Seoul Viosys begins production of rare-earth-free white light emitter

Seoul Viosys has commenced mass production of a rare-earth-free white light emitter, marking a significant departure from traditional white LEDs that rely on rare-earth materials like yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG). The company's micro-LED chip can be as small as 10µm, a feat that opens up new possibilities in the lighting industry.

Seoul Viosys and its parent company, Seoul Semiconductor, developed the WICOP (Wafer Integrated Chip on PCB) architecture, which eliminates the need for a package and allows for the production of ultraviolet, blue, green, red and infrared LEDs smaller than 100µm. The WICOP 3 technology, the third generation of this architecture, now enables the production of white light in micro-LEDs under 100µm without using rare earths, packages, synthetic resins, plastics or lead frames.

This results in a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective product. In its initial run, a 25µm x 10µm micro-LED chip produced 0.015lm of white light, with a luminous efficacy already close to 100lm/W. The company aims to achieve 200lm/W within two years. This breakthrough could lead to a new market ten times larger than the current $10bn white LED market, where invisible micro-emitters could be embedded in everyday objects for lighting without the need for fixtures.

The miniaturized chips can transmit high volumes of AI data over short distances at high speeds, potentially reshaping the $60bn market for AR glasses and AI data communications.