SmartKem (SMTK) Secures MicroLED Display Manufacturing Patent

Smartkem (Nasdaq: SMTK), which is seeking to change the world of electronics with a new class of transistor technology, today announced that it has received a UK patent for a new method for MicroLED display manufacturing, adding to its extensive IP portfolio. The new patent covers the patterning of an organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) backplane on top of, and selective removal of MicroLEDs from, a source wafer.

Smartkem Chairman and CEO, Ian Jenks, comments, "Smartkem has a robust IP portfolio with 140 granted patents across 17 patent families, as well as 40 codified trade secrets. This patent covers a novel technique for MicroLED display manufacturing that not only enhances efficiency, but also has the potential to significantly reduce material waste and production costs."

The patent covers a MicroLED display manufacturing method that offers a more efficient and sustainable alternative to monolithic MicroLED display manufacturing techniques by selectively transferring only the necessary LEDs from a growth substrate to a display substrate, rather than fabricating the entire display on a single substrate. The process begins by preparing a MicroLED wafer and applying an adhesion layer, leaving selected MicroLEDs exposed. An OTFT backplane is then deposited onto the adhesion layer and aligned to connect with the exposed LEDs. This assembly is subsequently removed from the original wafer and transferred onto a new display substrate.

Unlike traditional monolithic display methods, where MicroLEDs and transistors are grown together on a single source wafer, this patented approach using selective removal of MicroLEDs means the source wafer can be reused many times. This allows for a lower cost of display compared to one that uses the entire source wafer in one process.

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