Case Study
eMagin relies on Rogue Valley Microdevices to fabricate precision masks for its ultra-high-brightness OLED microdisplays
How a decade-long foundry partnership built on collaboration, silicon nitride quality, and processing rigor enables the brightest OLED-on-silicon microdisplays on the market.
From field emission displays to America’s OLED microdisplay leader
Founded in 1993 by Gary Jones in North Carolina, eMagin began as a field emission display (FED) company at a time when display technologies were evolving rapidly.
Within a few years the company relocated to IBM’s East Fishkill, NY campus—a move that positioned it closer to advanced manufacturing and technical resources, where it still operates today. Amal Ghosh joined in 1995 and has played a key role in the company’s evolution and growth over the decades.
Today Ghosh serves as eMagin’s CEO. He describes the evolution from developing FEDs to pioneering Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) microdisplays after identifying a unique licensing opportunity with Eastman Kodak Company.
With OLED technology, each pixel emits its own light—self-emissive—when current passes through organic, carbon-based thin films. Unlike LCDs, they need no backlight, enabling deeper blacks, higher contrast, and thinner, flexible screens at lower power.
Over the years eMagin’s microdisplays have advanced dramatically in brightness, color, and resolution. The company holds more than 90 patents, including its proprietary Direct Patterning Display (dPd™) technology, and is now America’s leading producer of OLED microdisplays.
eMagin’s microdisplays may be small—the image diagonal is typically one inch or less—but they are precise and powerful. Because they’re viewed indirectly, optical systems magnify the image to deliver compact, high-resolution visuals in headsets, serving military, medical, industrial, and consumer users, from fighter pilots to ophthalmic surgeons. In 2023 eMagin was acquired by Samsung Display Company, and the two now work together to transform how the world consumes information.
Why MEMS matters to eMagin
eMagin’s dPd™ technology eliminates color filters by directly patterning RGB OLED emitters through silicon nitride masks—the breakthrough behind its industry-leading brightness.
MEMS-type patterning on silicon—not metal masks
This approach uses microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) patterning on silicon wafers rather than metal masks. While conceptually similar to a traditional shadow mask, it enables far greater precision—supporting smaller pixel geometries and higher performance in OLED displays.
eMagin’s high-brightness technology is currently unique in the market, and Rogue Valley Microdevices’ silicon nitride mask technology is playing a critical role in enabling it through precise submicron alignment and patterning—sub-micron registration in a thermal evaporator that a conventional metal shadow mask cannot match.
Why Rogue Valley Microdevices
eMagin needed a MEMS foundry that could handle low volumes with exceptionally high precision and quality—exactly where the large foundries weren’t interested.
The large foundries weren’t interested in working with eMagin because the product volume was small. Rogue Valley Microdevices (RVM) was different: a foundry built to partner closely at low volume and high mix without compromising on precision.
That partnership has now been in place for more than a decade. All of eMagin’s dPd products are based on RVM’s masks today—work that demands submicron alignment in a thermal evaporator and high-precision processing methods.
Low volume, high precision
A collaborative model that iterates quickly using proprietary processes—sized for a high mix of products rather than mass commodity runs.
ITAR-registered foundry
As a supplier to the U.S. military, ITAR compliance was essential. RVM is an ITAR-registered MEMS foundry, supporting national-security and foreign-policy requirements.
Dual-fab resilience
Strategically located fabs deliver manufacturing excellence and supply-chain resilience across the United States.
- Medford, Oregon — headquarters and primary MEMS fabrication
- Palm Bay, Florida — second fab for added capacity and redundancy
Looking to the future
As eMagin advances OLED microdisplay technology, it relies on Rogue Valley Microdevices as a trusted partner for the precision and consistency required at the leading edge of performance.
With RVM’s 300 mm-capable MEMS fab coming online, eMagin anticipates additional advantages—including access to next-generation manufacturing capabilities and improved economies of scale through higher device output per wafer.
As a subsidiary of Samsung Display Company, eMagin is one of the few companies capable of producing high-resolution OLED-on-silicon microdisplays at scale while sustaining long-term technological leadership. Through its advanced mask capabilities and upcoming 300 mm fab, RVM remains a critical enabler of that progress.
Fabricating the Future
From concept to commercialization, built on precision and trust.
Medford, OR 97504
541‑774‑1900
sales@roguevalleymicro.com
roguevalleymicrodevices.com