr. Norwin von Malm and Stefan Grötsch from ams Osram and Dr. Hermann Oppermann from Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM) for their development of an LED matrix that turns car headlights into projectors.

The LED technology developed by the team opens up new possibilities for innovative designs thanks to its high-resolution light distribution and its energy efficiency.

As part of their Digital Light project, the researchers and their teams have completely rethought intelligent LED technology and established a basic technology that enables numerous new applications, even beyond car headlights.

The team has developed a light source that is smaller, lighter, more efficient, more intelligent and more precise in its light output than conventional light sources. The new system will allow car headlights, for example, to illuminate the road ahead precisely and brightly without blinding or endangering oncoming traffic or pedestrians.

A conventional low-beam/high-beam combination is not an option here because it must be possible to control the light’s spatial distribution and for the light itself to adapt to the respective situation. To achieve this, the new headlight does not use two light sources like conventional headlights. Instead, it relies on 25,600 LEDs in a matrix of 320 x 80 points, where each individual LED can be controlled with a digital signal. In combination with a special lens, this creates a headlight that works much like a video projector.

Compact design

The new system requires minimal installation space and is efficient because only the LEDs that are actually required for the desired light distribution are switched on. Systems with passive light modulation, by contrast, rely on shading, meaning that the light source is always on at full power, and the undesired light is filtered back out.

To increase safety, ams Osram and IZM developed what they call “something special”: the new headlight not only provides precise and efficient light for the road ahead – it also acts as a projector and can project pictograms onto the road, like a snowflake if there is a risk of frost or a specific symbol for wrong-way drivers.

Light-based information promises new use cases for the LED matrix, which can be controlled via a digital system. Examples include optical data communication between computer chips, such as in data centers for AI applications, or AR. Here, the light matrix could be used as a virtual monitor for AR glasses, where digital information is displayed in the user’s field of vision in addition to the real-world environment.

XDC and Lumileds progress MicroIC-driven microLED display

X Display Company, a developer of semiconductors for displays, and Lumileds, which specializes in MicroLED technology, both based in San Jose, CA, have produced a “revolutionary” 140 pixels per inch microIC-driven microLED prototype display.

The partners say that this “first-of-a-kind display technology marks a significant milestone for MicroLED displays in mobile consumer applications including smart watches, smart phones, tablets, and PCs. MicroICs enable a significantly more flexible and power efficient approach to display backplane architecture.”

“We see a lot of potential for MicroLED displays in mobile consumer electronic devices” said Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain (DSCC). “This XDC and Lumileds breakthrough will improve the cost, power, and brightness display profile significantly and help accelerate adoption of these technologies.

The new MicroLED display offers a power-advantaged architecture that leverages a cluster drive system combined with MicroLEDs that measure just 13×20 µm². The result is a peak brightness of 2360 cd/m² that offers “unparalleled viewing experience with stunning clarity, color, and contrast,” according to the developers.

“XDC’s mass transfer, bonding, and display driving technologies have created new opportunities to transform displays,” said Brendan Moran, Senior Director of Display Technology at Lumileds. “Lumileds has implemented XDC’s transfer-ready microLED technology into our volume production LED fabrication facilities. Together, we are setting new standards in the microLED industry and advancing mobile display technology.”