With the help of Professor Daesoo Kim from the Department of Biological Sciences, the new f-VLEDs were then applied to optogenetics, whereby light pulses are used to stimulate neurons within localized cortical areas of the brain. In a paper titled “Optogenetic Control of Body Movements via Flexible Vertical Light-Emitting Diodes on Brain Surface ” published in the February 2018 issue of Nano Energy, the researchers describe how they inserted the flexible VLEDs between the skull and the brain surface of a mouse to control her behaviour, illuminating motor neurons on two-dimensional cortical areas located deep below the brain surface.
Brain science aside, other biomedical applications envisaged by the researchers include phototherapeutic treatment and contact lens biosensors.
Back in 2016, Professor Lee has spun-off a startup called FRONICS (abbreviated from Flexible electRONICS) to commercialize its transfer technologies to companies willing to design their own IoT products, based on flexible micro LED technology. According to the company's website, the anisotropic conductive film-based transfer and interconnection technology is applicable to both GaN and GaAs LEDs and can support resolutions from 400 to 1300ppi.
KAIST - www.kaist.edu
FRONICS - www.fronics.com
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