Archives 2024

DigiLens Holographic Waveguide: The Solution for AR Products Today and Tomorrow

Alastair J. Grant, Senior Vice President and Dr. Nicholas Sherwood, Director of Product Engineering

Presentation Abstract

Alastair J. Grant, Senior Vice President, DigiLens, Inc.

Dr. Nicholas Sherwood, Director of Product Engineering, DigiLens, Inc.

Advancing OLED Materials in Multiple Market Segments

Dr. Xiaofan Ren, Principal Scientist at DuPont

Presentation Abstract

The OLED market is rapidly growing, fueled by AR/VR, automotive applications, and IT applications with triple digit Y/Y growth for tablets and double-digit Y/Y growth for monitors and notebook PCs. Device architectures are evolving, and new material challenges need to be addressed to meet the stringent demands of color, efficiency and lifetime for different applications. We will discuss these challenges and DuPont’s material innovations enabling the adoption of OLED technology into multiple market segments.

Dr. Xiaofan Ren, Principal Scientist at DuPont

Inorganic QD Photoresist for Next-Gen Energy Efficient Displays

Dr. Danielle Chamberlin, CTO, NanoPattern Technologies

Presentation Abstract

MicroLED display technology is in a period of rapid technological development and different architectures are being evaluated to fit a wide range of market applications from microdisplays to video walls. In particular, color converted architectures using quantum dots have been proposed to enable ease of manufacturing as compared to RGB displays assembled from direct emitting LEDs. InGaN and AlGaInP have been proposed for direct emitting red microLEDs, while quantum dot conversion of red by InP quantum dots has been proposed from both blue and UV InGaN LEDs. Efficiency, color gamut and resolution are critical factors in choosing a microLED architecture. We have modeled the efficiency tradeoffs of these architectures based on a meta-analysis of literature data in combination with experimental results as a function of pixel size. The color gamut of direct and color converted architectures are also calculated from our meta-analysis of literature data, and advantages of different architectures are demonstrated. Potential issues with integration of quantum dots in microLEDs will be discussed, in particular optical absorption strength, efficiency, patterning resolution, and reliability. Mitigation paths to address the challenges of quantum dot integration will be demonstrated with the use of NanoPattern’s proprietary quantum dot photoresist.

Dr. Danielle Chamberlin, CTO, NanoPattern Technologies

Danielle Chamberlin, CTO at NanoPattern Technologies, holds a PhD and MS in Materials Science from UC Berkeley and an S.B. Degree in Materials Science from MIT. She is an expert in optics and optoelectronics ranging from THz to UV. Danielle has deep knowledge in LEDs and nanotechnology from two decades in R&D leadership at Agilent Labs and Lumileds. She holds over 15 patents on topics ranging from biosensors to microLEDs.

Monolithically Formed Curved Polymer Diffractive Optical Waveguides for Augmented Reality Displays

Dr. Julie Frish, Senior Research Engineer at Magic Leap

Presentation Abstract

Currently, the majority of commercially available diffractive waveguides for augmented reality applications are built on high index glass. These waveguides have their out-coupled light focused at infinity and use a set of push-pull refractive lenses to set a depth plane for the virtual content. Substituting polymer materials for glass holds the promise of reducing weight and cost,while increasing durability. The flexibility of polymer allows for the curving of waveguides, further reducing the overall weight and complexity of the device. By creating the nanostructures and substrate monolithically, the cost of shipping fragile and costly glass is eliminated and the carbon footprint is reduced.

Building upon the knowledge and infrastructure gained from the creation of waveguides for Magic Leap 1 and 2, we have fabricated similar structures in a high index polymer (nd>1.7). We have leveraged the simulation, mastering, and imprint methods currently used for Magic Leap devices along with a UV curable resin to rapidly create waveguides with a 50 degree diagonal field of view and a 1.3 diopter focal length. The waveguides are formed using molds derived from nanoimprint lithography techniques to create a free-standing, patterned waveguide with micron-level thickness variation. The lower density polymer eyepiece is more than 50% lighter than a comparable glass eyepiece, with the weight reduction extended further by not needing the refractives. Although the field of view is reduced from high-index glass based designs, a low-cost, lightweight, and more robust polymer eyepiece presents opportunities for alternative markets.

Dr. Julie Frish, Senior Research Engineer at Magic Leap

Julie has been with Magic Leap for over 3 years as a Senior Research Engineer. She is part of the Waveguide Materials R&D Team, exploring material options for use as substrates in AR eyepieces. Her focus is primarily on the fabrication, metrology, and test of polymer waveguides. Prior to Magic Leap, Julie completed her PhD at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona with a dissertation on polymer waveguides and tapers for photonic integrated circuits.

Worlds and Time Colliding: Combining an Old-School Approach to Information Displays with Cloud, Mobile and AI

Dorrian Porter, Founder and CEO of Vestaboard, Inc.

