We are pleased to provide this sample of the ... - Veritas et Visus

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The goal of this newsletter is to bring subscribers the most comprehensive review of recent 

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Flexible Substrate 

Veritas et Visus October 2007 Vol 3 No 5 

Hussein Chalayan, p7 Sharp, p15 Kent Displays, p43 Cornell University, p11 

Letter from the publisher: There’s Indium in them ‘thar hills… by Mark Fihn 2 

News from around the world 4 

Organic Electronics Conference and Exhibition 2007, September 24-26, Frankfurt, Germany 29 

Phillip Hill covers this Cintelliq organized event with presentations from ITRI, National Chung Hsing University, 

National Tsing-Hua University, SAIT, Binghamton University, and Tosoh Corporation 

Flex-Stretch Electronic Workshop, September 7-9, Leuven, Belgium 33 

Mark Fihn covers presentations from Freudenberg/IMEC/TFCG Microsystems, SiliconPipe/Verdant Electronics, 

Freudenberg NOK Mechatronics, Nippon Mektron/FFD, Fraunhofer IZM, and Hightec 

Flexible Displays 2007, June 19-21, Oakland, California 38 

In this second of three reports from the Intertech/PIRA-organized conference, Phillip Hill covers presentations 

from ipCapital Group, Honeywell, Arizona State University, Palo Alto Research Center, and Innos 

Society for Information Display 2007 Symposium, May 20-25, Long Beach, California 43 

Flexible displays were high on the agenda at SID this year with around 50 papers spread across a dozen 

sessions. In this third report, Phillip Hill covers presentations from Kent Displays, Hong Kong University of 

Science and Technology/Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Corning, DuPont, and ITRI/ Cheng Kung University 

Smart Fabrics 2007, May 7-9, Washington DC 48 

In this third report from the Intertech/PIRA-organized event, Mark Fihn covers presentations from 

JFMagic/Exmovere, Philips, Textronics, Milliken, Interactive Wear, Future Shape and Foster-Miller 

Industry Forum on Plastics Electronics, April 24, Chicago, Illinois 51 

Phillip Hill’s third report on this one-day conference on printed electronics covers presentations from GSI 

Technologies, Add-Vision, Optomec, Honeywell, Novalia, and Polyera 

Printed Electronics Europe 2007, April 17-18, Cambridge, UK 55 

In this second of three reports on the IDTechEx-organized event, Phillip Hill covers presentations from 

Arizona State University, Aveso, Enfucell, Kodak, and Leeds Lithium Power Limited 

The Flexible Substrate is focused on bringing news and commentary about the activities of the companies and 

technologies related to the development of flexible substrates for the displays industry. The Flexible Substrate is 

published electronically 10 times annually by Veritas et Visus, 3305 Chelsea Place, Temple, Texas, USA, 76502. 

Phone: +1 254 791 0603. http://www.veritasetvisus.com 

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Mark Fihn mark@veritasetvisus.com 

Managing Editor Phillip Hill phill@veritasetvisus.com 

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Contributors: Lawrence Gasman, Peter Harrop, David Lieberman, Jutta Rasp, Bart 

Vandevelde, Chris Williams 

Subscription rate: US$47.99 annually. Single issues: US$7.99 each. Hard copy subscriptions are available upon 

request, at a rate based on location and mailing method. Copyright 2007 by Veritas et Visus. All rights reserved. 

Veritas et Visus disclaims any proprietary interest in the trade marks or names of others.

Veritas et Visus Flexible Substrate October 2007 

Ghim Wei Ho, p4 JFMagic, p48 Discovery Museum, p25 FDC, p55 

Interview with Craig Cruikshank from cintelliq 59 

Interview with Adam Laubach from GSI 63 

Interview with Mike Thwaites from Plasma Quest 66 

The huge impact of printed transistors by Peter Harrop 70 

Silicon inks for electronics by Lawrence Gasman 72 

ILEDs: Placeholders for OLED lamps? by David Lieberman 74 

Smart Technology – Smart OLED – Smart Content? by Jutta Rasp 76 

The Last Word: Bring on November! by Chris Williams 77 

Display Industry Calendar 78 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


recent concerns about scarce supplies of ITO, I figured there would suddenly be a huge clamor to fully develop 

these alternative technologies. But it doesn’t seem to be the case. Several LCD manufacturers have advised me that 

of course they are looking at alternative technologies, but that ITO performance has not yet been equaled, and even 

with a 10-fold increase in ITO pricing, since very little ITO is actually used per LCD, it’s inconsequential. 

Brian O’Neill, who is the indium materials manager at AIM Specialty, a company that makes sputter targets, was 

very helpful in explaining the dynamics of the indium market. He identified several factors that influence indium 

pricing: 

• Indium is a thinly-traded metal, such that pricing can be very volatile. News about a single mine, or 

manipulative efforts by a single trader can heavily influence short term pricing. 

• Indium is a by-product of zinc mining. If zinc demand goes down, then the supply of indium drops. 

• There is no economic sense to mining indium – it is a “minor element” – and dependent on the fate of 

zinc mining. So, a couple 

years ago, when a French 

zinc mine closed, one of the 

consequences was a rapid 

increase in the price of 

indium. Today, however, 

Indium pricing: 1995 – July 2007 

demand for zinc is 

climbing; hence the price of 

indium is dropping. 

I suggested to Brian that I’d read 

reports that the earth’s supply of 

indium was likely to run out in a 

few years, to which he quickly 

advised that there is plenty of 

supply still in the ground. “The 

Brian O’Neill, AIM Specialty Materials 

total global supply of indium is similar to that of silver. We’ve been mining silver for centuries, but we’ve only 

been using indium for past two or three decades. Quite simply, indium is not a scarce rare metal, and there is 

nothing to suggest that we are going to run out”… He went on to explain: 

• There’s currently more indium wasted than is produced. 

• ITO sputter targets, for example, currently have very low utilization rates, (less than 35%). 

• As a result, the current market is an upside-down market – more indium is currently made from recycled 

material than is mined from the ground. 

• And considering that zinc has been mined for centuries, there are huge amounts of indium available by 

simply recycling the waste from previous zinc mining. 

• Moreover, relatively few of the zinc producers today even bother to extract indium. 

• And to date, there has been very little effort to really go out and find additional sources of indium. 

Bottom line, we’re not going to run out of indium any time soon. Gold prospectors for centuries (and again today) 

have held high hopes that metal prices would stay high and that they would find the mother lode. But as prices 

increase, new ways to get precious metals are developed, and the prices drop. The same will be true for indium. 

While there may be many good reasons to develop alternatives to ITO in the displays industry that are related to 

performance, it seems unlikely that supply/demand factors will play a long-term role in driving demand for 

alternative transparent electrodes. So, despite the recent hype, unless such alternative technologies really offer 

improved transparency, sheet resistivity, flexibility, or manufacturability, or something else, it seems that ITO is 

likely to be the dominant technology used in most display technologies for the foreseeable future… 

http://www.veritasetvisus.com 3


News from around the world 

compiled by Phillip Hill and Mark Fihn 

Just for fun… 

OK. These fascinating images aren’t really related to flexible substrates, but might spark some thoughts 

nevertheless. As creative people do more and more with organic electronics and lighting effects, it’s quickly 

recognizable that humanity still has a long, unknown creative genius in front of us. 

On the left, obviously, is an “organic keyboard”, which will no doubt blossom into something better than the NTSC 

color gamut... On the right is a novel nano-structure fabricated by Ph.D. student Ghim Wei Ho, whose Ph.D. is 

focused on understanding the potential device aspects of extraordinary structures like this one. 

On the left is the stunning “Mirror Ball”, a sculpture by artist Michael Trainor, a lighting show in Blackpool, 

England that lasts approximately 15 minutes as a backdrop for special events. The light show is comprised of not just 

the Mirror Ball but also the surrounding pedestrian areas, enabling a high level of interaction with public. The light 

show incorporates six moving headlights that would normally only be found indoors within nightclub environments 

and stage shows. On the right, Eric Darnell designed a boomerang embedded with LEDs that not only can be used at 

night, but enables some amazing photo opportunities. 



LumiGram adds to luminous clothing line 

France-based LumiGram recently introduced several new custom clothing products based on their specialty 

luminous fabric. The technology weaves plastic optical fibers alongside synthetic fibers, forming a luminous fabric 

without customary problems of heat and electricity. Power comes from traditional batteries (rechargeable or 

disposable) or AC adapter plugged into the wall. Unlike standard optical fibers, the fiber optic fabric emits light 

along the full length of the fibers. While several colors are available, the most common and the most luminous 

colors are blue, red, green and white). The luminous fabric can be hand washed with water up to 70°C and natural 

soap (the battery must be removed prior to washing). While several colors are available, the most common and the 

most luminous colors are blue, red, green and white). In addition to clothing, LumiGram’s products include 

pillows, tablecloths, and accessories. http://www.lumigram.com 



FlashWear develops sensor-based T-shirts 

A number of T-shirts have been introduced recently with electroluminescent panels that react to the environment in 

some way or another. The T-Qualizer shirts are now available in a variety of styles, with an embedded graphic 

equalizer that reacts to the noises around it. The flexible EL panel reacts to an audio sensor and then flashes in 

multiple colors to the beat of the music. FlashWear recently introduced a woman’s version of the T-Qualizer with a 

heart-shaped equalizer. A somewhat different approach was recently introduced by ThinkGeek, called the WiFi 

Detector, in which the EL panel reacts to the strength of nearby WiFi hot spots. The glowing bars on the front of 

the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding WiFi signal strength fluctuates. The shirts all run on four AAA 

batteries that are hidden in an inside pocket. The T-Qualizer shirts are available for about $39, while ThinkGeek is 

promoting the WiFi Detector Shirt for $29.99. For washing, the panels are removable. http://www.flashwear.com 

Picard introduces solar travel bags 

Picard, a Germany-based high-end bag company recently launched their Fall/Winter 2007 bag collection including 

three models with solar-power charging functionality for the environmentally-minded traveler. The solar panels 

charge an integrated lithium ion battery that charges to 4500mAh, enough to charge a notebook PC. Unfortunately, 

the conversion factor is not so good, as a full charge requires about 21 hours in the sun. The battery can be charged 

in about 5 hours via a car adapter. Picard charges a hefty fee for the feature - the Picard Solar Messenger and 

Business Backpack goes for $1,100 and the Solar Trolley for $1,375. http://www.marc-picard.de 



Hussein Chalayan designs Sparkling Crystal Dress 

In early October, Hussein Chalayan surprised the audience at the Paris Fashion Week with a showing of 

“Technology Meets High Fashion”, showcasing a Sparkling Crystal Dress. Rather than featuring models on the 

runway, however, Chalayan bent the rules by airing a short movie. The Crystal Dress uses hundreds of servo motor 

driven tiny lasers diodes. The laser diodes are integrated into the garments, illuminating strategically positioned 

Swarovski crystals, not only as part of the garment, but also then extending the light beam beyond the dress into 

space. The effect is an explosion of laser beams and light effects the make the crystal look like “living, flowing 

lava”. Moritz Waldemeyer was the technical creator of the dress. One reviewer wrote, “The result is a stunning 

light/laser show radiated from the dress that changes continuously the light effects and reflections with the 

movement of the wearer of the dress.” http://www.husseinchalayan.com 

A collaboration between designer Hussein Chalayan and technology guru Moritz Waldemeyer resulted in the 

Sparkling Crystal Dress. A video about the creation of the dress can be seen at: 

http://www.swarovskisparkles.tv/video/fashion/spring-summer-08/paris/hussein-chalayan-making/ 

Hui-Zong Chen shows off concept digital yoga mat 

The Yanko Design Group recently showed off an 

intriguing concept from Hui-Zong Chen. Chen developed 

a conceptual digital yoga mat with speakers and 

streaming video. The idea behind this combination of 

technologies is so that people can attend yoga classes 

from anywhere, utilizing the streaming video that plays 

right on the mat. In theory, the yoga enthusiasts can even 

video-conference with friends. One commentator noted a 

paradoxical aspect to this concept, in that it also means 

that it would enable users to actually exercise less by 

saving themselves the effort associated with attending the 

yoga class. http://www.yankodesign.com 

Color Kinetics introduces Terrarium project in New 



York City 

Color Kinetics, recently acquired by Philips, is showing their Terrarium project, a permanent, site-specific public 

art project that reflects the evolution of TriBeCa – a neighborhood constantly in flux. The project features a light 

design in the lobby of a New York City landmark building built in 1881, enabled by Color Kinetics LED lighting 

systems. Shifting patterns of light radiate from an assortment of acrylic bubbles mounted on the walls. Visualized 

by artist Grimanesa Amorós of Amorós Studio, the installation was intended to inspire reflection. Illuminating the 

acrylic bubbles are strands of iColor Flex SLX, a flexible LED-based strand that can generate countless colors and 

effects without the constraints of fixture size, shape or space. Each LED strand has 50 individually controllable tricolor 

nodes that are driven by Color Kinetics proprietary Chromasic technology, which allows each node to 

generate over 64 billion color combinations. The strands are mounted along the wall with an acrylic bubble placed 

over each LED-based node. Using iPlayer 2, a multiple show storage and playback system, and ColorPlay, light 

show authoring software, Amorós was able to program the Terrarium display in a few days. The DMX-based 

control system, which allows simple authoring and playback, removes the time and guesswork associated with 

bringing intricate light shows to life. Amorós said that Terrarium will inspire the community of TriBeCa for years 

to come. http://www.colorkinetics.com 

Yeon-shin Seung conceptualizes portable DVD player with flexible OLED 

Yanko Design recently showcased Yeon-shin Seung’s portable DVD player (which the design house unfortunately 

dubbed a “PDP”). The device is comprised of a candy-bar shape that twists open to let you insert a DVD on one 

side, and to unroll a flexible OLED on the other. http://www.yankodesign.com 



FlexiDis Project shows progress with EPLaR process 

The website for the European FlexiDis Project is newly showing off an image 

that demonstrates continued progress related to their ElectroPhoretic Laser 

Release (EPLaR) process. The amorphous silicon TFT array was made on 

polyimide and glass at the Thales-LCD factory near Grenoble, with laser 

release at Philips Applied Technologies. The OLED was deposited by CEA- 

LETI, thin film encapsulation by Applied Materials, and the electronics were 

furnished by Thomson Germany. The accompanying photo is of an OLED 

flexible display made by the EPLaR process shown immediately after the 

laser release process. www.flexidis-project.org 

CMO announces investments in OLED and LED subsidiaries 

Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) recently announced it will make additional investments in its OLED subsidiary 

Chi Mei EL Corporation (CMEL), and a newly formed LED LCD subsidiary, Chi Mei Lighting, of NT$600 and 

NT$595 million, respectively, according to a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. http://www.cmo.com.tw 

NEDO contracts OLED lighting development to Matsushita, Idemitsu, and Tazmo 

An independent administrative institution, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization 

(NEDO), contracted out the development of technology for OLED lighting as one of its fiscal 2007 projects to 

Matsushita Electric Works Ltd., Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. and Tazmo Co. Ltd. The contracted companies aim to 

commercialize the technology by March 2010. http://www.nedo.go.jp/english 

MIT scientists develop Photonic Gel Films that hold promise for display devices 

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently demonstrated that by alternating layers of two 

different polymers – one rigid and glassy, the other soft and easily swollen with liquid or vapor – they can create 

photonic gel crystals that can be tuned to reflect light of many different colors across the visible and near-infrared 

spectrum. The MIT research, reported in the Oct. 21 online issue of Nature Materials, demonstrate the degree to 

which these photonic materials are tunable through changes in the soft layer’s thickness and index of refraction. 

