News: LEDs
22 September 2026
Ingantec unveils 20% EQE, 5µm red InGaN micro-LEDs at 625nm
Fabless semiconductor company Ingantec Corp of Milwaukee, WI, USA has announced an advance in native red indium gallium nitride (InGaN) micro-LED technology, demonstrating greater than 20% peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) from 5µm-class red InGaN micro-LEDs fabricated on conventional c-plane epitaxial structures.
Co-founded by former Apple and Foxconn executives, along with University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty members, Ingantec is developing III–nitride materials and device technologies for next-generation micro-LED displays and photonic applications. Its proprietary InGaN-based technologies target pain points in micro-LED device performance and production, including the development of bright, efficient and spectrally stable red micro-LEDs that are compatible with blue and green GaN emitters, potentially eliminating complex mass-transfer process steps.
Presented by co-founder & CEO Alan Yeung at TechBlick’s MicroLED Connect in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, the latest results demonstrate red InGaN emission near 620–625nm, with peak EQE occurring at 4–5A/cm2, the current density at which the devices reach their reddest emission. The devices subsequently maintain high single-digit efficiency (5–8% EQE) at elevated current densities spanning 40–140A/cm2.
“The significance of this result is not simply achieving a high EQE number,” says chairman & CEO Dr Alan Yeung. “We are demonstrating a combination of high efficiency, red emission, micron-scale dimensions, current-density robustness, and spectral control on a conventional c-plane InGaN platform. This is an important step toward making native red InGaN a practical foundation for monolithic RGB microdisplay architectures.”
Unlike approaches based on quantum dots, nanowires, nanopyramids or photonic-crystal structures, Ingantec’s devices utilize a conventional planar InGaN architecture, providing a pathway toward scalable wafer processing and full integration with green and blue InGaN micro-LED emitters.
Addressing the red InGaN challenge
Producing efficient red emission from InGaN has historically been challenging because increasing indium incorporation introduces strain, defects, carrier localization, quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE), efficiency degradation, and strong current-dependent wavelength shifts. Ingantec’s approaches combine proprietary Spectrally Stable Red (SSR) technology with epitaxial and strain-engineering methodologies developed in collaboration with University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB).
The resulting devices demonstrate an unusual combination of efficiency, wavelength behavior, and high-current-density robustness:
- 20+% peak efficiency: EQE exceeds 20% in 5µm-class red InGaN micro-LEDs, with peak efficiency occurring near 4–5A/cm2 and emission near 625nm.
- Controlled spectral shifts: The devices initially red-shift with increasing injection — reaching their reddest wavelength that coincides with peak EQE emission — before exhibiting controlled blue-shifts across decades of current density.
- Useful efficiency at high injection: EQE remains in the 5–8% range over large portions of the 40–140A/cm2 regime, demonstrating the potential for high-brightness operations.
- 5µm pixel scaling: Functional red InGaN micro-LEDs have been demonstrated, confirming device operation at dimensions relevant to ultra-high-pixel-density displays.
The optical results were obtained at UCSB using integrating-sphere measurements on planar InGaN devices, confirming true bulk efficiency.
From red InGaN to monolithic RGB
High-performance native red InGaN is a critical enabling technology for the development of monolithic RGB micro-LED displays based on a common III–nitride material platform.
A native InGaN red emitter offers the potential to reduce the reliance on heterogeneous red-emitter architectures and the associated assembly, transfer and integration complexity. Stable emission over a broad drive-current range can also reduce the burden on display CMOS systems to compensate for current-dependent color changes.
Ingantec’s technology is being developed for applications including augmented-realty and mixed-reality (AR/MR) displays, automotive head-up displays (HUDs), mobile devices, high-brightness micro-displays, medical diagnostics devices, and advanced photonic systems.
Wafer-scale development and collaboration
Ingantec is extending the technology toward wafer-scale manufacturing and commercial foundry integration. Its development platform includes 4-inch InGaN-on-sapphire wafers containing hundreds of millions of potential red emitters.
Ingantec is actively inviting display manufacturers, semiconductor foundries, backplane developers, optical technology companies, and advanced packaging partners to accelerate commercialization of its native InGaN red micro-LED technology.
Key collaboration areas include technology and application developments in micro-LED displays, medical diagnostics sensing, automotive HUDs, high-energy photonic systems, CMOS backplane integration, wafer manufacturing, and advanced packaging.
