News: LEDs
2 January 2025
Porotech advances partnership with Foxconn from R&D to mass production of AR and micro-LED technology
Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) of Taipei, Taiwan (the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and technology service provider) has entered the augmented reality (AR) glasses market by partnering with fabless micro-LED company Poro Technologies Ltd (a spin off from the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride at the UK’s University of Cambridge that has developed porous GaN material and has an R&D center in Hsinchu, Taiwan). The firms will leverage Porotech’s gallium nitride (GaN) technology and Foxconn’s vertical integration capabilities to develop micro-LED display technology and AR applications.
In early 2024, Porotech officially announced a strategic collaboration with Foxconn, Taiwanese foundry Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC) and Taiwan-based integrated touch and display module company General Interface Solution Holding Ltd (GIS, in which Foxconn has a stake) to build what is said to be the industry’s first 8-inch platform for micro-LED applications. Before the end of 2024, the partnership achieved a breakthrough in reducing pixel size to 1.25μm. Laying the critical foundation for the mass production of micro-LEDs, this platform is set to be applied in 2025, further advancing the development and commercialization of high-spec micro-LED products, including AR glasses and high-resolution displays.
“The collaboration with Foxconn, PSMC and GIS in 2024 is a significant technological milestone and a testament to our commitment to accelerating the commercialization of micro-LED technology,” says Porotech’s CEO Dr Tongtong Zhu. “Completing the 1.25μm process platform at year-end provides groundbreaking technical support for high-performance display products,” he adds. “We look forward to these technological achievements bringing new value to AR glasses and global technology as a whole.”
Porotech believes that, by combining Foxconn’s vertical integration advantages, PSMC’s manufacturing expertise and GIS’s capabilities in display technology integration, the establishment of this processing platform and technological breakthroughs will further solidify micro-LED technology’s market position in AR and high-performance display sectors. “We are committed to developing lighter, thinner, and higher-performance miniaturized display solutions to meet the demands of next-generation display technologies in the future,” says the firm.
Picture: Foxconn’s micro-LED facility in Taichung, Taiwan.
Foxconn plans to establish a micro-LED wafer processing line in Taichung, Taiwan, with mass production starting in fourth-quarter 2025. The new plant is expected to position Taiwan as a critical hub for AR glasses and micro-LED technologies.
Porotech and Powerchip partner on mass producing 200mm GaN-on-Si micro-LEDs for displays
Porotech unveils first monolithic full-color micro-LED displays
