KIMM acquires source patent for roll transfer technology
Reduce production time and process costs

A transfer process has been developed that increases the luminous efficiency of Micro LEDs, known as the 'dream display,' while reducing power consumption by half.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials has developed the world's first micro LED display manufacturing technology using roll transfer. By utilizing this technology, micro LED displays, which are attracting attention as next-generation displays such as transparent displays that offer high mechanical reliability and can change shape freely, can be produced an average of 10,000 times faster than conventional LED displays.

The roll transfer process is a technology for which the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) holds the original patent. By lifting TFT elements and placing them onto a desired substrate, much like applying ink to a roll, and then lifting LED elements and placing them onto the substrate where the TFT elements are positioned, an active matrix display with a combined structure of the two elements is completed.

While conventional die bonder equipment used to produce LED displays can attach 1 to 10 LEDs to a substrate per second, roll transfer technology can transfer over 10,000 LEDs per second. This makes it possible to produce a 100-inch Full HD digital signage display with 2 million pixels, which previously took more than 20 days to manufacture, within one hour.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) transferred digital signage manufacturing equipment and manufacturing process technology utilizing LED roll transfer technology to Lumens, a mid-sized company in the display sector. An MOU for technology cooperation was also signed.

Bae Jae-woong, Director General of Research Performance Policy at the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, stated, “With the advancement of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, new technologies are continuously being demanded in the display market,” adding, “This research achievement will serve as a signal to pioneer the market for nanotechnology in advanced industrial sectors, moving beyond the confines of laboratories.”