Tech Talk

What's Next in Automotive Lighting? Illuminating a Bright Future with Mini- and Micro-LEDs

Innovation & Insight

Joshua Schwab, Director, Global Product Line, Lighting
September 30, 2024
2-min read

For more than 30 years, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have made bold technical gains that have profoundly influenced the design, validation, and launch of automotive lighting products. These devices not only provide world-class illumination across the color spectrum, they also boast superior energy efficiency and extended lifespan as compared to traditional halogen and xenon light sources.

Automotive lighting advancements based on LEDs are enabled by the dimensionally compact nature of the lighting source. Typical square or rectangular shaped LEDs measure just a few millimeters to less than 1mm in width. This sizing allows for greater performance in more compact packaging scenarios, creating never-before-seen styling possibilities.

Building on this success, the future of even smaller mini- and micro-LED light sources shines bright! Mini- and micro-LED light sources (<500 micrometers and <100 micrometers, respectively) offer exceptional brightness from a smaller surface area, providing opportunities to exceed today’s lighting requirements and shape the features and functionality of tomorrow.

Portrait of Joshua Schwab, Director, Global Product Line, Magna Lighting

After legal intensity and color requirements are met, the possibilities for advanced application and styling are endless. Communication via symbols and images, messaging, advanced animation, and even video-style displays can be incorporated into the vehicle. Ultimately, regulations will dictate how far we can take these small but mighty devices.

The pros and cons of this technology as compared to OLED has been studied extensively, with mini- and micro-LEDs proving overall superiority in automotive applications. Their power efficiency, luminance maintenance, and robustness in real-life applications outperforms traditional sources, even against the thermal, humidity, and mechanical cycling challenges presented by exterior lighting.

This offers promising opportunities for applications beyond exterior lighting, which Magna is already achieving in Exteriors with Breakthrough Lighting and in Mirrors features and functionality. With a robust portfolio of products and technologies, we are poised to provide an unparalleled impact on customers in an era where display and video is the norm.

Magna is at the forefront of the design, development, validation, and understanding the manufacturing challenges of this next-level technology. As the automotive industry undergoes a full transformation, embracing emerging technologies becomes crucial to unlocking the full potential of new innovations like mini- and micro-LEDs.