A听University of Cambridge spin-out has raised 拢3m to fund the next stage of development of its unique micro-LED production technique.听听
Porotech听says its听display technology breakthrough heralds a new era of brighter, sharper, more vivid听microdisplays听for even the smallest devices.听
Micro-LED is the next major leap forward for displays on products such as smartphones, smartwatches and VR/AR headsets. It is particularly useful in outdoor settings, where sunlight can often make existing displays difficult to see clearly. But the performance of current micro-LED technologies deteriorates as the device size decreases.听
Porotech听has created a new class of porous gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor material that is redefining what is possible. It听says it听offers performance improvements that are suitable for mass production and can be customised for individual customers鈥� needs.听
Despite only spinning out in January 2020,听Porotech听has been generating revenue for 10 months 鈥� and is working with some of the biggest global names in display technology. In November 2020, the company launched the world’s first commercial native red indium gallium nitride (InGaN) LED听epiwafer听for micro-LED applications.听
Porotech听will now work to expand its novel approach to integrate听InGaN-based red, green and blue (RGB) micro-LEDs for full-colour听microdisplays听鈥� and ultimately create ‘smart’ pixels that can be controlled independently for unrivalled responsiveness and accuracy for things like AR gestures.听
The company also plans to develop its own supply chain ecosystem to help it develop and produce products more quickly.听
“Porous听GaN听is basically听GaN听with tiny holes in it that are a few tens of nanometres across,” said听Porotech听CEO and co-founder Dr听Tongtong听Zhu.听听
“It’s an entirely new engineered听GaN听material platform to build semiconductor devices on. It offers performance improvements that are suitable for mass production, scalable in wafer size 鈥� and crucial for the next generation of听microdisplay听devices such as AR glasses.听
鈥淪mart pixels will be our next development 鈥� monolithically generated and integrating native self-emissive RGB micro-LEDs on a single wafer to give smaller, lighter, thinner displays that use less energy and offer the greater accuracy required for things like AR gestures.”听
Porotech’s听latest funding round was led by听Speedinvest, with participation from previous investors IQ听Capital,Cambridge听Enterprise, Martlet, and Cambridge Angels.听
Rick Hao, Principal at听Speedinvest, said: “The revolutionary technology developed by听Porotech听is set to transform the electronics industry as demand grows for smaller, lighter, sharper displays that are more accurate and environmentally friendly than ever before.听
“This new type of porous听GaN听semiconductor material fits within existing industry processes and is robust and flexible enough to be tailored to different applications.听Porotech听has demonstrated that it has both the product and the commercial capability to become a key player in next-generation display technology.”听