Review of a direct epitaxial approach to achieving micro-LEDs

There is a significantly increasing demand of developing augmented reality and virtual reality (AR and VR) devices, where micro-LEDs (μLEDs) with a dimension of ≤ 5 μ m are the key elements. Typically, μLEDs are fabricated by dry-etching technologies, unavoidably leading to a severe degradation in optical performance as a result of dry-etching induced damages. This becomes a particularly severe issue when the dimension of LEDs is ≤ 10 μ m. In order to address the fundamental challenge, the Sheffield team has proposed and then developed a direct epitaxial approach to achieving μLEDs, where the dry-etching technologies for the formation of μLED mesas are not needed anymore. This paper provides a review on this technology and then demonstrates a number of monolithically integrated devices on a single chip using this technology.