Tower Semiconductor and Tianyi Micro Announce Strategic Cooperation in Development of Next Generation OLED Micro Displays for AR/VR

Addressing the growing Chinese and global market needs for advanced AR/VR solutions

Based on Tower’s high yield, dedicated process for micro display backplane, supporting current-driven OLED pixel designs

MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel, and HANGZHOU, China, February 26, 2024 – Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), the leader in high-value analog semiconductor foundry solutions, and Tianyi Micro, a leading provider of micro display driver chips specializing in developing silicon-based micro-OLEDs and micro-LEDs, today announced their strategic cooperation in the development of next-generation OLED micro displays for AR/VR, addressing the growing Chinese and global market needs for advanced AR/VR solutions. The development is based on Tower’s unique 180nm and 65nm dedicated micro display backplane process flows, supporting current-driven (as opposed to voltage-driven) OLED pixel designs. According to market analysis by Omdia, the micro display market will grow from 24 million units in 2023 to almost 90 million units in 2028, a CAGR of 67%. The overall AR/VR market, dominated by VR and XR headsets already reached $1.15 billion in 2023.

Tianyi Micro is currently the sole provider in China of current-driven pixel designs and selected Tower as its key foundry partner for micro display backplane developments. As performance requirements call for specific device characteristics such as high yield, ultra-low leakage combined with high voltage for high brightness, Tower has developed dedicated process flows addressing these requirements. Having such dedicated flows enables Tianyi to pursue its leading market position with next-generation micro displays.

"We chose Tower for its well-known continuous innovation in silicon-based OLED technology, including but not limited to ultra-low leakage MOS devices, and customized anode for compact pixel circuit design. These advanced offerings, along with our close collaboration, allow Tianyi Micro to achieve high display performance based on current-driven pixel circuits/products,” said Lina Sun, Tianyi CEO. “Tower’s professional support and expertise allow us to achieve first-pass silicon success that meet the high requirements of microdisplay products”.