The responsiveness of the photonic crystals makes them likely candidates for active components of display, sensory 

or telecommunication devices. In one example, the researchers show very large, reversible optical changes by 

varying the salt content of a water 

solution in which these films are 

dipped. Multicolor patterns can be 

made by sequential coating of films, 

with the color of each region 

depending on the degree to which 

their molecules are chemically 

interconnected. The National Science 

Foundation funded the research in 

2003 through a three-year grant 

aimed at creating new nanomaterials 

that are tunable through magnetic, 

chemical or other techniques. 

Following the discovery of intriguing 

new effects involving the interaction 

of light and sound in the materials, 

the grant was extended for two years 

through a “special creativity award.” 

http://www.nsf.gov 

MIT researchers Edwin Thomas and Joseph Walish created photonic gel 

crystals that can be tuned to emit light of different colors across the visible 

and near-infrared spectrum. The responsiveness of the photonic crystals 

makes them likely candidates for components of display, sensory or 



Researchers from the University of Surrey enhance polymer luminescence 

One solution to improve the lifetime of organic-based solution-processable devices that has been investigated is 

incorporating carbon nanotubes in the polymer to form a composite. These “inorganics-in-organics” hybrid 

composites add many new dimensions and functionality to traditional organic films. However, the addition of the 

carbon nanotubes typically comes at a cost. For example, in light emitting materials, the presence of the CNTs 

reduces the emission from the composite, due to quenching of charge carriers at the nanotubes. This quenching 

reduces the emission efficiency of the devices. Researchers at the Advanced Technology Institute of the University 

of Surrey, in collaboration with researchers from China and the USA, recently demonstrated that this quenching 

effect is not an unavoidable problem. In fact, they demonstrate a 100-fold increase in the light emission from a 

nylon polymer sample, by incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). This increase in lightemission 

only occurred when they acid treated the MWCNTs prior to inclusion in the polymer. They propose that 

this increase is due to a novel energy transfer mechanism, from the acid-damaged surface of the MWCNT to the 

emitting sites in the polymer. In addition to the enhanced light-emission, the study also demonstrates that the 

MWCNT produced an improvement in the stability of the polymer to light-induced degradation. Professor Ravi 

Silva, Director of the Advanced Technology Institute states: “The mere fact that now we can have a predictable 

organic-nanotube hybrid composite, with enhanced properties should open the door for many new applications. The 

enhancement in the luminescence properties bodes well a new generation of organic devices that could potentially 

reach commercially viable figures of merit for large-scale production. We are very excited with these initial 

results.” http://www.ati.surrey.ac.uk 

University of Buffalo scientists deposit novel metal oxide thin films on substrates 

University at Buffalo chemists have developed a novel way to grow chemically pure, zinc oxide thin films 

characterized by dense, bristle-like nanostructures and a new method for depositing them on temperature-sensitive 

substrates, including polymers, plastics and tapes. The recently published research may make possible the 

deposition of versatile zinc oxide films onto flexible surfaces, enabling the development of more efficient solar 

cells, liquid-crystal displays, chemical sensors and optoelectronic devices. High-quality zinc oxide thin films are 

versatile and can be fabricated into many shapes, including films, nanorods and nanoparticles. However, there is a 

drawback: they usually are deposited at high temperatures, which can damage or even melt the substrate they are 

coating. The UB researchers grow the thin films by first reacting 

zinc metal and oxygen in the presence of a high power, electrical 

arc discharge. The method they developed, called “pulsed arc 

molecular beam deposition” (PAMBD), strikes a discharge 

between two pure zinc rods. The pure zinc metal is vaporized 

and reacts completely with an oxygen gas pulse to create 

chemically zinc oxide molecules. The gaseous zinc oxide is then 

sprayed through a tiny aperture, a process that results in cooling 

the expanding gas down to about 50 degrees Kelvin, allowing the 

beam of now cold metal oxides to safely coat even the most 

temperature-sensitive surfaces. “This is an enabling technology 

that will allow for the deposition of thin films on batteries, credit 

cards, on any flexible surface you have,” Garvey said, adding 

that the UB process can use any metal and a wide array of 

different metal oxides can be produced easily. Since it is a pulsed 

technique, the thickness of the resulting films can be precisely 

controlled. The chemists now are working to use the thin films 

and the deposition technique to create nanorods and spintronic 

devices. http://www.buffalo.edu 

Chemist James Garvey from the University of 

Buffalo has developed a way to deposit metal 

oxide onto a polymeric substrate, as shown 

in this scanning electron microscope image, 

magnified 30,000 times. 

Cornell University researchers discover nano-device that emits light 



In mid-October, nanotechnologists from Cornell University announced the discovery of a material that holds 

promise for producing light-emitting, flexible semiconductors. An interdisciplinary team had long studied the 

molecular semiconductor ruthenium tris-bipyridine. For many reasons, including its ability to allow electrons and 

holes (spaces where electrons were before they moved) to pass through it easily, the material has the potential to be 

used for flexible light-emitting devices. Sensing, microscopy and flat-panel displays are among its possible 

applications. The researchers set out to 

understand the fundamental physics of the 

material - that is, what happens when it 

encounters an electric field, both at the 

interfaces and inside the film. By fabricating 

a device out of the ruthenium metal complex 

that was spin-coated onto an insulating 

substrate with pre-patterned gold electrodes, 

the scientists were able to use electron force 

microscopy to measure directly the electric 

field of the device. Essential to the effort was 

the ability to pattern the ruthenium complex 

using photolithography, a technique not 

normally used with such materials and one 

that took the researchers more than three 

Top view of the ruthenium trisbipyridine 

light-emitting 

device created by Cornell 

University researchers. The 

ruthenium metal complex is 

represented by red spheres, 

and counter ions are 

represented by green spheres. 

The material is sandwiched 

between two gold electrodes. 

Also visible is the probe of the 

electron force microscope used 

to measure the electric field of 

the device. 

years to perfect, using the knowledge of experts in nano-fabrication, materials, and chemistry. The patterning 

worked by laying down a gold electrode and a polymer called parylene. By depositing the ruthenium complex on 

top of the parylene layer and filling in an etched gap between the gold electrodes, the researchers were then able to 

peel the parylene material off mechanically, leaving a perfect device. http://www.cornell.edu 

BioFlex Project shows wireless link designed into stretchable, submersible design 

In the frame of the BioFlex project, a wireless link was designed in the stretchable technology. Due to the inductive 

power transmission between the external coil and the embedded coil, a LED is burning. This application also 

demonstrates the possibility to make stretchable circuits water resistant. The electronic design of the wireless link 

and the driving circuit was done by KULeuven ESAT-MICAS, the technology for the water resistant circuit was 

developed by TFCG Microsystems. http://tfcg.elis.ugent.be/projects/stretchable.html 

On the left is an LED-powered by inductive coil embedded in PDMS; the image on the right is the same 

inductive coil with the LED also embedded in the PDMS. Both devices are fully submerged. 



Georgia Institute of Technology develops new nanolithography technique 

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new technique for nanolithography that is 

extremely fast and capable of being used in a range of environments including air (outside a vacuum) and liquids. 

Researchers have demonstrated the technique, known as thermochemical nanolithography, as a proof of concept. 

The technique may allow industry to produce a variety of nanopatterned structures, including nanocircuits, at a 

speed and scale that could make their manufacture commercially viable. The research, which has potential 

applications for fields ranging from the electronics industry to nanofluidics to medicine, appeared earlier this year 

in the journal Nano Letters. Using an atomic force microscope (AFM), researchers heat a silicon tip and run it over 

a thin polymer film. The heat from the tip induces a chemical reaction at the surface of the film. This reaction 

changes the film’s chemical reactivity and transforms it from a hydrophobic 

substance to a hydrophilic one that can stick to other molecules. The technique is 

extremely fast and can write at speeds faster than millimeters per second. That’s 

orders of magnitude faster than the widely used dip-pen nanolithography (DPN), 

which routinely clocks at a speed of 0.0001 millimeters/s. Using the new 

technique, researchers were able to pattern with dimensions down to 12 

nanometers in width in a variety of environments. Other techniques typically 

require the addition of other chemicals to be transferred to the surface or the 

presence of strong electric fields. TCNL doesn’t have these requirements and can 

be used in humid environments outside a vacuum. By using an array of AFM tips 

developed by IBM, TCNL also has the potential to be massively scalable, 

allowing users to independently draw features with thousands of tips at a time 

rather than just one. http://www.gatech.edu 

The initials for the Georgia 

Institute of Technology written 

with the thermochemical 

nanolithography technique. 

PARC develops novel sensor layers 

As flexible electronics find their way into new applications, manufacturers are faced with problems that include 

high-cost processing, brittle materials, large-area scaling and more. Active-matrix amorphous silicon image sensor 

arrays are the workhorses for large-area sensor applications such as X-ray imaging. The problem is that the thicker 

the sensor layer is, the more susceptible it is to cracking and breaking. Currently these arrays all are fabricated on 

glass, but a group of researchers at Palo Alto Research Center in California, has been working with sensor arrays 

fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition 

on glass and on flexible polyethylene naphthalate 

substrates, reports Photonics.com. According to William S. 

Wong, senior member of the research staff at the center, the 

goal was to get the backplane to perform to specifications 

normally seen for high-temperature devices on glass. An 

added challenge was to keep the sensor’s dark current from 

increasing as the thickness decreased. Tse Nga Ng, 

postdoctoral researcher at the center, indicated that, 

because thinner sensor films could lead to increased current 

leakage, the problem became finding a film thick enough so 

as not to jeopardize performance but thin enough to reduce 

mechanical stress. This current research is in its last year as 

a National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced 

Technology Plan project in which the researchers worked 

with Varian Medical Systems of Palo Alto to develop novel sensor materials. The next step in this research is to 

develop large-area image sensors for cargo scanning, with the goal being to reduce the cost of large-area panels that 

will be used in US ports of entry. http://www.parc.xerox.com 



Anvik works with UIUC to pattern ITO in fewer steps 

A team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and from Anvik Corp. of Hawthorne, 

New York recently demonstrated a fabrication technique that inscribes patterns onto thin films of ITO in fewer 

steps than are typically used in traditional lithography. The group used laser-driven photo-ablation and subsequent 

lift-off of an underlying photoresist layer to pattern 

the ITO. In traditional lithography, a photoresist 

coating is exposed so that a desired pattern is 

transferred onto it. Subsequent steps involve 

developing and, possibly, baking the resist to remove 

it from unwanted areas and to prepare it for further 

processing, etching the underlying film not covered 

by the resist and then removing the resist itself. 

Photo-ablation, in contrast, requires a single step for 

patterning because exposure to high-energy photons 

removes a polymer wherever the fluence is high 

enough. The technique has been used in a variety of 

areas, but processing problems including excessive 

line roughness and high fluence requirements have 

limited its application. To address these issues, the 

group turned to the lift-off technique. Here, a polymer 

film is freed from a substrate; the lift-off removes the 

film and anything on top of it as well. The technique 

will be most useful for high-volume manufacturing, 

where the saving of several steps could have a 

pronounced effect. http://www.anvik.com 

In a novel thin-film patterning process, a resist that covers the 

entire area (left) is photo-ablated with an excimer laser 

(middle). Indium tin oxide is then deposited over everything. 

When the resist is removed via a lift-off process, the indium 

tin oxide (ITO) remains where the resist had been photoablated 

(right). TFT = thin-film transistor. 

NanoMarkets says silicon nano-crystal and printed silicon electronics markets to reach $2.5 billion by 2015 

A new report from NanoMarkets says that silicon nanocrystals and printed forms of silicon will transform 

electronics over the next decade with new memory, logic, photovoltaic and optoelectronic products enabled by this 

new technology reaching $2.5 billion in revenue by 2015. The report states that this new silicon revolution enables 

flexible and large electronics for the first time, challenging the historical role of organic materials. Key points from 

the report include: 

• Ink jet, transfer printing and other forms of printing silicon are expected to bring new levels of 

functionality and performance to printed RFID and display backplanes. Sales of printed silicon thin film 

transistor products are expected to reach $1.9 billion by 2015. 

• The new silicon electronics and photonics will create important new opportunities to sell high margin 

nanocrystalline materials, precursors, and inks – estimated to reach $529 million by 2015. 

• Computer memories made with nanocrystalline silicon floating gates will be half the size of 

conventional flash memories, use less power and cost less. Silicon nanocrystals could also serve as the 

basis for new optical memories that could help speed up next-generation optical networks. Revenues 

generated by silicon crystal enabled memories will reach approximately $260 million by 2015. 

• Solar panels created using nanocrystalline silicon - some of them printed with silicon inks -- are 

expected to offer efficiencies higher than any current commercial photovoltaic cells can offer. By 2015 

solar panels created using this technology are expected to reach sales levels of around $245 million. 

Firms mentioned in the report include: Aixtron, Applied Materials, Atmel, CEA-LETI, Dow Corning, Evergreen 

Solar, Freescale, Innovalight, Infineon, Intel, Kovio, Luxtera, Micron, Mitsui, Motorola, NanoGram, Plastic Logic, 

Polymer Vision, QinetiQ, Samsung, Seiko-Epson, Semprius, and United Solar Ovonic. http:///www.nanomarkets.net 



NanoMarkets to bring out new OPV report 

“Materials Markets for Thin-Film and Organic Photovoltaics” is the upcoming NanoMarkets report, slated for 

release in Q1’08, and will cover the markets for materials used in thin-film and organic photovoltaics namely, 

amorphous silicon, nano-silicon inks, CdTe, CIGS and a variety of organic polymers, dyes, etc. These materials are 

covered in a recent study published by NanoMarkets titled “Thin-Film, Organic and Printable Photovoltaics 

Markets: 2007-2015” that looked at the entire thin-film/organic PV market. However, the intent of the new report is 

to extend the analysis of the recent report and delve deeper into the advantages, disadvantages, research directions, 

and manufacturability associated with PV materials. The report will also include profiles of firms involved in 

developing and manufacturing thin film/organic PV materials and detailed eight-year forecasts of the materials 

markets in value and volume terms with break outs by application and materials. http:///www.nanomarkets.net 

NanoMarkets brings out report on thin-film batteries 

NanoMarkets recently published “Thin-Film and Printed Batteries Markets: 2007-2014”. Many of the actual or 

envisioned applications for printable and organic electronics require their own power sources to make them 

function. Cases in point include active RFID tags, point-of-purchase displays, active cosmetic/drug delivery 

patches, low-cost medical diagnostic products, remote sensor arrays and smart cards. A growing number of firms 

are looking for thin-film batteries that can be printed. http:///www.nanomarkets.net 

DisplaySearch report highlights OLED penetration 

With the emergence of the highly anticipated AMOLED displays, this segment continues to develop, experiencing 

unit shipment growth of 4% Q/Q and 24% Y/Y, hitting the 19.8 million mark in Q2’07, according to the latest 

report from DisplaySearch. On a revenue basis, OLEDs hit $123.4M in Q2’07, down only 1% Q/Q and up 13% 

Y/Y, even as ASPs fell 9% Q/Q. Over the last year, main display shipments were up 16%, sub-displays up 77%, car 

audio displays up 35% and industrial displays up 295%. The report’s findings also show that AMOLED displays 

are beginning to impact the market, as Samsung SDI moves into full production, and Chi Mei and LG begin to ship 

qualification units. Furthermore, Sony is expected to begin shipping their highly anticipated 11-inch AMOLED TV 

display in Q4’07. The top five OLED manufacturers shown in Table 1 accounted for a combined market share of 

85.4%. For the first time in several quarters, there were two new entrants in the PMOLED market, Visionox and 

Truly, which are both located in China. Next quarter, MED is expected to begin production of microdisplays and 

will be the first OLED competitor for eMagin. http://www.displaysearch.com 

Top Five OLED Manufacturers' Q2'07 Revenue Market Share and Growth (US$ Millions) 

Rank Company Q2'07 Revenue (US$M) Market Share Q/Q Growth Y/Y Growth 

1 Samsung SDI 33.8 27.4% 30% 50% 

2 Pioneer 24.7 20.0% -2% 62% 

3 RiTdisplay 23.0 18.6% -2% 67% 

4 LGE 22.7 18.4% -7% -17% 

5 TDK 5.6 4.5% -5% -29% 

Others 13.6 11.0% -29% -40% 

Total 123.4 100.0% -1% 13% 

Research and Markets brings out new report on polymer technology 

Research and Markets has announced the addition of “Advances in Polymer Technology” to their offering. This 

report analyzes several scientific and technological advances that have been achieved and which are leading toward 

new applications for plastics and advanced polymers. The report reviews important research efforts in polymer 

science, discusses potential commercial applications, and indicates when some potential products and processes 

will be commercially viable. Polymer research is in the fields of electronics, nanotechnology, substrate science, 

detection, optics and healthcare. http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c71413 



Launch of Plastic Electronics Technology Centre website 

The Plastic Electronics Technology Centre (PETeC) website has been launched. PETeC is a national prototyping 

institute for the development and commercialization of printed electronics. Customers of the center will be able to 

test design concepts and novel materials for a variety of products including thin film transistors (TFT) for flexible 

displays including e-paper, organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) and solid state lighting (SSL) applications. 

http://www.ukpetec.com 

USDC opens registrations for January conference 

The US Display Consortium (USDC), a public/private partnership chartered with developing the flexible 

electronics and displays industry supply chain, opened registration for its 7th annual Flexible Electronics & 

Displays Conference and Exhibition. USDC announced that the 2008 conference keynote will be delivered by Dr. 

