Seoul Viosys begins production of rare-earth-free white light emitter

Seoul Viosys has begun mass production of a rare-earth-free white light emitter, a 10µm chip that generates white light using gallium nitride. The chip, part of the WICOP 3 technology, replaces the need for rare earth materials like yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) and is more environmentally friendly, with no plastics, silicone, or lead frames. It is also cheaper to produce, with the company claiming it costs about half as much as a conventional white LED. WICOP 3 is the third generation of Seoul Viosys' WICOP technology, which has already led to the development and mass production of ultraviolet, blue, green, red, and infrared LEDs smaller than 100µm in size, and is claimed to be the world's first white opto-semiconductor to achieve white light in a micro-LED smaller than 100µm.