Micro-LED is considered an emerging display technology with significant potential for high resolution, brightness, and energy efficiency in display applications. However, its decreasing pixel size and complex manufacturing process create challenges for its integration with driving units. Recently, researchers have proposed various methods to achieve highly integrated micro-structures with driving unit. Researchers take advantage of the high performance of the transistors to achieve low power consumption, high current gain, and fast response frequency. This paper gives a review of recent studies on the new integration methods of micro-LEDs with different types of transistors, including the integration with BJT, HEMT, TFT, and MOSFET.

Optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), based on GaN-based semiconductor compounds are widely used for their advantages of long life, high reliability, and low energy consumption. The persistent challenge is integrating LED with transistors to achieve smaller size, lighter weight, higher speed, and more reliable optoelectronic integrated circuits. Here, we report monolithically and vertically integrated LED-on-FET devices fabricated on a novel GaN epitaxial structure. The designed device structure and fabrication process are simple. It also eliminates the extra area occupied by the transistor, and the shared n-GaN layer between the LED and FET reduces interconnect resistance and improves reliability. The measured threshold voltage ( $\textit{V}_{\text{Th}}$ ) of the LED-on-FET device is extrapolated as 3.9 V at the voltage ( $\textit{V}_{\text{DD}}$ ) of 5 V, and $\textit{V}_{\text{Th}}$ decreases with the increase of $\textit{V}_{\text{DD}}$ . More importantly, the gate voltage ( $\textit{V}_{\text{GS}}$ ) shows good performance in modulated electroluminescence (EL) intensity and switching capability of the LED. The integrated LED efficiently emits light modulation with a wavelength of 440 nm at $\textit{V}_{\text{DD}}$ $=$ 9 V and $\textit{V}_{\textit{GS}}$ $=$ 4–9 V (step $=$ 1 V), which are necessary for devices in applications, such as displays and smart lighting. This epitaxy structure and integration scheme is promising in achieving large-scale optoelectronic integrated circuits, such as the next-generation micro-LED and nano-LED with super compact integrated drivers.

A key challenge in realizing ultrahigh-resolution displays is the efficient preparation of ultrasmall-sized (USS) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Today, GaN-based LEDs are mainly prepared through dry etching processes. However, it is difficult to achieve efficient and controllable etching of USS LED with high aspect ratios, and LED sidewalls will appear after etching, which will have a negative impact on the device itself. Herein, a method for preparing USS LED based on GaN epitaxial wafers is reported (on two types of wafers, i.e., with p-GaN fully activated and unactivated). F⁻ions are injected into the intentionally exposed areas on the two types of wafers to achieve device isolation. The area under the micro-/nano-sized protective masks (0.5, 0.8, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 10 µm wide Ni/Au stripes) are the LED lighting areas. The LED on the p-GaN unactivated wafer (UAW) requires further activation. The Ni/Au mask not only serves as the p-electrode of LED but also Ni as a hydrogen (H) removing metal covering the surface of p-GaN UAW that can desorb H from a Mg element in the film at relatively low temperatures, thereby achieving the selective activation of LED lighting areas. Optoelectronic characterization shows that micro-/nano-sized LED arrays with individual-pixel control were successfully fabricated on the two types of wafers. It is expected that the demonstrated method will provide a new way toward realizing ultrahigh-resolution displays. Analyzing the changes in the current flowing through LED (before and after selective activation) on the F⁻injected p-GaN UAW, it is believed that depositing H removing metal on p-GaN UAW could possibly realize the device array through the selective activation only (i.e., without the need for ion implantation), offering a completely new insight.