A. Michael Andrews, vice president of research and engineering, and chief technology officer, of L-3 

Communications Corporation. USDC has enhanced the 2008 conference with a new track of academic and 

fundamental research peer-reviewed presentations from universities worldwide. The conference will be held 

January 21–24, 2008, at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak in Phoenix, Ariz. http://www.usdc.org 

IDTechEx expects record attendance for Printed Electronics USA 2007 

According to IDTechEx, with 3 weeks to the show there over 45 confirmed exhibitors and more than 400 registered 

delegates. The targeted figure of 500 delegates on the day is likely to be smashed. Record attendance has been 

achieved by featuring world first presentations, such as from Kovio, and by focusing on the application of printed 

electronics, with presentations from companies such as Hasbro and Cubic Transportation Systems that have not 

presented on such activities before. Delegates include potential users such as Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin, 

BP, Coors Brewing and Crayola. New for 2007 will be the "Printed Electronics Products" demonstration area, 

designed to show the huge range of products which are already in the market place. These will include everything 

from printed displays used already in commercial advertisement posters to commercial e-paper readers from Sony 

to cosmetic skin patches from Estee Lauder - all powered today by printed electronics. Delegates will be able to see 

what products are already in the market and how developers have achieved success - often by creating new 

markets. http://www.IDTechEx.com/peUSA 

Sharp shows off super-thin LCD for mobile applications 

Sharp Corporation has successfully developed a 2.2-inch super-thin LCD for mobile devices with a thickness of 

only 0.68 mm, the industry’s thinnest, the company says. Mobile devices such as mobile phones and digital 

cameras are rapidly becoming thinner as manufacturers strive to improve portability and offer consumers more 

stylish designs. As a result, thinner embedded components such as LCDs are also increasing in demand. In 

addition, the increase in demand for One-Seg (terrestrial digital 

broadcast) compatible handsets is leading to demands for greater 

visibility and higher image quality in displays intended for mobile 

devices. This new “Mobile Advanced Super View LCD” delivers 

superior image quality approaching that of an LCD TV thanks to a 

high contrast ratio of 2000:1, wide viewing angle of 176°, and fast 

response speed of 8 ms. http://sharp-world.com 

Sharp to take 14% stake in Pioneer 

Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp will buy about $357 million worth of new shares from Pioneer Corp and 

work with its loss-making rival in developing DVD players, car electronics and displays, reports Reuters. The deal 

is the latest move by Japan’s electronics conglomerates to form alliances or ditch unpromising businesses to try and 

keep up with deep-pocketed global rivals and respond to increasing shareholder pressure for better returns. While 

Sharp is one of the strong players in the fast-growing flat TV market, Pioneer has been losing money because it 

lacks the scale to make its products as efficiently as Matsushita Electric Industrial or LG Electronics. 



ITRI develops novel color e-book technology 

Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) Display Center developed a novel structure reflective 

single layer color cholesteric LCD display. Current commercialized electronic paper are mostly available in a single 

color, but in the past few years many manufacturers plunged into the development of full color electronic paper 

display technology. Where electrophoretic display EPD coloration has to be combined with a color filter, this 

resulted in lower brightness and contrast ratio. The traditional full color cholesteric LCD display is stacked by three 

layers of monochrome cholesteric panels, for example, Fujitsu 3-layer reflective color cholesteric LCD display 

where structural design adopted switching and reflection of various reflective layers to reach a color effect, but such 

a structure has disadvantages of difficult pixel registration, increased 

cost of the drive system and process, and enhanced difficulty of 

electrode design, and being not easy to bend. In order to solve these 

problems, ITRI developed a novel structure reflective single layer 

color cholesteric LCD display, which adopted vacuum filling or inkjet 

printing technology; red, green, blue cholesteric liquid crystals were 

cast into or sprayed on the pixel structure, then the structural package 

was done to realize a single layer color display. The overall thickness 

is more than 50% less than a traditional color cholesteric LCD display. 

The Specification of this technology is 10.4-inch, passive reflection, 

resolution of 320x240 with 512 colors and a panel thickness of 

1.4mm. http://www.itri.org.tw 

Jinke Hanlin e-book device V3 uses Vizplex EPD 

Tianjin Jinke Electronics of China announced the worldwide launch of their Hanlin ebook 

V3 based on Vizplex e-paper technology from E Ink. The worldwide release of 

Jinke’s V3 follows the successful worldwide launch of the V8 and V2 over the past 

year. The Hanlin eBook V3 offers easy operation, low power consumption with all the 

benefits of an electronic paper display and a weight of 220 g. The display, which 

utilizes Vizplex display, is 6 inches on the diagonal. The V3 will support a variety of 

content services including e-books and e-magazines, as well as a wide variety of 

content in common formats including PDF, DOC, WOLF, HTML, MP3, TXT, FB2, 

DJUV and Images. It will also support e-pub and Mobipocket formats. The V3 runs 

on LINUX OS, and open SDK to cooperators, supporting multi-language which 

includes English, Chinese, Russian, Ukraine, Turkish, French, Spanish, German, 

Bulgarian, Japanese and Korean. http://www.jinke.com.cn/english 

Les Echos first French electronic daily newspaper on iRex iLiad 

Les Echos, the French business newspaper, and iRex Technologies announced their cooperation in introducing the 

Les Echos electronic paper edition on the iRex iLiad for the French market in September. There are two different 

editions: Les Echos and AFP, updated every hour (7am – 9pm) from Monday to Friday via the WiFi delivery direct 

into the electronic paper device, without the need for a PC. http://www.irextechnologies.com 

Citala takes over Xymox Technologies’ display division 

Israel-based Citala recently completed the acquisition of Xymox Technologies’ Display Products Division, also 

known as Paneltec (Sunnyvale, California). Now an integral part of Citala’s international organization, Xymox 

Display Products will be renamed Citala US Inc. Leveraging Citala’s versatile capabilities in the flexible display 

market with Xymox’s strengths as a custom designer, manufacturer and integrator of flexible displays, this 

acquisition will further position Citala as a premium global provider of integrated flexible display solutions. The 

acquisition follows a couple of years of successful cooperation between the two companies in business, technology 

and product development. http://www.citala.com 



Bridgestone shows latest electronic paper at 0.29mm thickness 

Nikkei reports that Bridgestone developed a flexible color electronic paper with a thickness of only 0.29 mm. The 

company aims to produce it by continuous roll-to-roll processing because the e-paper employs a film substrate. The 

prototype panel was not manufactured by continuous processing, but the company is reportedly focused on the 

establishment of a roll-to-roll production system by using the equipment brought to its technical center in Kodaira, 

Tokyo. In May 2006, Bridgestone unveiled a flexible e-paper, which was a two-color display unit using electronic 

liquid powder in two colors sealed in the device. The latest e-paper is capable of displaying 4,096 full-color with 

the adoption of RGBW color filters combined with the powder. The panel was on display at FPD International 

2007 from October 24-26, along with the A3-size full-color e-paper unveiled at the same time. 

ZINK Imaging closes purchase of Konica Minolta manufacturing facility 

ZINK Imaging, the innovators behind the recently-unveiled Zero-Ink digital printing technology, officially 

completed purchase of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility from Konica Minolta Manufacturing USA 

(KMMU). ZINK Imaging plans to begin manufacturing its Zero-Ink paper at the North Carolina facility this year. 

They will also manufacture other digital imaging materials for OEM customers. ZINK Imaging originally 

announced its intent to purchase the Konica Minolta facility on June 14, 2007. The plant, located in Whitsett, North 

Carolina, is a coating and chemical mix facility originally built in 1989 for the production of a variety of imaging 

products. ZINK Imaging plans to hire the remaining employee base of approximately 60 individuals, including the 

senior management team. The patented ZINK paper is a material with dye crystals embedded inside and a 

protective polymer overcoat layer outside. Before printing, the embedded dye crystals are clear, so ZINK paper 

looks like regular white photo paper. A ZINK-enabled printer uses heat to activate and colorize these dye crystals. 

http://www.ZINK.com 

Samsung shows new 14.3-inch high resolution e-paper 

In late September, Samsung showed off its new 14.3-inch flexible electronic 

paper. Although monochrome, at 2048x1536 pixels, the solution boasts 

remarkably high resolution, tripled from what the company showed in May 

at SID. The new e-paper is only 0.3 mm thick and weighs less then 20 g. 

Samsung says it can produce the new e-paper using existing TFT LCD panel 

production lines without investing in new facilities. The device is based on 

E Ink’s electrophoretic technology. http://www.samsung.com 

memsstar Technology teams with SAFC Hitech on surface coatings 

memsstar Technology announced that it is to enter into a strategic alliance with SAFC Hitech to supply fully 

qualified memsstar SPD (surface preparation and deposition) systems with standard precursor chemical materials 

from SAFC Hitech for surface coatings on micro devices. The alliance between the two companies, both 

technology leaders for advanced microstructure and materials fabrication, will better service the emerging 

technology needs of companies involved with MEMS and nanotechnology devices, claims memsstar. Example 

applications include microfluidics to ensure hydrophobic or hydrophilic surface properties for devices such as 

inkjets or micro-needles, and medical applications where bio-compatibility is essential. Other applications such as 

moisture barriers or anti-stiction properties are required by moving micro-sensors. http://www.memsstar.com 

Sunic System and Novaled in joint development on thin film encapsulation 

Sunic System, a producer of vacuum deposition equipment for OLED, and Novaled, a provider of doping 

technology and materials for organic electronics, announced a joint development. Both partners will work together 

to build up the next generation of thin film encapsulation (TFE) tools, technologies and materials. Novaled and 

Sunic System will develop a new generation of deposition tools and organic materials to improve the deposition 

process and lifetime of TFE. http://www.novaled.com 



Vitex sells thin-film encapsulation system to major Japanese company 

On October 22, Vitex Systems announced that its equipment licensee, Advanced Neotech Systems (ANS) of Korea, 

secured a purchase order for its Guardian thin-film encapsulation system from a major Japanese customer. 

Commenting on its successes, Chyi-Shan Suen, director of sales and marketing for Vitex, said, “ANS delivered the 

first Guardian thin-film encapsulation system to Samsung SDI in 2005. ANS again successfully delivered the 

Guardian system to MicroEmissive Displays (MED) for their production line. We are pleased with this latest 

victory, which is a signal that thin-film encapsulation continues to gain broader adoption within the OLED 

industry.” http://www.ansinc.co.kr http://www.vitexsys.com 

Vitex Systems signs licensing agreement with Sunic System for its thin-film encapsulation system 

Vitex Systems announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Sunic System of Korea. The agreement 

includes a technology transfer package from Vitex to Sunic, and gives Sunic the non-exclusive rights to make and 

sell Guardian thin-film encapsulation systems, which can be used to encapsulate various electronic components and 

devices, including OLED displays, thin film solar cells and thin film batteries. While the financial terms of 

agreement were not disclosed, the license includes an upfront fee and on-going royalty payments based on tool 

sales. http://www.sunic.co.kr 

ArcelorMittal and Novaled to intensify flexible foil collaboration 

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest quality steel maker, and Novaled, OLED technology and material provider, have 

joined forces for a new OLED project. The partners have developing top-emitting OLEDs on flexible substrates for 

signage and lighting purposes since 2006. By using ArcelorMittal’s steel plates as substrates, remarkable properties 

for bendable OLED applications can be achieved. In this new collaboration Novaled contributes both its broad 

technical experience with respect to highly efficient and stable OLED device architectures as well as its material 

know-how for doped transport layers. RGB OLEDs have been processed directly on classical steel plates. The 

striking results showed that the Novaled technology enables standard steel foil acting as a reflective bottom 

electrode. http://www.novaled.com 

Leadis upgrades their AMOLED technology and IP 

In late October, Leadis announced a strategic partnership with VP Dynamics on RGBW technology for small and 

medium mobile displays. Leadis will license VP Dynamics' VPW RGBW technology for use in LCD, AM-OLED 

and other display drivers, empowering products with lower power consumption, higher resolution, better 

brightness, and better contrast. 

In a separate announcement, Leadis advised the acquisition of intellectual property from Nuelight Corporation 

designed to correct image sticking issues that can occur with the display of static content and significantly improve 

manufacturing yields in AM-OLED displays. This technology has the potential to accelerate AM-OLED market 

share gains by making it more like the visual experience and low-power advantages offered with AM-OLED 

displays. http://www.leadis.com 

MED begins volume production of polymer OLED microdisplays 

MicroEmissive Displays (MED) commenced volume production and commercial shipment of its polymer-based 

OLED microdisplays. It is also an important milestone for Vitex in its effort toward full-fledged commercialization 

of OLED displays leveraging the company’s proprietary Barix thin-film encapsulation and Barix resin system 

material. John McEachran, director of operations for MED, noted: “The thin-film encapsulation process technology 

provided by Vitex has allowed our company to take full advantage of our unique polymer OLED microdisplay 

design. Our eyescreen product packs 76,800 pixels on a tiny, 6mm diagonal, silicon chip but delivers our customers 

a superior viewing experience. We are pleased to be working with both Vitex and its partner, ANS. The leadingedge 

encapsulation technology from Vitex and excellent support surrounding ANS’s production equipment enabled 

us to meet our aggressive production ramp goals.” http://www.microemissive.com 



eMagin announces new 3DS OLED-XL microdisplay 

eMagin expects to begin shipping its 3DS OLED-XL microdisplay (800x600 pixels) in the first quarter of 2008. 

The microdisplay offers both analog and digital signal processing in a 0.44-inch display. This high-density OLEDon-silicon 

microdisplay promises an affordable, easy-to-integrate solution for many virtual imaging systems. 

Specific improvements include increased pixel uniformity, improved color gamut, on-chip temperature sensor and 

compensation, and compatibility with both analog RGB and digital video signals. http://www.emagin.com 

CMEL to expand OLED production 

Chi Mei EL Corporation (CMEL), a subsidiary of Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), announced that the company 

will invest NT$1 billion (US$30.6 million) to expand to a second OLED production line. Volume production is 

slated for 2008, said CMO president Chao-Yang Ho. The second line will house a monthly capacity of 700,000 2inch 

equivalent panels. Additionally, CMEL will introduce a 7.6-inch OLED in the second quarter, and when the 

second OLED production line starts operation, CMEL intends to introduce 11- and 12-inch panels and expects to 

offer 32-inch AMOLED panels during 2010. The company exhibited a 25-inch AMOLED panel at the FPD 

International 2007 in Japan in late October. http://www.cmel.com.tw 

Samsung SDI develops ultra-thin OLED panel with 0.25-mm thickness 

Samsung SDI developed an ultra-thin OLED panel with a thickness of 0.25 mm. The product thickness of 0.25 mm 

is the total thickness for the panel and deflecting plate, enabled by the use of a 0.05 mm glass substrate, which is 

thinner than photographic film. The 4.0-inch ultra-thin OLED prototype features a resolution of 480x272 pixels. 

