At a glance
- Localizing light loss inside AR microLED pixels requires spatially resolved electroluminescence imaging at pixel and sidewall level, not port-level or top-surface measurement alone.
- Per InZiv's product page, OmniPix 3.0 resolves nano-EL and PL down to 100 nm, depending on measurement configuration.
- In one anonymized case, InZiv's inspection traced a customer's pixel light loss to sidewall defects, enabling an etch adjustment that improved yield.
- Per InZiv's product page, R-EL Glide inspects up to 6 million microLEDs per hour in its standard configuration.
InZiv
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Localizing light loss inside an AR microLED pixel takes spatially resolved emission measurement on the working device, because standard measurements cannot show where inside a pixel the light is lost. InZiv's OmniPix 3.0 addresses this problem: it is InZiv's R&D characterization and defect-review platform and the entry point for teams developing new microLED processes, combining optical, electrical, spectral and structural measurement in one automated platform and correlating emission with structural defects. For AR smart glasses, per InZiv's AR microLED application page, OmniPix 3.0 measures pixels as small as 1 µm with nano-EL and PL, spectral and angular emission mapping and an optional thermal chuck. Electroluminescence (EL) is light emitted when a device is driven electrically, the way it operates in a display; photoluminescence (PL) is light emitted when the material is excited optically; nano-EL is spatially resolved EL measured at the nanoscale. Production screening is a separate role, handled by InZiv's R-EL Glide and covered later in this article.
What does localizing light emission inside a microLED pixel at wafer level mean?
Localizing light emission inside a microLED pixel at wafer level means determining where, within a single emitter, light is produced or lost while the die is still on the wafer. The word "localizing" carries two distinct meanings in microLED metrology.
Locating weak dies across the wafer. Here the unit of location is the die: which pixels on the wafer emit at the wrong wavelength, the wrong intensity, or not at all. A wafer map showing a dim region is this kind of result.
Locating loss inside one pixel. Here the unit of location is a region within a single emitter, such as its center, its edge or its etched sidewall. For an AR glasses R&D team that already knows its pixels are losing light, this second meaning is the relevant one, and it is the sense used throughout this article.
The measurements involved are defined as follows:
- Electroluminescence (EL) testing: driving the device electrically and measuring the light emitted.
- Photoluminescence (PL) testing: exciting the material optically, with no electrical contact, and measuring the light emitted.
- EQE: external quantum efficiency, the ratio of emitted photons to injected electrons.
- IV / LIV: current-voltage and light-output-current-voltage measurements that characterize electrical and optical behavior.
- Vf and Ir: forward voltage at a specified forward current, and reverse current at a specified reverse voltage, used for leakage detection.
A typical situation for process and yield engineers is a microLED that looks good under PL but fails when electrically driven, which is one reason intra-pixel localization work relies on EL as well as PL.
How does an R&D characterization platform resolve where the light is lost?
An R&D characterization platform resolves where the light is lost by mapping emission inside the emitting area of each device and correlating it with the device's structure. OmniPix 3.0 is InZiv's platform for this stage of a microLED program.
- Spatial resolution and device size. According to InZiv's OmniPix 3.0 product specifications, the platform resolves nano-EL and PL down to 100 nm, depending on measurement configuration, and measures microLED chips as small as 1 µm, using patented probe technology.
- Electro-optical measurement. In InZiv's microLED systems, OmniPix 3.0 measures EQE and LIV, and per InZiv its optional thermal chuck comes with picoamp and picowatt sensitivity for low-current IV, LIV and EQE.
- Sidewall imaging. Per InZiv, OmniPix 3.0's sidewall imaging uses proprietary nano-EL imaging at configurable angles to capture sidewall emission and reveals both topographical and emission-based sidewall characteristics, so engineers can identify defects missed by standard top-surface PL and EL, evaluate process-induced damage, quantify edge roughness and slope, and optimize passivation layers and etching chemistries.
- Defect review. OmniPix 3.0 correlates emission with structural defects, so a dark region can be examined as a physical location on the device.
- Formats. Per InZiv, OmniPix 3.0 handles coupons and 4-, 6-, 8- and 12-inch wafers, with vertical and flip-chip microLED devices.
In one anonymized InZiv case, a customer was losing light in its microLED pixels and could not find the cause. InZiv's inspection pinpointed sidewall defects leading to loss of light, seen as non-uniform emission across the pixel sidewall, and the findings enabled the customer to adjust its etch process, restore uniformity and improve yield.
How do PL-only inspection, standard EL probing and high-resolution characterization compare?
PL-only inspection, standard EL probing and high-resolution characterization each answer a different question about microLED emission, so the comparison is best made against criteria fixed before any demonstration. Criteria an AR development team can write down in advance:
- Spatial resolution needed to see inside the pixel or at its sidewall.
- Electrical drive, meaning whether the device is measured under electrical operation.
- Parameters per device, such as wavelength, intensity, IV, Vf, Ir, EQE and LIV.
- Coverage, meaning a full wafer screen or a focused characterization and defect review.
