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Apple Awarded Patent in μLED Driver Chip 
October 22, 2018
 
Patently Apple discovered a published European Apple patent application relating to Micro-LED displays. Out of the 12 engineers who are listed as the inventors of this invention, only one is from LuxVue, the Micro-LED specialist company that Apple acquired in May 2014.Apple's patent also lists two engineers who came to Apple via AUO as well as the former chief engineer from Panasonic.The patent says that compared to OLEDs, inorganic semiconductor-based micro LEDs may be more energy efficient and also may not be prone to lifetime degradation and extreme sensitivity to moisture.Apple's patent below is a perspective view of a microdriver chip; a schematic cross-sectional side view illustration of a microdriver chip over a display substrate; and a schematic cross-sectional side view illustration of a microdriver chip bonded to a display substrate. Apple's micro-LED patent is a technical utility patent that does not explain the patent in terms of an end product with benefits. The term "microdriver chip" is referenced 92 times, making it the focal point of the invention. 

Figure 1: MicroLED Driver Chip

Source: Patently Apple