Tunnel-junction micro-LEDs with 45% wall-plug efficiency - Semiconductor Today

Researchers in China have achieved a breakthrough in tunnel-junction (TJ) blue micro-LEDs, reaching a wall-plug efficiency of 45.23%. The team from Xiamen University, Future Display Institute, and Nan... Read original →

The tunnel-junction blue micro-LED breakthrough by Xiamen and Nanjing Universities—achieving 45.23% wall-plug efficiency—sidesteps conventional high-temperature annealing by using low-temperature n-GaN to enable hydrogen desorption and p-GaN activation. This preserves InGaN quantum wells while enhancing light extraction, directly addressing key bottlenecks in AR/VR-grade micro-displays. Technologically, it pressures MOCVD vendors to refine low-thermal-budget epitaxy and accelerates co-integration with EUV-based 3nm backplane drivers. From a compliance standpoint, Chinese GaN fabs gain leverage against U.S.-Japan restrictions on rapid thermal annealing tools, bolstering supply chain autonomy. Competitors like Sony, Apple, and PlayNitride will likely fast-track their own TJ architectures to close the performance gap. Within 18 months, this approach could become the de facto standard, steepening micro-LED cost declines and intensifying the race between panel makers in Taiwan, China and mainland China for dominance in high-end near-eye displays.