The panel can be bent slightly as a result of its thinness. According to the company, the prototype panel can 

reproduce 16.7 million colors, 100% of the NTSC color gamut, a luminance of 200 cd/m 2 , a contrast ratio of 

1,000:1 and a service life of 20,000 hours. Low-temperature poly-silicon liquid crystal is used for the TFT 

backplane. The OLED device is made of low-molecular material using a top-emission structure. 

The slimness of the 0.25 mm panel allows it to be bent. The image on the right shows the glass substrate, 

which measures only 0.05 mm. Next to it is a 0.12 mm photographic film – although the comparison 

indicates the relative rigidity of the glass substrate… 

Samsung shows 14-inch OLED TV 

Samsung Electronics showed three prototype TVs based on 14-inch OLED panels at the FPD Expo in Yokohama in 

late October. Samsung’s OLED screens were designed to be manufactured using an existing TFT LCD production 

process. Samsung officials did not reveal when their OLED TV screens might be ready for mass production. 



Sony launches market’s first OLED TV 

The XEL-1 from Sony is an 11-inch display that is only 3 mm thick. The measurements of the XEL-1 are 287 x 

253 x 140 mm. Sony has put the ultra-thin display on a pedestal with a flexible arm. This latest OLED TV weighs 

two kilograms and features a resolution of 940x540 and contrast ratio of 

1,000,000:1, stated Sony. The XEL-1 was exhibited at the Sony exhibition 

booth at CEATAC Japan 2007 in October. The Sony XEL-1 has an 

integrated digital TV tuner for Japan. Other features of the Sony OLED 

TV include USB, LAN interface, 1x HDMI port, headphone plug and S- 

Force sound. Sony plans to start shipping the XEL-1 OLED TV on 

December 1st for 200,000 Yen (~$1,740). This is a very high price for an 

11 inch TV, but it is the first OLED TV that can be bought. The new 

OLED TV will last 30,000 hours, about 10 years for someone using the 

TV eight hours a day. An equivalent Sony LCD TV lasts twice that long, 

Sony said. Toshiba also plans to begin selling televisions with OLED 

screens as soon as panels are ready, according to a company 

spokeswoman. The first Toshiba OLED television sets should hit the 

market in 2009. http://www.sony.net 

UDC and LG.Philips get US army contract for development of flexible OLED displays on metal foil 

Universal Display Corporation announced that it has been awarded a $935,000 contract extension by the US Army 

Communication Electronics Research and Development Engineering Center (CERDEC). The extension builds on 

an existing Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase III grant with CERDEC for the development of 

flexible, active-matrix OLED display technology for demonstration in a prototype wrist-based communications 

device. Development efforts under the contract extension will focus on combining Universal Display’s 

phosphorescent OLED technology with LG.Philips LCD amorphous-silicon (a-Si) TFT technology. Bringing LPL, 

a leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), to the program as a development 

partner marks an important step toward the commercialization of flexible OLED display products. In May, the two 

companies showcased the world’s first high-resolution AMOLED display built on flexible metal foil. Building on 

this initial demonstration, UDC and LPL plan to work on a prototype with key design and performance 

enhancements under this program. http://www.universaldisplay.com 

Epson shows off new “black” OLED system 

Seiko Epson has developed an OLED display system capable of producing “the ultimate black”. Having resolved 

the problem of achieving long life for the device, a longstanding challenge with OLED, Epson put into operation a 

manufacturing line for small-scale production of OLED for practical applications. This new technology by Epson 

offers a new solution that makes effective use of advanced image 

representation not possible with conventional flat panel displays 

(FPD). Epson has been trying to achieve “the ultimate black”, 

since it is black that holds the key to overall image quality. 

Furthermore, the problem of early stage brightness deterioration, 

until now a major obstacle to extending the life of the device, 

was solved by improving the light-emitting materials and 

through the development of Epson’s own original element 

structure. As a result, Epson was successful in lengthening the 

life of the device to more than 50,000 hours, a level appropriate 

for practical application. Epson already installed and commenced 

operations of a development and manufacturing line that is 

capable of small-scale production at its Fujimi plant in Nagano 

prefecture, Japan. http://www.epson.com 



OLED-T develops high efficiency green phosphorescent OLED 

OLED-T announced a green phosphorescent OLED material with high efficiency. The new material called E255a 

has a high color saturation making it ideal for a broad range of product applications in single color and full color 

displays. The material also has a very high efficiency delivering high brightness at low power making it ideal for 

mobile product applications with either passive matrix or active matrix driving. The University of Hong Kong has 

manufactured OLED demonstrators using E255a and has reported a device efficiency of 40 cd/A at 1000 cd/m 2 

with a very saturated green color coordinate of (0.28, 0.64) which is wider than commercially available LCD 

products. E225a will be available for customer sampling from January 2008 and can be deposited onto any desired 

substrate by vacuum coating methods. http://www.oled-t.com 

Sumitomo Chemical completes takeover of CDT 

Sumitomo Chemical and Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) jointly announced that Sumitomo Chemical has 

completed its $285 million acquisition of CDT, by means of a merger between CDT and a wholly owned subsidiary 

of Sumitomo Chemical. The merger consideration represents a 107 percent premium over CDT’s 90-day average 

closing share price and a 95 percent premium over CDT’s closing share price of $6.15 on July 30, the last trading 

day prior to first public announcement of the acquisition. Holders of over 73% of CDT’s outstanding common 

shares approved the merger, and all customary closing conditions have now been satisfied. As a result of the 

merger, CDT's common stock will no longer be publicly traded after today and will be converted into the right to 

receive $12 per share in cash. CDT has appointed Mellon Investor Services LLC to act as paying agent for this 

transaction. http://www.cdtltd.co.uk 

CDT and Sumation announce improved lifetimes 

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) and Sumation announced substantially improved lifetime data for green and 

red P-OLED materials. Data from spin coated devices using a common cathode and interlayer material demonstrate 

lifetimes for recently developed solution-processable green and red P-OLED materials of 78,000 hours and 67,000 

hours, respectively, from an initial luminance of 1000 cd/m 2 . This is equivalent to approximately 445,000 hours and 

420,000 hours from an operating brightness of 400 cd/m 2 for these materials. These latest lifetimes represent a 60% 

and 280% increase in performance for green and red materials over results that were announced in May and March 

of this year, respectively. http://www.cdtltd.co.uk 

Organic Electronics Association gives away printed electronics demonstrators 

The Organic Electronics Association (OE-A) has presented live demonstrations of flexible organic electronic 

systems. The presentations illustrated all of the possibilities that exist with this platform technology. Additionally, 

the new edition of the OE-A brochure includes inlays with a set of printed electronics devices and interactive 

electronic paper cards. This is the first time that organic electronics are provided as a giveaway. Organic sensors, 

logic circuits, push buttons, electrochromic and OLED displays, printed conducting paths, and batteries have been 

combined to several flexible multifunctional systems. Acreo, Agfa Gevaert, BASF Future Business, COPACO, 

Fraunhofer IAP, H.C. Starck, HDM-Stuttgart, MAN Roland, Mitsubishi Polyester, Plastic Electronic, PolyIC, Thin 

Film Electronics and VARTA Microbattery are working together on this project. 

Ormecon introduces ultra-thin organic nanometal surface finish on commercial scale 

A completely new nano size surface finish was introduced by Ormecon International into the printed circuit board 

market. The thickness is only 55 nanometers, and the layer consists of a nanoparticle complex formed between the 

organic nanometal and silver (the silver only contributes less than 10%). This ultrathin layer provides a much more 

powerful oxidation protection and solderability preservation than any other established metallic finish like ENIG, 

immersion silver, immersion tin or OSP – although the established finishes are between 6 and 100 times thicker 

than this new nanofinish. According to Ormecon, several tests in PCB manufacturers and assemblers have already 

shown a superior thermal resistance and perfect solderability under lead-free multi-reflow conditions. A first 

industrial line for the deposition of the new nanofinish will be installed in Korea at Ormecon’s customer YooJin. 

The line will go into operation in the second half of October. http://www.ormecon-nanotech.com 



RNT teams with Kurt J. Lesker on nanofoils 

RNT, developer and manufacturer of its patented NanoFoil, which precisely 

controls the instantaneous release of heat energy for joining and reaction 

initiation applications, has partnered with the Kurt J. Lesker Company to 

expand worldwide sales and distribution of NanoFoil and its accompanying 

NanoBond process. The venture is expected to accelerate access to the 

superior bonded target performance of NanoBond within the vacuum 

industry. Key markets to benefit from this partnership include 

semiconductor manufacturing, LCD and flat panel displays, advanced 

displays, glass coatings, film coatings and other vacuum industries utilizing 

sputtering targets. http://www.rntfoil.com 

Gentex supplies dimmable windows for Boeing Dreamliner 

Gentex Corporation announced that the company this summer shipped the first set of dimmable aircraft window 

shades to PPG Industries’ aerospace products group, for use in the passenger cabin of the new Boeing 787 

Dreamliner series of aircraft. The dimmable window shades employ Gentex’s proprietary electrochromic 

technology and each window shade in the passenger compartment will dim to five different levels utilizing a switch 

located next to the window seat passenger. The aircraft flight crew also will have the ability to control all of the 

windows in the passenger cabin at the touch of a switch. Gentex is also manufacturing the electronic switch for 

each system. http://www.ppg.com 

Five Star Technologies brings out ElectroSperse pastes 

Five Star Technologies announced that it has introduced the ElectroSperse line of silver conductor pastes, initially 

targeting applications in displays and solar cells. Five Star says the ElectroSperse pastes deliver the same uniform 

particle size and consistent rheology seen in Five Star dispersions, enabling customers to print fine features 

consistently and economically. Initial screen printing trials have demonstrated that line widths as narrow as 3 mils 

can be printed consistently with no loss of conductivity or line integrity. The initial ElectroSperse offerings, D-110, 

D-112 and D-114, are targeted at display bus bar electrodes. All three products are screen-printable pastes designed 

to deliver excellent adhesion when fired onto ITO or F-doped TO (fluorine-doped tin oxide)-coated glass. The 

series is entirely lead-free, responding to the European market requirements for RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous 

Substances) and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) compliance. The 

three grades differ in metal content, allowing the user to select a conductivity and price range suitable to the 

application. ElectroSperse D-114 achieves a sheet resistivity of 1.2-1.8 milli-ohm/sq, while D-112 and D-114 are 

targeted at 2-3 and 4-5 milli-ohms/sq, respectively. Applications include touch screen sensor electrodes, heater 

circuits and antennae. http://www.fivestartech.com 

Ceelite launches new LEC panels with Eastman’s encapsulation technology 

CeeLite and Eastman Chemical Company signed an agreement to manufacture CeeLite LEC panels using 

Eastman’s patented encapsulation technology and Spectar copolyester. Using electrodes to stimulate light-emitting 

natural phosphors embedded between thin plastic sheets, CeeLite LEC panels have provided high-quality, uniform 

illumination for electronics and surface lighting projects over the past two years. Growing market demand, 

however, has fueled the need for the LEC panels to be more robust, allowing for use as complete lighting systems 

for self-installed interior signage applications and outdoor environments with harsh weather conditions. As a result, 

CeeLite needed to enhance the traditional flexible films originally used for the LEC panel surface with a system 

that would provide optimal barrier properties to withstand outdoor environmental conditions, including moisture, 

heat and humidity. After researching various options, CeeLite turned to Eastman for its encapsulation technology. 

Eastman’s proprietary encapsulation technology uses Spectar copolyester as the transparent substrate to encapsulate 

a variety of images, textiles, botanicals and natural inclusions, along with light emitting capacitor (LEC) panels, for 

architectural and surface lighting applications. 



Ceelite used in New York's Grand Central Subway 

Blue Ocean Worldwide recently installed a massive 6x20-foot Ceelite Wallscape. At only 1" deep it lights up the 

whole subway for Westin Hotels. The installation is feature at New York City's Grand Central Subway. Ceelite 

panels incorporate light emitting capacitive technologies and are produced on flexible substrates. 

http://www.blueoceanworldwide.com 

Nanosys intensifies its collaboration with In-Q-Tel 

Nanosys announced that it has entered into an agreement to further expand its collaboration with In-Q-Tel, the 

independent strategic investment firm that identifies innovative technologies to support the mission of the Central 

Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the broader intelligence community. Under the collaboration, Nanosys will apply its 

novel electronics technology for innovative uses in the area of high-performance communications. The terms of the 

agreement include development funding to Nanosys, with specific financial details undisclosed. Nanosys’ 

proprietary Macroelectronics utilizes a film of nano structures to form arbitrarily large area high-performance 

electronic circuits, without the need for many of the complex and costly processing steps common in traditional 

thin-film transistor manufacturing. The technology is compatible with flexible or rigid substrates such as plastic or 

glass, and enables electronic integration of multiple functions directly onto a single substrate material. 

Macroelectronics can be applied to numerous application areas, including flexible or flat panel displays, RFID 

(radio frequency identification) tags, and antennas. http://www.nanosysinc.com 

Boost Products to launch Philips flexible textiles 

Boost Products is introducing a concept based on Philips Lumalive technology, which will enable businesses to 

attract the attention of customers, clients and other target groups in a direct and distinctive way. The new concept 

relates to clothing for promotions and events. Special Lumalive LED 

technology has been integrated into the fabric, turning the clothes into a 

“live” display or billboard on which any given text, animation or 

(moving) images can be displayed – in every color of the rainbow. With 

this product, Boost Products, specialists in brand and sales activation, 

are targeting the market for sales and brand promotion (which includes 

trade fairs and advertising campaigns) and for events (which include 

dance parties) in the Benelux countries. By wearing the Lumalive shirts, 

the hosts, the people manning the stands, the dancers, etc., will have no 

trouble at all in drawing attention to themselves. The first Lumalive 

shirts will be available end of 2007. http://www.boostproducts.nl 



Fidelica Microsystems produces touch fingerprint sensor 

Fidelica Microsystems announced a sensor that is not capacitive or optical, but pressure-sensitive, capturing 

fingerprints much the same way people have been doing for decades with ink. It is an area-based, touch-type 

fingerprint sensor, rather than swipe-type, meaning that a user 

need only place a finger on the array, not pull it across that array. 

