The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (Fraunhofer IPMS) is a research institute dealing with electronic, mechanical and optical components and their integration into devices and systems.
The Fraunhofer IPMS has been working on OLED since 2000, and in 2009 it launched a new department called COMEDD (the Center for Organics, Materials and Electronic Devices Dresden) to handle its OLED research and pilot fabrication. COMEDD was turned into an independent Fraunhofer Institute in 2012, later it became a business unit at Fraunhofer FEP, and in early 2024 it moved back into the IPMS.
The COMEDD researchers used to develop OLED lighting technologies, and OLED microdisplay technologies. Today most of the focus is into OLED microdisplays.
Contact information for Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (Fraunhofer IPMS)
Karl Guttag: why transparent microdisplays are impractical for AR glasses
The following is a guest article by Karl Guttag of KGOnTech, a display industry veteran and one of the leading independent analysts of AR and VR display technology - and a good friend. We asked Karl why we do not see transparent OLED or MicroLED displays placed directly in front of the eye in AR glasses - and this is his detailed answer.
Introduction
Ron Mertens of OLED-Info, MicroLED-Info, the MicroLED Association, and one of the organizers of MicroLED & AR/VR Connect asked for my input on “Why is there no 'simple' solution, where we place a transparent display in front of the user [for AR]?” Or more simply, why aren’t ‘transparent’ OLEDs/MicroLEDs being used in optical-see-through (OST) AR headsets?
When evaluating OST AR solutions, we need to consider the following:
- Effect on the see-through image
- Darkening
- Distortion and uniformity (including diffraction) of the real world
- Artifacts such as diffraction light capture (so-called rainbow capture)
- Effect on the virtual image
- Uniformity in brightness and color plus image contrast
- Efficiency (power-in in Watts to light to the eye in nits)
- Forward Projection (“Eye Glow”) and other adverse social effects
- Cost, weight, thickness, and overall size
I often say that the most important measure of an AR display is how it behaves when the display is off (#1 above). As will be discussed, this is not possible with a so-called “transparent” display that is near to the eye.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer IPMS developed their highest resolution OLED microdisplay to date
The Fraunhofer IPMS developed a 35,000 nits red OLED microdisplay
The Fraunhofer IPMS developed a new high throughput OLED microdisplay deposition tool
The Fraunhofer IPMS developed a high-voltage CMOS OLED microdisplay backplane to support multi-stack OLED designs
Researchers at the Fraunhofer IPMS developed a 200,000 nits monochrome OLED microdisplay
Notion Systems and the Fraunhofer IAP team-up to develop EHD printing materials and processes for the display industry
Researchers develop OLED-based optogenetic stimulators for neurosensory therapy
The Fraunhofer IPMS manages to increase the transparency of its OLED microdisplays to 45%
A few months ago researchers from the Fraunhofer IPMS announced that they have developed semi-transparent yellow high resolution OLED microdisplays, that are significantly lighter than conventional combiner-based optical see-through near-to-eye systems.
The Fraunhofer IPMS now announced that it has managed to increase the transparency of these microdisplays to 45%.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer IPMS develop semi-transparent OLED microdisplays
Researchers from the Fraunhofer IPMS have developed a semi-transparent high resolution OLED microdisplay, that is significantly lighter than conventional combiner-based optical see-through near-to-eye systems. The specification of the display was not disclosed, but one can see it's a monochrome yellow panel.
The Fraunhofer researchers developed a new semi-transparent OLED-on-silicon microdisplay technology, which enabled the new display. The technology is based on modern and advanced silicon CMOS processes, applied to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. The new wafer technology can be used to implement very thin circuitry layers. With the help of a specific IC design and an appropriate transfer-to-glass process flow, the transparent OLEDs were enabled.
