Augmented reality (AR) is quickly moving beyond niche use cases and becoming a more integrated part of our everyday lives. However, for AR to truly reach its potential, its displays must meet specific performance standards, with brightness being one of the most critical factors.
Unlike traditional displays, AR displays need to be visible even in bright outdoor conditions where sunlight can easily outshine most standard displays. This presents a unique challenge—how can we create displays that are bright enough to remain visible in such extreme environments while still being efficient and compact?
This is where microLED technology steps in as the best solution. Let’s dive deeper into why brightness is so important for AR displays and how microLED offers the solution.
Why Brightness is Critical for AR Displays
In an AR experience, digital content is overlaid onto the real world. To make that content legible and useful, AR displays need to compete with ambient light, particularly outdoors. Even in ideal conditions, direct sunlight can reach extreme brightness levels, making it hard for standard displays to perform effectively.
Here’s why brightness matters in AR:
Outdoor Visibility – Conventional displays, even those with brightness levels up to 1,500 nits, can struggle in direct sunlight. AR displays need to exceed those numbers to remain visible in such environments.
Optical System Losses – Many AR headsets use waveguides or optical combiners to project digital content onto the real world. These systems can absorb some of the light, meaning that not all of the brightness from the display reaches the user’s eyes.
Power Efficiency – With higher brightness comes the need for more power. For wearable devices like AR glasses, managing power consumption without compromising brightness is a crucial challenge.
To address these issues, AR displays need to push the boundaries of current display technologies, achieving brightness levels above 1 million nits—a task that’s difficult for many display technologies to handle efficiently.
How MicroLED Overcomes the Brightness Challenge
Advantages of MicroLED for AR Displays
Unlike traditional display technologies like OLED or LCOS, microLED offers several significant advantages for achieving the necessary brightness levels in AR applications:
Extremely High Brightness – MicroLED technology has the potential to reach 1 to 3 million nits, far surpassing OLED and microOLED displays, which typically max out at around 1,500–3,000 nits. This makes microLED ideal for creating AR displays that are visible even in direct sunlight.
Power Efficiency – MicroLEDs are much more energy-efficient at high brightness levels compared to OLEDs, which means that power-hungry displays can be minimized without sacrificing performance.
Longer Lifespan and Durability – MicroLEDs are inorganic, which makes them more durable than OLEDs, whose organic materials degrade over time, especially under high brightness. This makes microLED displays perfect for long-lasting AR systems.
Scalability and Small Form Factor – MicroLEDs can be produced at a small scale, making them ideal for AR glasses or wearable devices that require compact, high-resolution displays.
Pioneering Companies in MicroLED for AR
Several companies are already pushing the limits of brightness for microLED displays, providing tangible evidence of microLED’s potential for AR applications:
Jade Bird Display (JBD) has demonstrated microLED microdisplays exceeding 3 million nits, showcasing the potential for incredibly bright, compact displays in AR headsets.
Porotech has developed red microLED emitters capable of achieving 750,000 nits, setting new standards for color accuracy and brightness in microLED applications.
Challenges to Overcome
Despite its immense potential, microLED technology is not without its challenges:
Manufacturing Yield and Inspection – microLEDs require extremely precise manufacturing processes. Inspecting and measuring microLED wafers with high throughput electroluminescence is essential for ensuring high yields and minimizing defects.
Mass Transfer and Scalability – Transferring millions of tiny microLEDs onto substrates with high accuracy is a complex process, and achieving scalability for mass production will be key to making microLED a widespread solution.
Cost Reduction – While microLEDs are poised to become more affordable, production costs are still relatively high compared to other technologies. As the industry continues to scale and refine manufacturing techniques, we can expect costs to decrease over time.
The Future of microLED in AR
The AR industry is at a critical juncture. As microLED technology matures, we are getting closer to commercially viable, high-brightness AR displays that can function effectively in outdoor environments. Advances in inspection tools, manufacturing techniques, and optical system optimization are driving progress, and the potential for truly daylight-readable AR glasses is on the horizon.
At InZiv, we are committed to supporting the development of microLED technology by offering advanced inspection and metrology solutions that help manufacturers achieve higher yields and reduce costs. With continued innovation, the future of bright, efficient, and durable AR displays is within reach.