The company couples a fully passive sensing array with a 

pressure sensitive membrane that sidesteps sensitive, expensive, 

and power hungry active electronics. The approach deciphers 

where fingerprint ridges apply pressure, and where fingerprint 

valleys do not. Exceeding FBI-standard 500dpi resolution, it 

creates an inherently binary 8.0kB fingerprint image. The sensor 

is made on a flexible polymer substrate, making possible roll-toroll 

processing. Even as a touch-type solution, this construction 

results in a sensor with a cost comparable to or less than siliconbased 

swipe sensors. http://www.fidelica.com 

InCard wins award for embedded authentication device 

Innovative Card Technologies and Emue Technologies announced that Info Security Products Guide has named the 

device a winner of the 2007 Tomorrow’s Technology Today Award. The Credit Card Embedded Authentication 

Device features a 12-button keypad and embedded alphanumeric display and microprocessor, integrated into 

standard payment card form. The card has a number of authentication modes for use in online, phone, or ATM 

transactions. For example, a user can enter their secret PIN into the card’s keypad to receive a numeric passcode for 

one-time use. To authorize a banking transaction, the passcode is entered into an interface and instantly validated 

by an authentication server. This process removes the need to enter a PIN into an unsecure device such as a web 

browser. http://www.incardtech.com 

PolyIC supports ticketing process at OEC 

PolyIC showcased its two product lines shown at the Organic Electronics Conference (OEC) – one in the field of 

printed RFID (radio frequency identification) that has the brand name PolyID and a second product line in the field 

of smart objects that has the brand name PolyLogo. The first products provide 

features ranging from presence control to 4-bit memory capacity in the PolyID 

product line and have a display function in the PolyLogo product line.” Within 

the PRISMA (Printed Smart Labels) project, which is funded by the German 

Federal Ministry of Education and Research and has PolyIC as its consortium 

manager, all tickets to the Organic Electronics Conference had a PolyID tag 

attached to them. The tickets were evaluated with a radio frequency reader at 

13.56 MHz. This ticketing field test was being coordinated by Bartsch GmbH. 

http://www.oe-a.org 

Jump Lab starts to market the rCard 

Jump Lab, a division of CEO IQ, is delivering the first rCards to the market. The rCard is the world’s first 

technology device about the size of a business card with an interactive screen that displays text, graphics, photos, 

and slide shows for less than $40.00. Photo companies can sell rCards to customers to use as an updateable, digital 

portfolio that can be carried in a pocket. Product reps can build relationships by presenting new services on the card 

to prospects at trade shows or on sales calls. Individuals can load their personal medical data on the cards to 

transport from one doctor’s office to the next. Pharmaceutical firms can educate physicians about new treatments 

via the card. The rCard is easily activated by pressing one of the two buttons located on the front, right side of the 

device. Interested parties can view the new rCard or get order information by going to http://www.ceoiq.com/rCard 



PolyApply demonstrates 13.56 MHz RFID tag and a 4 bit ROM memory reader 

Visitors at OEC were able to see and test two demonstrator devices from PolyApply: a RFID tag with 13.56 MHz 

and a 4 bit ROM memory reader. It consists of single devices made by nine partners of the consortium: an antenna, 

a resonance capacitor, a rectifier, a ring oscillator and a modulator. All single devices were made on the basis of 

organic semiconductors, conductors and dielectrics. For the first time a working RFID system based on devices 

made on flexible substrates and with inline compatible processes was demonstrated by an organic electronics 

technology consortium - a significant result towards the realization of low-cost 

high-volume organic RFID tags. It also demonstrates that various material classes 

and processes developed by the consortium, from evaporated molecules to printed 

polymers, are suitable for use in the new organic electronics technology. 

The memory reader demonstrator showed an organic circuit capable of reading 4bit 

ROM memory cells. Within PolyApply, Philips developed a ROM memory 

consisting of patterned metal conducting lines on polymer substrates. When the 

connection between two contacts is done by a conducting line, the memory is in 

the “0” state and when the conducting line is broken, e.g. by applying a high 

current pulse, the memory is in the “1” state. Fraunhofer IZM-M has then further 

developed this technology and realized a roll-to-roll process to produce this type 

of memory. These memories were provided to PolyIC, who developed electronic 

circuits based on polymer semiconductors in a clean room process to read out the 

memories. http://www.polyapply.org 

Molecular Vision receives more UK funding for microfluidic photo-detectors 

Molecular Vision Ltd (MVL) announced that it has received an investment of £500,000 from Imperial Innovations 

Group. The company will use the funds to strengthen its management team and to attract further partners to assist in 

developing its platform that combines microfluidics (technology) and organic semiconductor assay readers within 

single disposable devices. Microfluidic chemistry systems are typically fast and accurate, while organic photodetectors 

provide accuracy at low cost. These characteristics allow MVL devices to provide laboratory-quality 

information at the patient’s bedside, in the doctor’s surgery, in the ambulance or in the home. MVL's device is 

based on research by Professors Andrew de Mello and Donal Bradley, and Dr John de Mello, all of Imperial 

College London. http://www.molecularvision.co.uk 

Cyborg exhibition explores technology implications 

“Our Cyborg Future?” looks at the shrinking divide between us and the 

technology we use. The word cyborg combines “cybernetics”, which is 

about automated control systems, and “organism”. The word cyborg was 

first coined in 1960 to describe a human-machine hybrid. During the 

event, artists and designers play with “technical textiles”, “intelligent 

jewelry” and “smart architecture”. Communities throughout the North 

East region of the UK will be involved in discussions and workshops 

during the build-up to the exhibition itself. The exhibition takes place in 

Newcastle until October 27 at the Victorian Great Hall in the Newcastle’s 

Discovery Museum -- the main science museum for the North East of 

England. http://www.dott07.com/go/our-cyborg-future 

PolyApply shows off roll-toroll 

printed transistors and 

circuits. 

Degussa is now Evonik 

As of September 12, 2007, what was Degussa is now the Chemicals Business Area of the new Evonik Industries. 

For further information on this new industrial group, please go to http://www.evonik.com 



Konarka Technologies and Toppan Forms sign joint agreement 

Konarka Technologies and Toppan Forms announced they have signed a joint agreement to accelerate the 

development, manufacturing and commercialization of polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technologies for 

consumer and electronic applications. Under the agreement, the mutual goal is to bring Konarka’a organic 

photovoltaic material, Power Plastic, to market. “Konarka’s Power Plastic is flexible, thin, printable and low in 

cost, providing our organization with promising new business opportunities,” commented Masanori Akiyama, 

president and CEO of Toppan Forms. “With the full-fledged advent of the ubiquitous society under way, we need 

an ever-present power technology that can be integrated with pervasive networked devices for information 

collection and distribution.” http://www.konarka.com 

Konarka Technologies and Air Products selected by NIST for OPV development 

Konarka Technologies, the developer of Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy, announced the 

company has been selected, along with Air Products, by the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST), Advanced Technology Program (ATP), to conduct research and development on transparent, flexible solar 

modules for windows and other building integrated applications. Organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology is unique 

among solar energy alternatives in offering the potential for selecting materials for varying levels of transparency, 

capable of absorbing narrowly or broadly in one or more regions of the visible and near-infrared spectrum. Konarka 

will further develop its patented, transparent, metallic grid electrode technology for the new cell and module 

architecture. Air Products will develop high-conductivity polymers with more efficient charge injection capability 

in OPV cells, thereby improving overall cell electrical performance. The technology will be suitable for use in 

windows capable of controlling transparency for privacy, regulating the wavelength of light passing through for 

energy conservation and for aesthetics. Since the materials are capable of harvesting indoor as well as outdoor light, 

the solar modules can be integrated into building sensors, battery chargers, lighting and displays, and wireless 

security monitoring systems. http://www.konarka.com 

VDMA establishes section for solar electricity equipment makers 

The German Engineering Federation (VDMA) has founded the “Photovoltaic Equipment Forum”. This new section 

is the topic-oriented collaboration of the existing sectors Electronics Production (Productronics), Glass Technology, 

Energy, Organic Electronics, Robotics and Automation, Laser and Photonics, as well as Surface Treatment within 

the VDMA. German machinery and equipment manufacturers are leading suppliers for all parts of the value chain, 

from materials and solar cell-production all the way to module manufacturing. This is also true for innovative thin 

film modules and organic photovoltaics – flexible printed solar cells. For a growing number of VDMA members, 

photovoltaics have become the main business. Germany is the biggest user market with 51% and the second largest 

producer with 20% worldwide. Japan, the US, Europe and China are important export markets for all parts of the 

value chain, including machines. For the future, a continuation of the double-digit growth rates is expected for 

photovoltaics demand. http://www.vdma.org 

Plextronics announces new solar cell efficiency record 

Plextronics announced that its organic photovoltaic technology achieved a world record in the conversion of solar 

light to power efficiency. The company’s result of 5.4% establishes a new world record for single layer organic 

solar cells as certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in Golden, Colorado. Troy 

Hammond, vice president of products for Plextronics, said that the company began its organic photovoltaic 

development program less than two years ago, with the support of the Pennsylvania Energy Development 

Authority. Plexcore ink systems for organic photovoltaic enable the low-cost printing of photo-active and charge 

carrier layers, which together convert light to power in the organic photovoltaic cell. The ability to print organic 

photovoltaic cells on glass or plastic drastically reduces the cost of energy compared to silicon solar cell 

technology. Specifically, Plextronics’ technology has the potential to reduce the cost of solar cells below the 

commercially important threshold of $1 per watt, which is a reduction of up to five times that of crystalline siliconbased 

solar energy systems. http://www.plextronics.com 



Innovalight raises $28 million for solar product development 

Innovalight announced that the company has raised $28 million in new capital. With new financing in hand, the 

company is relocating to a new 30,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California. This series C 

financing was led by Norway-based investor, Convexa Capital and supported by Scatec AS. Existing investors 

Apax Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Harris & Harris Group, Sevin Rosen Funds and Triton Ventures also 

participated in this financing. Compared to solar modules in the market today, Innovalight has developed a 

proprietary technology that utilizes liquid processing of silicon to produce high-efficiency solar cells that have the 

potential to reduce solar costs by more than 50%. http://www.innovalight.com 

Plastic Logic buys AIXTRON deposition tool 

Plastic Logic purchased an AIXTRON Gen 3.5 deposition tool for thin film deposition of the key organic dielectric 

layer used in their manufacturing process for flexible organic TFT backplanes. The newly developed equipment, 

based on AIXTRON’s proprietary Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) technology, will be installed and integrated 

into Plastic Logic’s new manufacturing line for production of Gen 3.5 substrates in early 2008. In January 2007 

Plastic Logic announced that it had raised US$100 million to build the first factory to manufacture plastic 

electronics on a commercial scale. The production facility is being built in Dresden, Germany, the heart of “Silicon 

Saxony” alongside companies such as AMD and Infineon. The Plastic Logic facility will produce display modules 

for portable electronic reader devices. It will have an initial capacity of more than a million display modules per 

year with production starting in 2008. http://www.plasticlogic.com 

AIXTRON takes over Nanoinstruments 

AIXTRON of Germany and Nanoinstruments of the UK have agreed on the acquisition of Nanoinstruments Ltd. 

business by AIXTRON. Founded in 2005 as a spin-off from the University of Cambridge, Nanoinstruments is a 

manufacturer of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma enhanced CVD research systems for carbon 

nanotubes (CNT) and other nanomaterials. CNT is currently being investigated by many research groups as a 

promising material to be used in flat panel displays, heat sinks, integrated circuits, sensors or as electron guns. The 

addition of Nanoinstruments’ products to AIXTRON’s portfolio of deposition equipment creates new potential 

opportunities in the mid and long term within the nanotechnology application space for the company. Key members 

of the present Nanoinstruments management team will join the new AIXTRON Nanoinstruments technology unit, 

including Nanoinstruments’ founders, Dr. Ken Teo and Dr. Nalin Rupesinghe. http://www.aixtron.com 

Rohm and Haas and SKC form joint venture 

Rohm and Haas and SKC have announced the formation of a joint venture that will develop, manufacture and 

market advanced optical and functional films used in the flat panel display industry. The joint venture combines the 

strength of Rohm and Haas and SKC to provide a broad portfolio of films used in today’s most advanced liquid 

crystal and plasma displays. As part of the new joint venture arrangement, SKC will spin-off its Display 

Technologies business into a separate legal entity. Rohm and Haas will invest to become a 51% owner in the new 

company. Closing of this transaction is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2007 pending approval by 

regulatory authorities. http://www.rohmhaas.com 

Carclo acquires remaining minority interest in Conductive Inkjet Technology 

The board of directors of Carclo announced that it has entered into an agreement to increase its equity investment in 

Conductive Inkjet Technology Limited (CIT) from 74.4% to 100%. CIT is a patented process to print pure metals 

onto plastics. The initial invention was made by Xennia Technology Ltd whilst undertaking an application 

development for mobile handsets on a contract funded by Carclo. It was recognized that the invention had 

applications well beyond mobile telephony and therefore Carclo and Xennia formed a 50:50 joint venture to 

safeguard, develop and exploit the invention. http://www.conductiveinkjet.com 





Organic Electronics Conference and Exhibition 2007 

September 24-26, Frankfurt, Germany 

Phillip Hill covers this Cintelliq organized event with presentations from ITRI, National Chung Hsing 

University, National Tsing-Hua University, SAIT, Binghamton University, and Tosoh Corporation 

Novel Polymer-Capped Gold Nanoparticles for a Well-Reproducible Organic Bistable Memory Device 

Jun-Rong Chen, Gue-Wuu Hwang, Heng-Tien Lin and Yi-Jen Chan 

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan 

A well-reproducible organic nonvolatile bistable memory (ONBM) device is demonstrated by using a novel 

polymer film sandwiched between two Al electrodes as the active layer. This active polymer film comprises 

polymer-capped Au nanoparticles and a host polymer. The capped polymer herein forms a core-shell structure and 

stabilizes the Au nanoparticle within. In the mean time, the capped polymer also serves as a host polymer to better 

distribute Au nanoparticles within the film due to structural similarity. Cross-sectional tunneling electron 

microscope (TEM) images (see photos) show that the polymer-capped Au nanoparticles are well dispersed in the 

polymer matrix. Due to the uniform distribution of Au 

nanoparticles, a well-reproducible electrical bistability 

can be achieved in 144 memory locations of a single 

layered polymer device matrix with a high workable 

yield about 82%. The device exhibits a good retention 

characteristic after a time period of 10 day in air. 

“Write-read-erase” cycle tests have been carried out 

with the ON/OFF current ratio at around 10 3 -10 4 . The 

cyclic switching is also observed reproducibly over 

1000 cycles without obvious degradation. 

Although the endurance and retention characteristics at present are not comparable with the current Si-based 

memory technology, the demonstration in this paper approaches the optimized goal of 10,000 repeated tests and a 

lifetime of several months. Therefore, this device can still be considered a strong candidate for the next-generation 

nonvolatile memory for flexible electronic applications. 

Synthesis of Colorless Polyimide with Bulky Group 

Cheng-Chung Chen, Yu-Chiao Chung, Jyh-Ming Hwu, Ren-Kuen Chang and Mao-Feng Hsu 

Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan 

Wei-Ben Wang and Jing-Jong Shyue, Research Center for Applied Sciences Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 

Shi-Min Shau, Ru-Jong Jeng and Shenghong A. Dai, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan 

In this work, aromatic polyimides (PIs) were synthesized from novel and unique dianhydride and diamine with 

bulky group. A series of organosoluble PIs were prepared from aromatic dianhydrides with various diamine via a 

conventional two-step thermal imidization method. The polymer films showed low moisture absorption (0.1– 

0.7 wt%), and was light-colored with a cutoff wavelength below 390 nm and low yellow index b* values of 

4.9~7.7. Transparencies of the PI films in the visible region (550 nm) were over 84%. All PIs showed excellent 



solubility in amide polar solvents and even in less polor m-cresol. The PIs showed excellent thermal and thermooxidative 

stability. No significant weight loss was observed below a temperature of 450°C in nitrogen or in air, and 

the glass transition temperatures ranged from 227°C to 293°C. These polyimides were characterized by good filmforming 

ability, high optical transparency and low moisture absorption. Therefore, characterization of colorless 

polyimide may be applied in flexible organic electroluminescent devices. 

