Electrically driven mid-submicrometre pixelation of InGaN micro-light-emitting diode displays for augmented-reality glasses

InGaN-based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), with their high efficiency and brightness, are entering the display industry. However, a significant gap remains between the expectation of highly efficient light sources and their experimental realization into tiny pixels for ultrahigh-density displays for augmented reality. Herein, we report using tailored ion implantation (TIIP) to fabricate highly efficient, electrically-driven pixelated InGaN micro-LEDs (μLEDs) at the mid-submicrometre scale (line/space of 0.5/0.5 μm), corresponding to 8,500 pixels per inch (ppi) (RGB). Creating a laterally confined non-radiative region around each pixel with a controlled amount of mobile vacancies, TIIP pixelation produces relatively invariant luminance, and high pixel distinctiveness, at submicrometre-sized pixels. Moreover, with the incomparable integration capability of TIIP pixelation due to its planar geometry, we demonstrate 2,000 ppi μLED displays with monolithically integrated thin-film transistor pixel circuits, and 5,000 ppi compatible core technologies. We expect that the demonstrated method will pave the way toward high-performance μLED displays for seamless augmented-reality glasses. Submicrometre-sized InGaN-based light-emitting diodes are fabricated by tailored ion implantation. The devices are free from electrical leakage and show a luminance of 7,440 nit at 4.9 A cm−2 even at the line/space scale of 0.5/0.5 μm (= 8,500 ppi).