InteliSpark client, Selfarray has been granted a $740,027 SBIR Phase II grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project “diamagnetically directed self-assembly of light emitting diodes for fabricating large area, direct view displays”. This Phase II project is expected to revolutionize large area LED array assembly manufacturing, and ultimately lead to unprecedented growth of the direct view LED display market.
Direct view LED display, or video walls, are becoming more present every day. They are often seen in sports stadiums, and have now been appearing in retail advertising, cinemas, and control rooms. These displays are brighter, have better contrast rations, faster refresh rates, and are more energy efficient. However, despite the advantages, adoption of these current displays is extremely slow due to the cost and timely manufacturing limitations.
Selfarray has addressed these manufacturing concerns by proposing a technology utilizing magnetic fields to quickly and simply emplace hundreds or thousands of LEDs into a neat and structured grid-array. They have established an objective of achieving assembly at least 5 times faster than the current technology used. Selfarray will focus research the effects of LED size and geometry on the necessary accuracy, rate, and yield. With the Phase II grant, they will be able to determine a system to more rapidly assemble thousands of LED die with precision for high-resolution displays and determine a fully operational LED display panel constructed with the technology to demonstrate the manufacturing potential.