High Efficiency Phosphorescent White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Using a Novel Iridium 

Jwo-Huei Jou, Zhao-Chin Wong, Mao-Feng Hsu and Wei-Ben Wang 

National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan 

Chih-Lung Chin and Wan-Chi Chen 

Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan 

High efficiency phosphorescent white organic light-emitting diodes were fabricated by using a novel green dye 

iridium(III) (dibenzo[f,h]quinoline)2(pentane-2,4-ionate) ((Dbzq)2Ir(acac)) in a small-molecule host composing 

and solution-processing emission layer. The layer comprised the green dye (Dbzq)2Ir(acac), a blue dye bis(3,5difluoro-2-(2-pyridyl)-phenyl- 

(2-carboxypyridyl)) iridium (III), and a red dye of bis[2-(2’-benzothienyl)pyridinato-N,C3’] 

(acetyl-acetonate) iridium (III) doped in a host 4,4’-bis (carba-zol-9-yl) biphenyl. The device 

structure comprised a 1250 Å anode layer of indium tin oxide, a 350 Å hole-injection layer of 

poly(ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS), a 400 Å white emissive layer, a 320 Å 

electron-transporting layer of 2, 2', 2"-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl)-tris(1 phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole), a 6 Å electroninjection 

layer of lithium fluoride and a 1500 Å cathode layer of aluminum. The resultant power efficiency was 

9.5 lm/W at 100 cd/m 2 with pan white emission of chromaticity coordinates (0.33, 0.40). The high efficiency may 

be attributed to the use of the electroluminescence efficient phosphorescent green dye. Furthermore, by 

incorporating small polymeric nano-dot (PND) in the hole transporting layer, PEDOT:PSS, marked efficiencyimprovement 

was obtained. The resultant power efficiency at 100 cd/m 2 , for example, was increased from 9.5 to 

20.0 lm/W, an increase of 210%, when doping 21 wt% PND. The efficiency improvement may be attributed to a 

better carrier injection balance resulted from hole trapping on the added PND, which exhibited negative charge on 

surface. 

Electrochemical and Spectroelectrochemical Studies on Redox Intermediates of Organic Charge- 

Transporting Materials and Their Relationship with Device Performances 

Woo Sung Jeon, Hyouk Soo Han 

Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Korea 

Young Kook Kim and Seok-Hwan Hwang 

Samsung SDI, Korea 

To uncover the principles governing the relationship between the molecular properties and their effects on device 

performance is important not only for fundamental understanding of the organic electronics but also for providing 

material design or selection guideline for device fabrication. In this work Samsung reports the relationship between 

the redox properties of organic charge-transporting materials and the device performances utilizing the 

electrochemical, the spectroelectrochemical methods and DFT calculation. 3,3',5,5-tetrakis (p-tolyldiamino) 

biphenyl (TTAB) and 2,2'- dimethyl-3,3',5,5'-tetrakis (p-tolyldiamino) biphenyl (DTTAB), recently reported 

tetraminobiphenyl derivatives, have been examined as a hole-transporting material for organic light-emitting 

diodes. Samsung fabricated the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) cells with those tetraminobiphenyl derivatives 

as the hole-transporting layer for a green device with tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (Alq3) doped with 1% of 

Coumarin 545T (C545T) as the green emitting layer. The results were compared with the reference device which 

had N,N'-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N'-diphenyl benzidine (NPB) as a hole-transporting material. Despite similar 

HOMO levels and thermal properties, the devices adopting TTAB or DTTAB as a hole-transporting material 

showed the better efficiency and the poorer life time than that of NPB. From the investigation on the 

spectroelectrochemical properties and DFT calculation of those redox intermediates, Samsung found that the 



chemical and photochemical properties of redox intermediates of them are closely related with the device 

performance, especially in device lifetime. 

Figure 1 depicts the calculated HOMO electron 

distributions of NPB, TTAB, and DTTAB and those of 

oxidized form of each. In the both case of neutral and 

oxidized states, the researchers found NPB has the most 

delocalized HOMO molecular orbital. On the other hand, in 

the oxidized state, DTTAB has more delocalized HOMO 

distribution than TTAB though there are very slight 

differences between them in the case of neutral state. It has 

been well known that molecular charge transporting 

property is related to the distribution of HOMO and 

LUMO. In general, a more delocalized HOMO would allow 

better intermolecular orbitals overlap which would lead to 

easier hole-transport by hopping. On the other hand, the 

more localized HOMO will not be favorable for holetransport. 

Considering the HOMO electron distribution, 

NPB may be the most efficient material for HTL, which is 

controversial to the result of reorganization and dipole 

moment calculations. 

Judging from the device lifetime and the applied voltage 

shift, Samsung concludes that the tetraaminobiphenyl 

derivatives are not good alternatives to NPB as holetransporting 

material for OLED, even if they showed the 

better luminance and current efficiency in the early stage of 

operation. They presumed that the poorer device lifetime and the rapidly increased applying voltage mainly result 

from their poorer electrochemical stability of the second oxidized species and the following chemical reactions. 

Therefore, this study clearly showed that, if a material has good thermal properties, charge-transporting properties 

and proper HOMO level, but without the good electrochemical and chemical stability, the material will not be a 

good candidate for practical use in OLED. 

OTFT Digital Circuit Design Based on Dynamic Logic 

Jingyi Zhang, Qing Wu and Qinru Qiu 

Binghamton University, New York 

Organic thin-film transistor (OTFT)-based electronics have been investigated intensely for the past few decades. 

However, the low mobility of n-channel organic semiconductors severely limited the performance of 

complementary flexible circuits. The researchers propose a new design method called PMOS-only Pre-Discharge 

(POPD) logic to overcome the drawbacks of low switching speed and the lack of matching n-type OTFT. HSPICE 

is used to simulate a library of combinational logic gates and sequential elements. Two kinds of semi-dynamic 

single-phase edge-triggered flip-flops are implemented and compared. Logic functions can be embedded in the flipflop 

structures. To further study the principles of the new design method, they implement and compare the 4-bit 

ripple-carry adder, 8-bit carry-look-ahead adder and a 16-bit carry-look-ahead adder using the POPD method. The 

technique presents significant improvements in performance, area and power consumption compared with other 

traditional design techniques. It makes the realization of relatively larger digital circuits design possible for OTFT. 

Solution processable linear terphenylene semiconductors for TFTs 

Makoto Watanabe and Tomokazu Ohashi 

Figure 1: The calculated HOMO electron distribution of 

neutral NPB (a), TTAB (b), DTTAB (c) and 1-electron 

oxidized species of NPB (d), TTAB (e) and DTTAB (f). 



Tosoh Corporation, Japan 

Linear fused terphenylene compounds were synthesized from tetrabromoterphenyls for the first time. This synthetic 

method can provide a wide range of new symmetric and unsymmetric terphenylene compounds with high rigidity. 

The devices using dibenzoterphenylene and TC1 exhibited hole mobilities of 0.0058 and 6.0x10 -4 cm 2 /Vs in air, 

respectively. The performance of the device using TC2, which is an alkyl substituted TC1, was highly improved 

giving a mobility of 0.022 cm 2 /Vs and a current on/off ratio of 2.4x10 6 in air. A device from solution-processed 

film using TC2 also showed a FET activity. The new highly fused terphenylene compounds were synthesized by 

the coupling method with cupric chloride and the organic FET devices using these terphenylenes as an active layer 

were fabricated. They found that the devices using these terphenylene compounds exhibited p-type transistor 

responses for the first time. Especially, the devices using TC2 gave not only a comparable mobility to that of 

pentacene but also a high current on/off ratio even in air. Therefore, fused terphenelene compounds are thought to 

have the same potential of electrical properties as pentacene and much higher stability. Although the mobility of 

TC2 has not been high enough in solution process yet, TC2 has a high solubility in toluene and gave the device a 

FET activity. The researchers will continue to examine the optimization of the structure of terphenylene 

compounds that can be utilized for a practical printing process. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Flex–Stretch Electronics Workshop 

September 6-7, Leuven, Belgium 

In this first report about the fascinating developments related to flexible and stretchable 

electronics, Bart Vandevelde, one of the organizers from the IMEC, gives us an overview about 

the conference. Mark Fihn follows with summaries of presentations from the event by 

Freudenberg/IMEC/TFCG Microsystems, SiliconPipe/Verdant Electronics, Freudenberg NOK 

Mechatronics, Nippon Mektron/FFD, Fraunhofer IZM, and Hightec 

Conference overview 

In early September, a workshop about “flexible and stretchable electronics” was 

conducted in Leuven, Belgium, at the IMEC micro-electronics research center. 

The workshop was a common initiative of three funded projects SHIFT 

(EC-IST), STELLA (EC-IST) and BIOFLEX (IWT-Flanders) with the objective 

to disseminate the results of these projects to the European research and 

industrial community. In addition, the program committee invited seven keynote 

speakers who play a pioneering role in the field of flexible and stretchable 

electronics. Finally, the workshop was a unique networking event where in total 

118 researchers from 14 countries could get acquainted, share their knowledge 

and even define new collaborative opportunities. 

by Bart Vandevelde 

The workshop dealt with the latest developments in high density flex technologies and applications, including 

active and passive component embedding and assembly technologies, RF design and applications, thermomechanical 

modelling and reliability aspects. Moreover first design considerations, technology developments and 

potential applications in the new and very exciting area of stretchable electronics were shown. It is believed that 

flexible and stretchable electronics are key enabling technologies for realizing the ambient intelligence vision. 

Applications in a vast number of fields are emerging or will do so in the foreseeable future: implantable electronics, 

wearable computing, wellness and sports, haptics, robotics, intelligent textiles, wireless sensor networks, flexible 

displays and signage. 

It was also a unique opportunity to welcome Joe Fjelstadt as keynote speaker. He is a well-known personality in the 

world of flexible applications and gave a broad overview about the history, the current status and the bright future 

for flexible applications. A second keynote speaker, who got in short time renowned in this field was Stephanie 

Lacour from Cambridge University who presented how stretchable thin film devices are designed and fabricated for 

skin-like electronics such as prosthetic skin or neural interfaces. Many exciting applications for these flex/stretch 

technologies were shown: smart passenger compartment surfaces, intravascular pressure monitoring system 

implanted in the femoral artery, miniaturized hearing aids, implanted medical communications systems, bladder 

pressure monitoring system, physiological wound healing device, human motion capturing suit, contact-less smart 

cards, thin mobile communicators, a meteorological radar and body sensor networks. These applications all yearn 

for high-performance, cost-effective and reliable flexible and stretchable technologies. 

Several participants, including attendees from the European Commission, suggested organizing a follow-up 

workshop. These positive comments encouraged the organization committee to keep this initiative alive, probably 

resulting in a second workshop in 2009. Websites of the three projects: 

SHIFT: http://www.vdivde-it.de/portale/shift/default.html 

STELLA: http://www.stella-project.de/ 

BIOFLEX: http://trappist.elis.ugent.be/elisgroups/tfcg/projects/bioflex/Welcome.html 



Summary of Presentations 

Introduction to SHIFT, STELLA and BioFlex projects 

Christopher Klatt, Freudenberg Forschungsdienste, Weinheim, Germany 

Jan Vanfleteren, IMEC/TFCG Microsystems, Ghent, Belgium 

This discussion provided an overview about the activities of the SHIFT, BioFlex, and STELLA programs. 

SHIFT stands for “Smart High Integration Flex 

Technologies”, and has the objective to develop 

smart, high-integration, mechanically flexible 

electronic systems, for a wide variety of applications. 

The program is working on both embedded and 

assembled components, different flex layers with 

different functions (RF, high density, high-current, 

etc.), and the use of the third dimension for electronic 

component integration (not only on the front and back 

sides, but potentially on every conductive layer). 

The main innovation expectation in SHIFT is the 

assembly and embedding of small area, high value 

flex components (passives, RF structures, flexible 

chip packages) on/in large area, lower cost flex 

substrates. 

BioFlex stands for “Biocompatible Flexible electronic circuits” and is a program aimed at the development and 

demonstration of interconnection and assembly technologies for biocompatible flexible and stretchable electronic 

circuits for biomedical applications. The participants plan to create four different demonstrators as outputs from the 

program: 

• Implantable monitoring device for incontinence treatment (including pressure sensor) 

• A device for ECG monitoring of fetuses 

• A respiration sensor for SIDS 

• EMG measurement system 

STELLA stands for “STretchable ELectronics for Large Area 

applications” and aims to develop an overall stretchability of about 20% 

for PCB, (an SCB = Stretchable Circuit Board). The program is working 

to develop a new stretchable substrate with stretchable conductors, 

assembling technology adapted for stretchable substrates, manufacturing 

methods for stretchable electronic systems, and identifying key drivers 

of demand for ambient intelligence. 

At the moment the state of the art includes essentially no stretchable 

electronics besides EEG electrodes. Impregnated non-woven fabrics and 

rubber substrates are known, but only bendable. Woven fabrics have 

limited pitch, terminal reliability issues, and questions about mass 

production processes. Micro-batteries on ultra-thin film have been 

reported, but are not yet available, and no mechanical simulations or 

specific reliability testing has yet been reported. 

Highlights of the SHIFT program to date is the lead-free 

assembly of standard components and of ultra-thin 

(20 µm) foldable chips with very small gap (10 µm) onto 

flex laminates with embedded components 

Goals of the STELLA program include 

the structuring of conductors on polymer 

substrates for non-breathable substrates 

and developing stretchable equipment 

with semiconductor devices 



The Past, Present and Future of Flexible Circuit Technology 

Joseph Fjelstad, SiliconPipe & Verdant Electronics, San Jose, California 

Fjelstad started off with an interesting history of flex circuitry, which dates back more than 100 years: 

• 1903 Albert Hansen Conductors on paraffin coated paper 

• 1904 Thomas Edison Filled polymer conductors on linen paper 

• 1940s Germany Flat wire conductors in polymer (used in V2) 

• 1956 Sanders & Photocircuits Etched copper patterns on flexible base film 

• 1959 Pat Brian, Lockheed Flex in spacecraft and automobiles 

• 1965 John Marley, ITT Flex for IC packaging, First MCM 

• 1974 Michael Warner, IBM Flex replaces round wire disk drive 

• 1975 Rogers Corporation Flex manufacturing technology transferred to Japan 

• Present Flex circuits are everywhere! 

He went on to discuss many of the current applications 

that utilize flexible circuits and some of the technological 

innovations in those various applications. One of the 

areas of current innovation is related to roll-to-roll printed 

electronics. Fjelstad pointed out that roll-to-roll flex 

circuit production is no longer just about printed 

conductors, but now includes printed transistors and 

passive devices, with visions for full circuits to be 

produced additively onto polymer films. The range of 

potential products is very wide, including intelligent 

tickets, paper toys, ID tags, electronic postage stamps, 

speakers and smart bandages. The Fraunhofer Institute 

for Reliability and Micro-integration has demonstrated 

the production of an all-polymer ring oscillator on a 

200mm wide roll of PET film. 

Thin phone cards such as this illustrate the level of 

ubiquity currently enjoyed by flexible circuitry 

Among other things in the future, Fjelstad highlighted the development of 3D interconnection possibilities and the 

potential for variable topographic structures – ultimately both on flexible substrates 

Large area interconnect and outlook on stretchable applications in automotive 



Ansgar Blessing, Freudenberg NOK Mechatronics, Weinheim, Germany 

The automotive industry is continuously finding demand for flexible circuitry to help manage the ever-expanding 

swathe of electronics in today’s automobiles. 

This image represents the “conventional wire harness” used in automotive applications. Although perhaps a bit 

exaggerated, such assemblies offer a relatively low price, even with many manual process steps, minimal 

opportunity for integration, and regarded as the “state of the art” in large area interconnection systems. 

In consideration of the “state of the art”, Blessing suggested that flexible circuits have a huge opportunity to help 

reduce space and weight, while increasing functionality. MacroFPC are being developed as cost effective – with 

reel-to-reel production, and electronic integration. MacroFPC, however, has limiting factors, most particularly 

although bendable/foldable they are not stretchable. Blessing advised that future systems for the interior and 

exterior in automotive applications will require stretchable substrates, enabling system accuracy improvement, 

freedom of design, and sensors for interactivity. 

