WATERLOO - A Waterloo company specializing in microscopic nanotechnology is making a big investment in its future.

VueReal is embarking on a $24-million project to expand its team and create an advanced nanotechnology centre at its facility on Phillip Street. In the past six months, the VueReal team has more than doubled in size to 27; chief executive officer Reza Chaji said it could grow to 40 next year.

"It is a great opportunity for us, and also for the area," he said.

Founded in 2016, VueReal works in the field of micro-LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that can be used in displays in everything from next-generation smartphones and televisions to virtual and augmented reality systems, instrument panels and wearable technology.

Micro-LEDs - millions of which can be utilized in a single screen - outperform LCDs and organic LEDs (OLED) in areas such as brightness, contrast, longevity and power efficiency. Cost and technical challenges have slowed their adoption, but VueReal says its technology allows micro-LED displays to be manufactured at a cost that's competitive with existing products.

Chaji believes micro-LEDs are poised to transform the future of consumer electronics. "You can feel it changing, and a lot of things are happening," he said.

The company notes that analysts have forecast that the market for micro-LED displays could reach US$4.5 billion by 2025.

About one-third of the funding for the VueReal project is coming via an $8.5-million grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a foundation created by the federal government to support businesses focusing on clean technology innovation. A couple of unnamed electronics companies are also providing financial and technical support.

VueReal also has partnered with Kitchener-based Angstrom Engineering, which will be providing engineering support for the deposition equipment required to create micro-LED devices.

The different layers that make up devices using micro-LEDs need to be placed with an extremely-high degree of accuracy, within a high-vacuum system that is free of foreign particles or impurities, Chaji explained

"(Angstrom) is making equipment for us to support that application," he said. "It is a good partnership to work together."

VueReal has worked closely with the University of Waterloo and the school's Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre on several research projects, and that collaboration continues. "It's helped us a lot to bring this technology to this stage," Chaji said.

VueReal's advanced nanotechnology centre will be developed in phases over a couple of years. The majority of the first phase should be completed in the first quarter of 2019.

Chaji said he wants to make VueReal's micro-LED platform available for other applications as well through licensing agreements.

"It's a great opportunity for other side industries," he said. "There are going to be companies that can benefit from this platform."

bdavis@therecord.com

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