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

Ansan, 28 October 2026. Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ: 092190) has developed and begun mass producing a chip that emits white light without rare earths, the company announced. The chip can be as small as 10 micrometers (µm). The product, WICOP 3, is the third generation of the company's package-free WICOP chip architecture.

White LEDs make up roughly $10 billion of the $15 billion global market for packaged LEDs. The company said WICOP 3 uses neither rare earths nor a package, and does not contain the synthetic silicone resins, plastics and lead frames used in conventional LEDs. It said the chip costs about half as much to make as a conventional white LED. According to the company, WICOP 3 is the world's first white opto-semiconductor to achieve white light in a micro LED smaller than 100 µm.

In its first mass production, a micro LED chip measuring 25 µm by 10 µm produced 0.015 lumens of white light. Its chromaticity falls inside the CIE standard white region. Luminous efficacy is already close to 100 lumens per watt (lm/W), and the company aims to reach 200 lm/W within two years. A conventional 1,000 µm by 1,000 µm chip achieves 50 lumens.

WICOP 3 generates white light from gallium nitride (GaN) alone. The company said the chip contains no plastics, silicone or other synthetic organic materials, and can last for decades. Until now, white chips could not go below 1,000 µm because white light required a package containing rare earths.

"We have now successfully developed WICOP 3, which produces white light, and have begun mass production," said Chung Hoon Lee, founder of Seoul Semiconductor.

The Seoul Group, comprising Seoul Semiconductor and Seoul Viosys, will start mass production of WICOP 3 in the fourth quarter. It will supply first those customers that have respected its intellectual property and relied on its products. The group said it will hold to its principle of never competing with its customers and will open new application markets together with key customers. It is seeking upstream and downstream micro LED supply chain partners in AR displays and AI transmitters.

Source: Seoul Viosys Co Ltd news