Presentation Abstract

Vestaboard is a beautiful, mechanical display that combines a physical and tactile design to display key information from an infinite amount of sources by leveraging cloud, mobile and AI. You will get a demo of the hardware and software, and hear about the long journey of a start-up getting this hardware to market. You'll also hear why Dorrian thinks cloud, mobile and AI will accelerate even more novel approaches to how consumers and businesses consume and convey information in the future.

Dorrian Porter, Founder and CEO of Vestaboard, Inc.

Dorrian Porter is the founder and CEO of Vestaboard, which Fast Company named in 2023 as one of the ten most innovative consumer electronic companies in the world alongside Apple, Samsung and LG. He began his career as an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California before his time as a pioneering entrepreneur in areas of cloud software, mobile and now hardware. He was the founder of HigherMarkets in 2000 (now part of Jaegger) and Mozes in 2005 (now part of Merkle).

Highlights From Display Week 2024

Sri Peruvemba, CEO of Marketer International Inc.
Paul Semenza, Professor & Chair, Engineering Management and Leadership Department at Santa Clara University

Presentation Abstract

Sri Peruvemba, CEO of Marketer International Inc.

Paul Semenza, Professor & Chair, Engineering Management and Leadership Department at Santa Clara University

The Headset-Free Virtual Monitors

Dr. Barmak Heshmat, Founder & CEO of BRELYON

Presentation Abstract

Immersive displays generally either involve giant screens or headsets that place tiny screens and lenses close to a person’s eyes. BRELYON, a deep tech display startup in Silicon Valley is introducing a new category of displays that provide a large field of view (larger than most VR headsets) as well as a sense of depth with no need for wearing any headsets. This talk will talk about the principles of depth perception and how that may be used to increase the field of view and realize such new categories of displays.

Dr. Barmak Heshmat, Founder and CEO of BRELYON

Dr. Barmak Heshmat is the founder and CEO of BRELYON, a display technology startup in silicon valley which is pioneering a new category of displays with computational media interfaces. Barmak was former head of optics at Meta Augmented Reality where he was leading a team of engineers to realize the next generation of augmented reality headsets. Before that he was a research scientist at MIT Media Lab where he pioneered multiple technologies in the area of computational displays and computational imaging. Dr. Heshmat has given six TEDx talks and has many publications and inventions some of which are featured on cover of MIT news, Nature photonics and other mainstream media outlets such as BBC, CBS; Tech crunch, etc. 

UV Pumped, Quantum Dot Color Conversion Micro-LED Displays Manufacturing Readiness

Dr. Nag Patibandla, Vice President, Advanced Deposition Products, Office of the CTO at Applied Materials, Inc

Presentation Abstract

Applied Materials, Inc has developed a novel micro-LED display architecture together with commercial-scale process and equipment for micro-LED display manufacturing. This architecture consists of UV-A micro-LEDs, 4-subpixel layout, Cd-free QD formulations (of all three primary colors R/G/B), and a UV blocker atop. Several 1.37” smart-watch active-matrix display prototypes were assembled and tested. Our Cd-free QDs and the matrix materials are quite stable under the UV excitation used in our display, as verified by exposing them to display operation conditions but also under a high-flux accelerated test method and temperature. The emission properties of R/G/B QDs were further optimized, paving a path to achieve 100% DCI-P3 color space coverage. Our display also shows a high uniform Lambertian emission pattern with minimal color shift at all viewing angles. We have developed a production scalable micro-LED die transfer processes and corresponding equipment using which we have achieved > Four 9s transfer yields. To precisely deposit and massively process R/G/B QD inks into respective sub-pixel well array of our display, we have developed a production-scale process and print-platform details of which will be highlighted in the presentation. To address pixel-yield loss from die-transfer, we have implemented a simplified sub-pixel repair method that allows for ink-jetting of QD formulation into defective subpixel. This approach results in over a 10-fold yield improvement. In this presentation, we will report the readiness of key processes, materials, and equipment scalable towards commercialization.

Dr. Nag Patibandla, Vice President, Advanced Deposition Products, Office of the CTO at Applied Materials, Inc

Nag Patibandla is the Vice President for Advanced Deposition Products in the Office of the CTO at Applied Materials, Inc. He manages a number of emerging technology programs aimed at developing new products, validating innovation, defining product architecture and business strategy, and engaging partners. Nag’s current areas of interest include: Micro-LED displays, III-Nitride devices, superconducting materials, optical and quantum films, 3D Printing, CMP pads, deposition processes (MOCVD, PVD), etc.  His expertise is in identifying growth opportunities and developing strategic plans for product development in various emerging technologies and semiconductor-adjacent areas. In addition,

Nag oversees Applied’s government/external funding strategy, development, and programs in various core and adjacent areas of business.Nag joined Applied in 2008. Since, he has helped establish programs in various new technology areas and has established an infrastructure to secure and administer external/government funding for growth programs. Nag has over 25 years of experience in industry, academia, and government, with an extensive R&D background in semiconductors, solid state lighting, photovoltaics, batteries, fuel cells, high temperature superconductivity, and related technologies. Before joining Applied, Nag was the Director of Center of Future Energy Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic in Troy, NY. Prior to that, he worked in New York State government and at the General Electric Global R&D Center.