Next Generation Flex Technology – Fine line processing 

technology and special materials 

Hirofumi Matsumoto, Nippon Mektron, Tokyo, Japan 

Jürgen Günther, Freudenberg Forschungsdienste, 

Weinheim, Germany 

Matsumoto and Günther provided a summary and review of 

the FPC industry, pointing out that the FPC market is steadily 

increasing as a result of the growth of new applications, 

particularly for portable electronic devices. Flexible and flexrigid 

substrates are key technologies in future-generation 

electronic system designs and high performance aspects of 

FPC will become increasingly important. Therefore it is vital 

to develop better and special materials and new process 

technologies to adapt to user needs – including stretchable 

substrates. To this end, Nippon Mektron recently developed an 

LCD-based multilayer-FPC that can serve as a mono-material 

multilayer with promising stretchability characteristics. 

Nippon Mektron has developed a liquid crystal 

polymer in a thermoplastic film that is heatsealable, 

and can be used as a mono-material 

multilayer for high-speed signal transmission. 



Reel to Reel Processes for Flexible Electronic Systems 

Michael Feil, Fraunhofer IZM, Munich, Germany 

This presentation first identified the advantages of flexible electronics, highlighting the opportunity for design 

freedom, inexpensive foil substrates, reduced weight, compact portable products, cost-effective assembly with reelto-reel 

processing, environment-friendliness, and a multitude of large-volume applications with pent-up demand. 

The roll-to-roll process used in SHIFT is a two-layer screen printing method that prints a dielectric layer with a 

minimum size of printed via openings at 200 µm. The via openings are made by laser at 50–150 µm. A second 

conductive layer is then screen printed. Integration of resistors by screen printing is currently being investigated. A 

process is available but currently suffers from insufficient material stability. Quality is expected to be similar to that 

from the Hightec process. 

Feil also discussed roll-to-roll integration of active components, whereby ultra-thin silicon becomes bendable. The 

base material is mono-crystalline silicon. Fraunhofer has developed a technology demonstrator of an integrated flex 

system that demonstrates roll-to-roll principles, combining an ultra-thin IC, printed resistors, a printed display, and 

a flat battery. The thin-chip assembly is done by flip chip bonding. 

On the left is a simple roll-to-roll printing example utilizing electroluminescent pastes. On the right is a rollto-roll 

machine developed by Fraunhofer IZM that does assembly of thin chips. 

Thin Film Multilayers for Integration into Flex-Boards 

Hans Burkard, Hightec, Lenzburg, Switzerland 

Hightec is developing thin film technologies for flexible multilayer structures with integrated or embedded 

components. These structures are very thin, highly flexible multilayer foils, with a total thickness of 10-50 µm. 

These thin foils can be laminated into conventional printed flex boards as local high-resolution parts and connected 

to the wiring of the print. 

HiCoFlex is an industrial process of Hightec. (Burkhard’s presentation notes that IMEC’s technology is similar.) 

The technology is built on a rigid substrate with a release layer. The actual substrate format is either 4x4 inches or 

6x6 inches. Larger panels are currently under study at Acreo – measuring 12x12 inches and 24x24 inches. 

Hightec’s process is repeated for each layer and consists of a polyimide layer: spin-on, drying and curing; then a 

metal layer: sputtering, photolithographic patterning and galvanic processes; followed by laser via opening; then 

release from the rigid carrier after processing; with final assembly and testing. 



The result is a highly flexible circuit, with up to four metal 

layers. Very fine pitches have been demonstrated with a 

minimum bending radius measuring


He went on to describe the spin-out 

company tactic. New initiatives can 

often be killed early within large 

organizations without being given time 

and room to grow. By spinning out the 

most promising new technologies, 

large companies that sponsor the initial 

research give the new ventures 

freedom to grow and frequently 

maintain some ownership position in 

the company. Examples are 

Philips/Polymer Vision. 

A third way is the consortium tactic. It 

allows for collaboration where each 

company maintains their own IP, but 

creating a common design platform 

allows for greater and easier business. 

It allows companies to spread risk 

There has been a big increase in overall flexible display patent activity since 

the late 1990s 

across consortium companies. An example is the Flexible Display Center at the Arizona State University. 

Roth went on to describe invention “capture” and invention documentation and how to maintain trade secrets. He 

asked does it make sense to patent all inventions. He pointed out that the average cost for worldwide patent 

protection is $250,000 per patent over the life of the patent and that typical legal fees for patent litigation are $2.5 

million. He went on to discuss the best practices for working with patent counsel before turning to technical 

publications, which can prevent issuance of patents by defeating the novelty or non-obvious requirements. A 

technical publication is comprised of a description of innovation and may be used either offensively or defensively. 

An enabled publication must describe an invention in sufficient detail to allow one with ordinary skill in the art to 

make or use the invention, without excessive experimentation. When placed into the public domain in the 

appropriate manner, it can be used as prior art for: discouraging competitors from pursuing a patent; search by 

worldwide patent offices to prevent overly broad patents from issuing; and used during a patent infringement trial 

to support an invalidity defense. 

Roth went on to illustrate this point through a case study using real patent data relevant to flexible displays, 

specifically a new circuit that can enable flexible displays with substantially less power consumption. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Sarma further detailed the flexible substrate alternatives. 

Metal foil substrates have a higher process temperature 

capability, good dimensional stability, they are a good 

barrier for moisture and oxygen, they require top emission 

or reflective display architecture, but surface smoothness 

needs to be improved and there are CTE differences with 

TFT films. 

Plastic substrates are compatible with both top and bottom 

emission devices, but have limited process temperature 

capability. Dimensional stability requires further 

improvement and there are CTE differences with TFT 

films. He went on to look at the E Ink-based Sony e-book 

Reader, the Sony 27-inch AMOLED on glass demonstrator, 

the SUFTLA process from Seiko Epson, and the EPLaR 

process, before detailing Honeywell’s work on flexible 

plastic substrates. 

OTFT- AMOLED on PES plastic substrate from Sony 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




Society for Information Display 2007 Symposium 

May 20-25, Long Beach, California 

Flexible displays were high on the agenda at SID this year, with around 50 papers, spread across 

a dozen sessions. In this third report, Phillip Hill covers presentations from Kent Displays, 

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology/Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, 

Corning, DuPont, and ITRI/ Cheng Kung University 

6.4: Single Substrate Coatable Multicolor Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Displays 

Irina Shiyanovskaya, Sankar Barua, Seth Green, Asad Khan, Greg Magyar, Duane Marhefka, Nick Miller, Oleg 

Pishnyak, and J. William Doane 

Kent Displays, Ohio, US 

This paper describes new ultra-thin multicolor cholesteric liquid 

crystal displays with all functional layers coated sequentially on a 

single flexible substrate. Shared electrode driving is implemented for 

the first time to drive a passive matrix multicolor emulsion based 

displays comprising of three stacked layers of cholesteric droplets 

embedded in a polymer matrix. 

Cholesteric liquid crystal displays (ChLCDs) have earned growing 

popularity due to their pure reflective nature, bistability, low power 

consumption, high brightness and contrast. The application of glass 

ChLCDs currently ranges from small displays for electronic books, 

map readers, instrumentation displays, and handheld devices to large 

area signage displays. 

Typical glass full color ChLCDs have a triple stack of primary 

colors and each color layer is addressed by its own pair of indium tin 

oxide (ITO) electrodes. This brings the total number of conducting 

electrodes up to six and the number of substrates to four or six 

depending on the approach. Reducing the number of conducting 

electrodes and increasing their transmission are critical for achieving 

high reflectivity. This is especially true for the bottom and middle 

display layers. 

Kent presents, for the first time, emulsion-based multicolor 

cholesteric displays using sequential coating for color stacking of 

liquid crystal layers of different pitch length. Implementation of 

shared electrode concept to reduce the number of driving electrodes 

Figure 1: Schematic illustration of the 

conventional color stacking for ChLCDs. To 

drive the color stack six substrates and 

transparent electrodes are employed. Each 

display layer is addressed independently by its 

own pair of electrodes. 

Figure 2: Schematic illustration of the proposed 

color stacking for coated ChLCDs with four 

transparent electrodes. All display layers are 

coated on a single substrate. 



is used for the first time to drive the color display layer stack. The paper describes display fabrication, display 

performance, and shared electrode driving for direct drive and multiplexed addressing. 

Figure 3: Polarizing optical microscope image 

of the cholesteric droplets in the display layer 

Figure 1 shows the conventional implementation of cholesteric color 

displays with stacking three individual displays each driven 

independently by its own pair of electrodes. Due to some index 

mismatch and light absorption in the electrode material each 

electrode contributes to the display reflectivity losses especially due 

to the fact that light reflected from display passes twice through each 

electrode. This makes the transmission of electrode material and the 

number of electrodes critical for the display reflectance. Figure 2 

illustrates the concept of coatable multicolor stack. Each display 

layer can be addressed individually 

with shared electrodes, which reduces 

number of electrodes to four. For 

shared electrode design each color 

layer has one or two common electrodes. A common electrode provides driving 

voltage to two display layers at one time. 

The coatable material for display layers consists of a water-based cholesteric 

emulsion prepared using a membrane emulsification technique, which allows for 

forming uniformly sized liquid crystal droplets. The droplet size can be controlled by 

the membrane pore size and pressure of nitrogen gas carrier pushing liquid crystal 

through the porous glass membrane. This method allows Kent to achieve a narrow 

droplet size distribution with a desirable mean droplet size. Figure 3 shows a 

polarizing microscope image for the single droplet layer coated from typical emulsion 

with the mean droplet size of 18 µm. Size uniformity is beneficial for dense droplet 

packing during coating and drying processes and results in higher display reflectivity. 

Figure 4 shows a photograph of the multiplexed triple color stacked ChLCD 

fabricated on a PET substrate with coated RGB layers and four electrodes, where two 

are shared. The shared electrode design increases the display brightness by reducing 

the number of driving electrodes. In the future, multicolor ChLCDs can be coated on 

highly flexible single substrates on roll-to-roll lines at low cost facilitating new 

applications for rollable, foldable and conformable displays. 

45.4: Azo-Dye Alignment for Displays and Photonics 

Vladimir Chigrinov and Hoi Sing Kwok 

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong 

Hirokazu Takada, Haruyoshi Takatsu, and Hiroshi Hasebe 

Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Incorporated, Japan 

Liquid crystal photo-alignment using azo-dyes for display and photonics 

applications are discussed in this paper. Various types of glass and plastic 

substrates are used. Special types of 3D LC alignment, LC alignment inside 

thin micro tubes, and LC cladding layers in Si based waveguides and grating 

surface are concerned. The azo-dye photoalignment of polymerized LC films 

used as optical elements, such as polarizers and phase retarders is also 

considered. Optically rewritable liquid crystal display for plastic cards 

applications is shown. 

The researchers investigated the properties of azo-dye alignment on plastic 

Figure 4: Triple color stack 

cholesteric display coated on 

a 5 mm PET substrate with 

the passive matrix 

multiplexing scheme using 

four electrodes where two 

are shared 

Figure 1: Azo-dye photoaligning for 

plastic displays in smart cards 



substrates using azo-dye layers. Excellent alignment with a high anchoring energy was achieved with the exposure 

energy less than 1.0 J/cm 2 , which corresponds to the azimuthal anchoring energy > 10 -4 J/m 2 . The LC pretilt angle 

of about 5 degrees on the plastic substrate was made by a double exposure method. The electrooptical performance 

of the photo-aligned plastic display was very similar to common TN-LCD fabricated for comparison by the usual 

rubbing method on glass substrate. The prototype of the plastic display for a smart card application using 

photoaligning material has been made (Figure 1). 

48.1: Behavior of LCD Panel during Bending 

Suresh T. Gulati, John D. Helfinstine, Toshihiko Ono, and Josef C. Lapp 

Corning, US 

When an LCD panel is subjected to pure bending, for example during strength measurement or proof testing, the 

question arises: “Does it behave as a monolith of twice the substrate thickness? Or does it behave as two 

independent substrates?” Both theory and experiment suggest that the panel behavior depends on how its edges are 

held together, i.e. well bonded or loosely held together. Indeed, the former renders the panel nearly twice as strong 

and four fold as stiff as the latter. The paper provides the analysis of the bending behavior of a two-layer laminate 

using St Venant flexure theory. Experimental data, using strain gages, demonstrate that an LCD panel can behave 

either as a monolith of twice the substrate thickness or two independent substrates depending on how its four edges 

are held together in the support structure including the bezel. The paper derives appropriate equations for 

computing panel strength when it is bent to constant curvature or when its specimens are flexed in 4-point bending 

for both i) well bonded edges and ii) loosely held edges. 

Panel specimens, 35 mm wide x 48.5 mm long and 

1.0 mm thick (glass substrate = 0.5 mm thick), 

scored with a Penet score wheel, were flexed in 4point 

bending using a support span of 20 mm and 

load span of 10 mm. Their edges were assumed to 

be well bonded, i.e. specimens were treated as a 

monolith. The fracture origins of test specimens 

were also examined and the mirror radius measured 

for each specimen. Figure 1 illustrates a typical 

origin with the mirror marked. 

The analysis of bending stresses in LCD panels, 

whether tested in a cylindrical bend fixture or 

horizontal 4-point bend fixture, shows that the 

equation for strength computation depends on edge 

Figure 1: Fracture origin and mirror radius 

for edge flaw 

fixity. If the edges are loosely bonded, then each substrate bends independently of the other thereby permitting 

relative slip at the interface. In such a case the stress is considerably higher for a given applied load. If, on the other 

hand, the edges are well-bonded – then the panel bends as a monolith of double thickness and does not permit 

relative slip at the interface; the stress generated is approximately 50% lower than that for loosely bonded edges. 

Experimental data for a given set of panel specimens show that these behave as two separate substrates bending 

independently of each other. However, one should not generalize from this one example that all panels behave as if 

their edges were loosely bonded. The paper provides appropriate equations for computing panel strength for both 

the loosely bonded and well bonded edges. 



48.3: New Maskless, Completely Dry Color Filter Manufacturing System Based on Breakthrough Direct 

Laser Writing Technology: DuPont Thermal Color Filters (DuPont TCF) 

Hyun-Joong Kim, Daniel Chung, and Brian S. Eyre: DuPont, Dover, Delaware 

In response to the strong industry need for cost reduction DuPont has been developing a new breakthrough 

technology including materials, equipment and process, which comprise a system for manufacturing LCD color 

filters. This new technology significantly reduces process steps and clean room space required by conventional 

photolithography, thereby providing significant capital and operational savings. Since the system is based on digital 

technology, the direct writing precision patterning process eliminates photomasks for RGB, is highly scalable and 

greatly simplifies pattern change over. 

The TCF System utilizes direct laser writing to selectively transfer a red, green or blue pigmented layer from a 

donor film in a pattern shape to the glass substrate. The proprietary DuPont donor films are made via a large scale 

roll-to-roll mass production coating process in the company’s newly completed state-of-the-art donor film 

manufacturing plant. These dry films can be used for glass substrates up to 2.6 m in width. This direct writing 

technique is a digital process that eliminates the use of photomasks. This results in significant cost savings, greater 

flexibility in pattern change over, reduced turn 

around time and the elimination of most of the 

process steps required by the traditional method of 

photolithography (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1: Comparison of conventional photolithography 

process and DuPont thermal color filter system 

48.4: Flexible Liquid Crystal Display Film by Plasma Alignment Method 

Kang-Hung Liu, Chi-Chang Liao, Chin-Yang Lee and Huang-Chin Tang 

Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan 

Wei-Yang Chou, Horng-Long Cheng, Cheng-Ta Ho and Shih-Ting Lin 

Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan 

During the direct writing process a variable pitch 

laser head, tuned to the donor film, utilizes laser 

energy to selectively release the color layer of the 

donor film in a pattern shape onto the glass via 

digital instruction preloaded into the system. A 

multi channel light valve enables fine resolution 

imaging to meet the requirements of a variety of 

types of color filter patterns. The donor film 

includes three layers: a polyester base, a proprietary 

DuPont thermal release layer and a pigmented layer 

specially formulated to meet color gamut 

requirements for a range of LCD applications. The 

system has high reliability potential as it leverages 

the advantages of using light for imaging compared 

to, for example, trying to pass liquid materials 

through an ink nozzle. 

