Techno-economics of axial nanowire light-emitting diodes for augmented reality displays and data communication applications

This paper introduces a concept to the growth of axial nanowire light-emitting diodes (a-NWLEDs) using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), addressing long-standing concerns about the scalability and cost-effectiveness of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for high-volume manufacturing. a-NWLEDs offer significant promise for next-generation technologies such as augmented reality displays and chip-to-chip data communication due to their potential for high brightness, directional emission, and compatibility with silicon-based CMOS platforms. To evaluate the feasibility of MOCVD as an alternative growth method, a comprehensive techno-economic analysis compares MBE and MOCVD across two critical performance indicators: MicroLED wafer production cost and capital investment required to meet market demand. The comparison is rooted in the details of the epitaxial growth technology. The results demonstrate that MOCVD significantly outperforms MBE in both metrics, providing a scalable and cost-effective solution for manufacturing a-NWLEDs. These findings underscore the potential of MOCVD to enable the widespread commercialization of a-NWLEDs, offering a viable pathway for meeting the performance and economic requirements of advanced display and communication applications.