Intel partners with AUO on microLED panels to lower costs

MicroLED is widely considered the ultimate flat panel display technology, but its prohibitive cost has kept it out of consumer markets. According to Taiwanese outlet Economic Daily, Intel is now partnering with display specialist AU Optronics to change that equation.

The collaboration focuses on a new approach to embedding electronics into microLED glass substrates. Intel has obtained a US patent for an "IC Package with Micro LEDs" that involves embedding at least part of a semiconductor chip within a glass substrate. By integrating the display control chip directly into the microLED panel itself, the approach could deliver both packaging and cost advantages.

Currently, microLED displays cost tens of thousands of dollars and upwards. AUO chairman Peng Shuanglang indicated that the company is increasing its range of microLED products this year as it pushes to make the technology more accessible.

MicroLED offers substantial improvements over OLED. Each pixel and subpixel operates as an individual addressable light source, enabling perfect lighting control and fast response times like OLED. However, microLED resists degradation better, eliminating burn-in concerns, and it produces much brighter images with a wider colour range. The main obstacles to adoption are cost and pixel density. The smallest 4K microLED panels currently available are approximately 100 inches across, far too large for PC monitors.

Intel's entry into display technology carries risk. The company previously invested in LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) chips for projectors, an experiment that was cancelled quickly. Intel's track record with products outside its CPU business has been mixed. However, successful development of microLED technology could eventually bring displays with superior brightness, colour accuracy, and longevity to PC gaming.