This paper covers a plasma-beam-irradiated PI film used in flexible liquid crystal display manufacturing. The beam 

had energy of 450 eV and incident angle of 70 degrees with respect to a normal flexible indium-zinc-oxide coated 

substrate. The pretilt angle and anchoring energy of LCs on the plasma aligned PI surface were almost identical to 

those on rubbing aligned PI surfaces. However, the optical performance of plasma aligned cell was superior to the 

rubbing cell under various bending conditions. 



Figure 1: Cross-sectional view of flexible micro-cell 

LCD film 

Figure 2: Schematic of the paper-like Ar plasma 

beam alignment system 

Furthermore, such non-contact alignment technology is 

suitable for large area and roll-to-roll fabrication of flexible 

LC films. In this study, the researchers propose a simple LC 

alignment technique that uses a plasma beam. The beam is 

used to treat a polyimide surface and then to align the LC on 

a flexible substrate. They have demonstrated that the 

technique is very effective to align most LCs, including 

bendable substrates. The technique is also suitable for roll-toroll 

fabrication of flexible LCDs. 

The schematic structure of the flexible LCD film is shown in 

Figure 1. The substrates in the flexible microcell LCD films 

were made from 120-µm-thick films of indium zinc oxide 

(IZO) coated PC and were cleaned using alcohol. The LC 

layer with microcell structure was inserted between two 

plastic film-like substrates. To keep the cell gap constant 

under bending conditions, a photolithography/etching 

process with good repetition ratio was used to produce highquality 

spacers of the microstructure. The schematic diagram 

of the plasma-aligned equipment is shown in Figure 2. 

In terms of optical performance under bending conditions, 

the flexible LCD film aligned by plasma method was 

superior to the rubbed LCD film. Furthermore, the 

researchers found that the plasma is suitable for larger area 

panel and roll-to-roll production. A study on the atmospheric 

pressure plasma is in progress in order to address the vacuum 

issues. 

Dell, p71 Alexandre Orion, p77 Earth Day, p84 OLPC, p57 

97 pages of insights from industry expert Keith Baker about e-waste. Learn about regulations, activities, and 

products related to the environmental impact of displays. http://www.veritasetvisus.com 



Smart Fabrics 2007 

May 7-9, Washington, DC 

In this third and final report from the Intertech/Pira organized event, Mark Fihn covers presentations from 

JFMagic/Exmovere, Philips, Textronics, Milliken, Interactive Wear, Future Shape and Foster-Miller 

Visible and “Stealth Mode Mode” Bio Bio-Feedback Fiber Optic Displays 

Lee Wainwright, JFMagic, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 

David Bychkov, Exmovere, New York, New York 

Fiber-optic fabric displays work as both visual devices (in such things as sleeve displays) and invisible devices 

(such as FBI fabric panels used in stealth mode). Most body sensors today are not wireless and some require 

implantation. Few methodologies for bio-sensing offer a sense of value-added to the operator. No on wants to work 

while attached to a hospital-style apparatus. The public is wary of technologies associated with “lie detection” and 

“brain finger-printing”. 

Bio-sensory feedback technologies are one of the goals of fiber-optic 

displays and might include such things as a wristwatch with sensors 

and Bluetooth data transfer. The military is investigating “biotag” 

measures to measure soldier stress and fatigue in real-time. Other 

applications include athletes and working dogs. Integrating biofeedback 

with fiber-optic displays enables visual recognition of biosensory 

output. Displays on the surface of a jacket, for example, might 

display various physiological states. 

The development of non-obtrusive bio-feedback sensors have a ready 

market in numerous categories, including: military operatives (body 

armor covering), Navy SEALS (wetsuits), working dogs (vest 

attachment), athletes training (real-time monitoring), mining 

employees, mountain climbers, tunnel workers, HAZMAT handlers, 

and firefighters. 

MyHeart: Fighting Cardio-vascular Diseases by Prevention/Diagnosis 

Harald Reiter, Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands 

Intermediate prototype tested 

position and size, textile structure, 

and materials of the electrodes 

Operator acceptance is the crucial 

barrier to psycho-physical monitoring 

As part of an EU-funded program, Philips is helping to develop Smartex 

Textiles (specifically called MyHeart) as a technology carrier for monitoring 

vital body signs integrated into daily life. The program aims to develop 

innovative textile sensors, integrate textile sensors and electronics into 

garments, and then design, fabricate, and industrialize the resulting functional 

garments so they are ready for high-volume production. 

Major technical challenges for textile solutions included the creation of textile 

electrodes, understanding of skin-electrode contacts, size/position/structure of 

the electrodes, washable connectors, and the functionality of on-body 

electronics. MyHeart is one of the biggest public research projects in the area 

of personal healthcare and is focused on applications and commercialization. 

The program has achieved high media visibility and is expected to have a 

large impact on public health systems in Europe. 



Commercializing the NuMetrex Consumer Health Monitoring Garment 

Stacey Burr, Textronics, Wilmington, Delaware 

Burr discussed the development of the NuMetrex health bra as a case study. They started out with the premise that 

wearing a heart rate monitor, particularly while exercising, resulted in discomfort from tightness, chafing, a 

sweaty/wet feeling, slippage and a poor appearance. The solution was to replace the strap with a sports bra that has 

textile sensors knit right into the fabric for a comfortable fit and breathable, quick dry feel. Burr related many of the 

trials and tribulations associated with both the technology and commercial aspects of the NuMetrex development. 

She concluded with a “Top 10 List”, identifying what was learned during the process: 

1. Get a product line. It’s hard to sell one style, in one color. 

2. Brands want innovation but make sure they will move volume, not just 

use you for PR. A brand deal may not be as good as it seems. 

3. Retailers are good partners – they can merchandise. 

4. On-line and catalog retailers can help “educate”; room to tell a story 

5. Companies you may view as competitors can be great collaborators 

6. Textile factories “sneeze” at


Wearable Electronics in Winter Sports – a heated Ski Glove 

Markus Strecker, Interactive Wear, Starnberg, Germany 

Strecker’s presentation discussed the mission of Interactive Wear, which is to develop and market “wearable 

electronics” solutions, provides “ready to integrate” kits for garments, accessories or industry, and to focus on highquality 

“wearable electronics” products and solutions. These solutions are network-based. The current focus of 

Interactive Wear’s work is on heating elements built into clothing. The company’s iThermX solution features 

heating power up to 10 W, a single button user interface with optical feedback. The weight per system is 

approximately 70 g (for the glove system). Li-ion cells 

serve as the power source, typically heating for 2-4 

hours. Future products are in development for 

healthcare and sports and include biofeedback 

integrated pedometers, heart rate monitors or 

temperature sensors that provide physiological 

information to the athlete, intelligent trainers (systems 

that communicate to the athlete by audio feedback or 

displays information, music pacing (continuous 

adaptation of music speed to the average steps per 

minute thereby enhancing the training effect, and 

personal health monitoring (sensing and pre-processing 

of heart beat, breath, temperature, motion, etc). 

SensFloor: A Large-area Sensor System for Ambient Assisted Living 

Christl Lauterbach, Future-Shape, Hohenbrunn, Germany 

SensFloor is a smart underlay for all kinds of flooring designed with sensitivity and resolution sufficient for 

detecting footsteps. The panels can be mass-produced in a roll-to-roll fabrication process and are easy to install. 

SensFloor is comprised of a regular grid of capacitive proximity sensors beneath the flooring. The sensors detect 

footsteps of people walking on the floor and an external receiver collects the sensor data and calculates the 

movement trajectories, providing a variety of possible applications. Applications include: improved functionality 

for automatic doors, calculating the trajectories of moving persons, saving energy and reducing door opening 

cycles, intelligent room surveillance, safety and rescue scenarios, safety for elderly or handicapped people, pattern 

recognition, and a variety of new functionality in commercial buildings. 

On the left/center is a SensFloor application whereby pattern recognition can help identify healthcare problems. 

Failure to detect someone walking in a room might also signal a call for help. Another SensFloor application is 

to provide guidance or lighting via integrated LEDs 



Development of a Garment-based Physiological Monitoring System 

Dave McDonald, Foster-Miller, Waltham, Massachusetts 

The US Army wanted a wearable physiological monitor for soldiers – the 

“Warfighter Physiological Status Monitor” that could measure heart rate, 

respiration rate, activity level and body orientation, skin temperature, and that 

could incorporate health status algorithms. The collected information would 

then be broadcast to show the wearer’s status to a medic/command center. 

FMI partnered with Malden Mills and secured separate funding to develop a 

T-shirt based system. A Plartec body-mapped fabric was combined to create a 

“CryePrecision” combat shirt. The focus of the development was to make the 

solution comfortable, (Comfort = Compliance), so a flexible sensor platform 

had to be created. Issues included comfort vs. robustness, comfort vs. 

functionality, robustness vs. functionality, launderability, waterproofing, and 

cost. After evaluation, a third party evaluation concluded that there is a “very 

high correlation, indicating high consistency and agreement between lab and 

garment based measures”, suggesting that the design works effectively in 

measuring body status in real-world conditions. 

Industry Forum on Printed Electronics 

April 24, 2007, Chicago, Illinois 

Polartec body-mapped fabric + 

CryePrecision combat shirt 

Phillip Hill’s third of three reports on this conference covers presentations from GSI Technologies, Add- 

Vision, Optomec, Honeywell, Novalia, and Polyera 

Adam Laubach of GSI Technologies gave a presentation entitled “Functional Printing: Applications and 

Requirements to Participate”. The agenda for his talk covered definition of functional printing; the functional print 

value proposition; the functional printing industry; printable materials that deliver function; the evolution of 

functional printed devices; profile of a real function printer; mass production needs and challenges; and GSI 

Technologies’ capabilities. 

The definition of functional printing is the deposition of a printable material that delivers a desired active or passive 

function. The resulting product may have conductive, electro-active or even electronic utility. The functional 

printing value proposition is based on scale and cost of printing (volume); function of electrical/electronics 

(functional value); unique form factors possible –thin, laminar, bendable; addresses the macro trend: distributive 

electronics require low cost and high function. Printable materials that deliver function involve passive functional 

inks (conductive and resistive, carbon based inks, silver loaded inks, silver/silver chloride inks, copper loaded inks). 

Dielectrics involved are barium titanate filled and titanium dioxide filled. Adhesives and spacers involve UV cured 

tie layers, hot melt, and two-stage ambient/humidity cure. 

GSI Technologies is a functional printing company and has been in the printing business for 21+ years. It produces 

biosensors, electroluminescent (EL) lamps, displays, batteries, antennas, and proprietary products. GSI 

Technologies’ business model is develop and produce: development partner/licensee of key technology; partner in 



the “scale-up” process (lab to production support); produce intermediate and finished products with global scale 

capabilities. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Peter Smith of Honeywell gave a presentation about RFID and printed electronics. He said that there is a huge 

potential market for objects that need to be linked to IT systems. RFID is the means to make these connections. A 

market in RFID is already developing today in high unit value, low volume segments. Printed electronics (a lower 

cost RFID option) will displace the incumbent in high unit value segments, Smith said, and open up low unit value 

segments with much greater volumes. Materials, specifically, organic semiconductors enable printed electronics. 

The industry size will be 250 billion tags in 2016, he said. 

Today, pallets, cases and certain high ASP items are 

connected to the IT infrastructure. Over time, items 

of lower value and smaller footprint have been 

connected. In the future, more and more items will 

be connected to the IT infrastructure. Radio 

frequency identification is a means to achieve these 

connections, he said. He went on to detail how 

printed RFID can be achieved with organic 

semiconductors. He the itemized where RFID 

printed electronics would have an impact: value 

creation in the retail trade to reduce out of stock; 

finding missing items in a store; theft prevention; 

savings on checkout labor. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Printed Electronics Europe 2007 

April 17-18, Cambridge, UK 

In this second of three reports on the IDTechEx-organized event, Phillip Hill covers 

presentations from Arizona State University, Aveso, Enfucell, Kodak, and Leeds Lithium Power Limited 

In one of two parallel tracks on the second day, a presentation by Hanna Haverinen of the Flexible Display Center 

at Arizona State University was on “Inkjet Printed Quantum Dots for Light Emitting Devices”. He explained the 

main reasons for using quantum dots: they have a narrow emission due to quantum confinement and emission is 

controlled by the size of the dots using the same material such as CdSe. 

He pointed out that even with the broadening of QD emission (e.g, 

inhomogeneous broadening), the overall emission is still narrower than that 

of OLED materials. Quantum dots are potentially more stable than organic 

emitters and possess relatively easier chemistry than organic based emitters. 

Photostability and electrochemical stability is better with quantum dots 

(core-shell protection). 

He went on to describe some of the ways to make quantum dots. Current 

disadvantages are that they are expensive – 50 mg costs $1500 – uniform 

size distribution is needed, they must be purified, and device fabrication is 

challenging – an ultra-thin monolayer is required. 

ASU uses CdSe/ZnS dots in an octadecylamine ligand. The core-shell 

quantum dot is about 5 nm in diameter and in soluble in organic solvents 

such as toluene and chlorobenzene. Printing was done by using a Dimatix 

Materials Printer (DMP 2800) with a 10 picoliter head. 

He concluded by saying that inkjet printing can be used in the fabrication of QD LEDs. It shows an excellent 

mitigating to the cost problem of the quantum dots, but ink formulation is critical. Ink jet printing can be used for 

obtaining almost single layer of dots. More work will be carried on ink chemistry and optimization of printing. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Visa/MasterCard approved secure card facilities. 95% of the world’s card manufacturing capacity is based on hot 

lamination which the presenter said is the key to producing a low cost, high volume electronic display card with 

perfect finish quality. 

Aveso has partnered with SMARTRAC, one of the world’s 

leading suppliers of high security RFID inlays for ePassports and 

contactless credit cards, to industrialize electronic display inlays. 

The inlay is delivered in sheet format, analogous to contactless 

inlays and is easily processed in secure card manufacturing 

facilities using existing hot lamination processes. Giesecke & 

Devrient, a smart card industry leader, has produced display 

cards by laminating SMARTRAC inlays between outer graphics 

(see photograph). 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


record, the green portion of the emission is down-converted by suitable efficient luminescent organic dyes. The 

advantage is uniform drive requirements for each color record; R, G, and B efficiencies are more balanced, only 

~50% wasted in each record. The disadvantage is that nevertheless, light is wasted in each record (US patent 

application, 2006). 

Kodak made a practical demonstration (see 

figure) based around screen-printed EL lamps 

(donated by Pelikon using Sylvania phosphors). 

Red conversion strategy is by a separate 

underlayer (vs. dye incorporation in dielectric 

binder, or shelling phosphor). The RGB color 

filter array is constructed using Kodak DuraClear, 

a product designed for backlit displays using a stable photographic dye set. Manipulating overall color positions is 

possible with the help of a proprietary modeling tool. 

Winscom concluded by saying that this work was not mainstream to Kodak, but the (lifetime x brightness) vs. cost 

trade-off might be of interest to other potential partners. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Twenty Interviews 

Volume 2 just released! 

Interviews from Veritas et Visus newsletters – Volume 2 

+ 21st Century 3D, Jason Goodman, Founder and CEO 

+ Add-Vision, Matt Wilkinson, President and CEO 

+ Alienware, Darek Kaminski, Product Manager 

+ CDT, David Fyfe, Founder and CTO 

+ DisplayMasters, David Rodley, