Smartkem Lights Up Display Industry with New MicroLED Patent

This latest IP development brings Smartkem’s total granted patent count to 138, across 17 families, with 16 additional patents pending and over 40 proprietary trade secrets in its technology vault. The scope of these protections spans the company’s signature TRUFLEX® semiconductor platform, OTFT processes, display backplanes, and now, MicroLED packaging and system integration.

MicroLED technology is widely regarded as the next frontier in display innovation, promising superior brightness, contrast, energy efficiency, and durability compared to OLED and LCD technologies. However, widespread commercialization has been delayed by the complexities and costs associated with integrating driver circuitry and achieving high yields. Smartkem’s IP offers a novel solution by simplifying the integration of OTFTs at low temperatures—around 80°C—which makes the process compatible with flexible, plastic, and transparent substrates. This opens the door for a new class of ultra-thin, rollable, and wearable displays.

Smartkem’s strategic IP positioning is further bolstered by its global partnerships. In early 2025, the company entered a collaboration with AUO, one of the world’s leading display manufacturers, to co-develop transparent and flexible MicroLED display panels. Additionally, Smartkem is working with ITRI and the Chip Foundation to commercialize MicroLED-based LCD backlights under the “MiP4” package, which was recently showcased at international tech exhibitions such as Touch Taiwan and SID Display Week.

The “MiP4” platform combines MicroLED backlight units with Smartkem’s low-temperature OTFTs to deliver superior luminance and contrast at reduced power consumption, targeting applications in automotive displays, AR/VR headsets, and high-performance consumer electronics. The ability to directly print transistors onto MicroLEDs without laser or transfer printing is viewed as a key enabler of scalable MicroLED production.