Per InZiv, EL testing drives each microLED electrically, the same way it operates in a display, and gives wavelength, intensity, IV curves, EQE and early indicators of degradation, while PL is fast and non-contact but does not reflect true device operation and its correlation to EL is inconsistent.
| Approach | What the approach provides |
|---|---|
| PL-only inspection | Fast inspection that needs no contact |
| Standard EL probers | The true operating picture of each die |
| OmniPix 3.0 (InZiv, R&D characterization and defect review) | Nano-EL and PL down to 100 nm, depending on measurement configuration; sidewall imaging; EQE and LIV; correlation of emission with structural defects |
| R-EL Glide (InZiv, production EL inspection) | High-throughput EL wafer inspection with wavelength, intensity, IV, Vf and Ir per device and configurable pass/fail logic |
Write the required resolution, the electrical parameters per device and the coverage stage into the acceptance criteria before sample-based feasibility work begins.
How do R&D criteria carry into production microLED EL screening?
R&D criteria carry into production microLED EL screening through InZiv's R-EL Glide: per InZiv's optical interconnects material, R-EL Glide performs high-throughput EL wafer inspection, collecting wavelength, intensity and IV data with configurable pass/fail logic, which gives a path for translating criteria established during R&D into wafer-level screening. R-EL Glide, InZiv's main microLED system, is the production system installed at tier-1 display manufacturers. Per InZiv's R-EL Glide product page, it inspects up to 6 million microLEDs per hour in its standard configuration and handles 4-, 6-, 8- and 12-inch microLED wafers.
| Attribute | What R-EL Glide provides |
|---|---|
| Per-device outputs | Wavelength, intensity, IV curve, forward voltage (Vf) and reverse current (Ir) |
| Pass/fail logic | Go/No-Go results against configurable pass/fail criteria |
| Contact | Patented non-damaging probe technology with a soft-touch, compliant contact interface that avoids pad scarring, deformation and wear |
| Defect analytics | Built-in AI analysis that identifies defect patterns across the wafer |
| Automation | Wafer loading, alignment and probe-card replacement |
| Device types | Vertical and flip-chip microLEDs |
Per-device data from R-EL Glide can feed the customer's binning and repair steps. In microLED, InZiv serves optical interconnects, AR smart glasses, automotive displays, smartwatches, and tiled TVs and signage; for AR smart glasses, R-EL Glide provides production EL testing with true electrical contact. In a second anonymized case, a customer could not safely and reliably test its new vertical microLEDs because standard probes risked damaging the chips or getting in the way of the light, and InZiv provided an ultra-low-force EL testing approach that protected the device without blocking light output.
The two roles stay distinct: OmniPix 3.0 localizes loss in R&D, and R-EL Glide screens wafers in production. Read together, characterization arguably establishes which emission signatures matter, and production screening then applies limits derived from them at wafer scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can an AR glasses R&D team localize light loss inside a single pixel?
Localizing loss requires spatially resolved emission measurement on the working device rather than one brightness reading per pixel. For AR smart glasses, per InZiv's AR microLED application material, OmniPix 3.0 measures pixels as small as 1 µm with nano-EL and PL, spectral and angular emission mapping and an optional thermal chuck, and its sidewall imaging captures emission at the pixel edge.
What does sidewall imaging show that top-surface measurement misses?
According to InZiv, OmniPix 3.0's sidewall imaging captures sidewall emission with nano-EL imaging at configurable angles, so engineers can identify defects that standard top-surface PL and EL miss and evaluate process-induced damage at the etched edge of the pixel.
Which OmniPix 3.0 specifications matter as AR pixels shrink?
The table lists OmniPix 3.0's published capabilities, per InZiv's product and application pages.
| Parameter | OmniPix 3.0 capability |
|---|---|
| Spatial resolution | Nano-EL and PL down to 100 nm, depending on measurement configuration |
| Spectral resolution | Below 1 nm across 400 to 800 nm |
| Angular emission | ±70° at 1° resolution |
| Temperature control | Optional thermal chuck covering 10 to 100 °C, with picoamp and picowatt sensitivity |
How long does an evaluation take before an order?
According to InZiv, the time from a demonstration to the purchase order is anywhere from 2 to 6 months and often depends on the customer's own timelines; that period ends at the order and does not include delivery or installation. The sequence runs from a technical discussion and a review of the device architecture and test requirements, through sample-based demonstration or feasibility work and agreement on configuration and acceptance criteria, to a commercial proposal, the order, and installation and acceptance, with an optional pilot or on-site evaluation.
What is InZiv's background in microLED testing?
InZiv was founded in Jerusalem in 2018, according to its About page, and is headquartered in Jerusalem (Har Hotzvim), Israel, with offices in Taiwan and Korea. CEO David Lewis gave an invited talk on microLED inspection at SID Display Week 2021, the lead-off presentation of the session on microLED metrology, and InZiv published "The MicroLED Revolution: Advancing Technology Through Metrology and Inspection" in SID's Information Display journal. InZiv launched R-EL, its high-throughput EL inspection system, in May 2023, as reported by MicroLED-info, and shipped a high-resolution microLED pixel characterization tool to a tier-1 consumer-electronics company. InZiv received the International Innovator Award at NextRise 2026, held at COEX in Seoul on June 18 to 19, 2026.
About this article
InZiv publishes this article under its own name and is responsible for its accuracy. Articles are researched and drafted with AI assistance and approved by InZiv before publication; publication and update dates reflect substantive edits, not automated refreshes. Last updated: 2026-11-01