Smartkem's new progress and cooperation trends in the field of Micro LEDs

According to news from the foreign website prnewswire on March 21, US Eastern Time, Smartkem Company ushered in an important moment that day. Ian Jenks, Chairman and CEO, Babara Keck, Chief Financial Officer, and Selena Kirkwood, Director of Communications, gathered at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York to ring the opening bell. Ian Jenks said excitedly at the event: We are deeply honored and delighted to be able to ring the opening bell. This opportunity will draw more people's attention to the significant progress we have made in promoting the application and large-scale commercialization of microled displays. We will also unswervingly move towards the goal of successfully commercializing our proprietary semiconductor materials to help achieve widespread applications for flexible, transparent and lightweight MicroLED displays."

Data shows that SmartKem is a pioneer company in the research and development of organic thin film transistor (OTFT) materials from the UK. As early as May 2024, SmartKem has shown the world samples of its Micro LED display based on proprietary OTFT materials. This sample builds a 96x96 pixel Micro LED array, using a sapphire substrate, using SmartKem material for planarization, and successfully realizing the anode and cathode contact of Micro LEDs with advanced processes such as lithography, etching, sputtering and metal layer patterning., in turn, presents a high-quality display effect.
在 2025 年的 1 - 2 月期间，Smartkem 积极拓展合作版图，先后与友达、上海芯元基半导体达成合作，携手共同推动 Micro LED 技术的应用发展。
1 月 21 日的消息透露，Smartkem 宣布已顺利完成首次向联合开发合作伙伴上海芯元基半导体（Chip Foundation）出售 TRUFLEX® 半导体材料。The two sides plan to use these materials to jointly develop a new generation of Micro LED backlight technology for liquid crystal displays. As SmartKem's core patented chemical technology, TRUFLEX material is a special solution that can be deposited on low-cost substrates at low temperatures. It is mainly used to fabricate organic thin film transistor (OTFT) circuits. It is worth mentioning that at low temperatures of only 80C, transistors can be processed directly on Micro LEDs. This innovative process not only eliminates the traditional massive transfer and laser welding processes, but also greatly accelerates the Micro LED manufacturing process. It is understood that after the combination of Smartkem's TRUFLEX material and the core-based Micro LED, it is expected that the Micro LED chip produced will have both high brightness and high current efficiency characteristics, which not only can effectively reduce power loss when driving the backlight, but also can significantly improve lighting uniformity. It is expected that within 2025, TRUFLEX materials will officially start sales to the market. Xinyuanji said that the cooperation with Smartkem can deeply integrate TRUFLEX materials into the company's Micro LED product system. This cooperation is undoubtedly a key and important step in promoting the development of high-performance LCD backlight solutions.
2 月 7 日，Smartkem 又宣布与友达正式开启合作征程，致力于开发全球首款可卷曲的透明 Micro LED 屏幕。Relevant production work will be carried out in an orderly manner on the 2.5-generation assembly line of the Industrial Technology Research Institute in China Taiwan. The two companies hope to replace traditional glass substrates with low-cost, flexible and transparent plastic substrates in the development of the world's first rollable transparent MicroLED display. This move aims to reduce screen production costs and make such screens more widely used in various scenarios, such as car dashboards, shopping mall billboards, etc. Through a series of technological innovations and cooperation expansion, Smartkem is gradually emerging in the field of Micro LEDs, injecting new vitality into technological innovation and market expansion in this field.​