Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS have developed a groundbreaking red OLED microdisplay that is both exceptionally bright and highly efficient. The first results of this innovative technology will be presented at the SID Mid-Europe Conference 2026 under the theme “Augmented Vision: Displays for Defense,” taking place from 16-17 March, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Compact, sharp, low energy consumption
OLED microdisplays are characterised by their compact design, sharp presentations, and low energy consumption, making them ideal for wearable technologies. The latest microdisplay from Fraunhofer IPMS raises the brightness of such systems to a new level. It allows for the display of changing full-graphic symbols, which not only improves precise alignment but also greatly facilitates optical assembly.
Like all other microdisplays from the institute, this new display is based on standard CMOS semiconductor processes, with a silicon backplane serving as the foundation for the OLED technology.
“The new red OLED microdisplay achieves impressive brightness levels of 35,000 cd/m² while consuming very little power,” explains Uwe Vogel, division director of microdisplays and sensors at Fraunhofer IPMS. “Thanks to our ultra-low-power technology, only the necessary pixels are changed for the next image instead of updating the entire image, which saves a tremendous amount of power.”
Use in data glasses and helmets under daylight conditions
The high brightness now enables use in data glasses and helmets under daylight conditions. This was achieved through a newly developed OLED stack with highly efficient materials, allowing previously unattainable brightness for red OLEDs.
Moreover, the new OLED stack can be transferred to various backplane formats. The scientists at Fraunhofer IPMS are looking forward to customer- and application-specific developments of these new microdisplays, marking another important step in the evolution of display technology.