Nag received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and a Master’s degree in Mechanics and Materials Science from Rutgers University, NJ, having first completed his bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology, Warangal (formerly Regional Engineering College) in India. He has authored/co-authored over 300 publications that include peer reviewed papers and patent applications in various areas of materials engineering.

In recognition of his professional achievements, the Board of Governors and Management of National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India bestowed Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award (2020). Other notable recognitions include CHP Champion by the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association (2003), Energy Professional of the Year by the New York Chapter of Association of Energy Engineers (2007), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Trustee “Faculty Achievement” recognition (2007), Applied Materials President’s Quality Award (2011) and the Best Patents of Applied Materials award (2018). Dr. Patibandla currently serves a four-year term as a Member of Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee, U.S. Dept of Commerce (2020-24), and had previously served on numerous U.S. Dept. of Energy Committees and various U.S. National Laboratory External Review Panels.

Enabling AI Glasses Through Single Panel RGB Micro-LED

Dr. Nikhil Balram CEO at Mojo Vision

Presentation Abstract

Science-fiction writers have long imagined a world in which omniscient AI lives at our fingertips guiding and informing our every move. The astounding advances made in 2023 have brought that day closer. But a big practical barrier is developing the device it could most naturally reside on. Having it on your phone seems like a natural step, but what about all those times your phone is in your pocket or purse or car cupholder. For AI to truly see what you see it needs the same vantage point. And to help you interpret and interact with the world as you see it, it needs to be able to overlay its perspective on top of the one you see. If that sounds like a cool lightweight pair of very #smartglasses to you, you’re right on the money. But all the smart glasses today that look and feel like glasses have camera and audio only. What’s missing! A super-compact, super-efficient display with a super dynamic range and a super colour gamut. Sounds like a cue for micro-LED . At Mojo we have been building the world’s tiniest displays for several years. First tiny green, then tiny blue, then tiny red. And now tiny red, green, and blue all together as a giant step towards those Eye of God glasses. This talk will walk you through our journey. The world’s smallest Red, Green and Blue displays will be demonstrated to people who attend in person.

Dr. Nikhil Balram - CEO at Mojo Vision

Dr. Nikhil Balram has over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor and display industries. He is currently CEO of Mojo Vision, a Silicon Valley start-up developing micro-LED displays. Past executive roles include CEO of EyeWay Vision Inc., a start-up developing immersive AR glasses, Head of the Display Group at Google, responsible for developing display systems for all Google consumer hardware, including AR and VR, CEO of Ricoh Innovations Corporation, VP and GM of Digital Entertainment BU at Marvell and CTO of the Display Group at National Semiconductor. He has received numerous awards including the Otto Schade Prize from the Society for Information Display (SID) and a Gold Stevie® Award for Executive of the Year in the Electronics category and has over 130 US and international patents granted or pending. Dr. Balram is a Fellow of the SID and was General Chair for Display Week 2021 and Program Chair for Display Week 2019. Dr. Balram received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

The role of Perceptual Imaging in AR/VR/XR

Ajit Ninan, Sr. Director at Meta

Presentation Abstract

Ajit Ninan

Ajit Ninan recently joined Meta as Sr. Director leading the APIX team that works on display architecture, perception, and image quality. Prior to this he was at Dolby as VP of imaging in the advance technology group, working on HDR and Dolby Vision. He is best known for building "Pulsar” a first of a kind 4000nit WCG HDR display. "Pulsar" is recognized as the key that drove Hollywood to adopting HDR and is still the monitor used for color grading in the movie industry. He is the inventor of the local dimming Quantum Dot TV, after being told there was no way to build a wide color HDR display his team built “Maui” that received the ‘2014 Best in Show SID’ for a first ever local dimmed Quantum dot display. This became the reference monitor for the industry and was the starting point for QD TV tech in the industry. To bring this together at Dolby he led display system teams consisting of Vision Science, Color science, Optics, Mechanical, SW, Thermal, Electrical, FPGA/ASIC & Laser scientists.

Ajit’s background includes multiple companies from Motorola, Netlogic, and Luminous working on imaging and networking over the last 25+ years. He helped Dolby enter the display and imaging space and was responsible for technologies related to display systems, laser sources for cinema, and HDR ecosystems. In addition to display’s, he has worked on file formats, AR/VR ecosystems and related workflows. He personally holds more than 400+ patents, is a SMPTE Fellow with two Emmy’s and Hollywood’s Advanced Imaging Society’s Lumiere Award for display engineering and changing the way the way the industry builds display. He was actively involved in standards including IEEE, JPEG and SMPTE standards groups. Ninan continues to push the boundaries on display innovation at Meta.