Suppressing optical crosstalk in microLED arrays for AR displays: a simulation and design study

MicroLED displays designed for augmented reality (AR) demand high light extraction efficiency (LEE), strong emission directionality, and minimal optical crosstalk to ensure superior image quality. In this work, we develop a comprehensive finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation framework to investigate crosstalk suppression via device architecture modifications. We introduce the collimation efficiency (CE) as a key metric for AR systems. A thinned n-GaN layer with a reflective cup eliminates primary crosstalk from sidewalls and waveguiding. A subsequent thick microlens layer further boosts the primary pixel's CE to 15.57<i>%</i>. This optimized architecture reduces the effective crosstalk to 0.77<i>%</i>, providing an effective design strategy for AR displays.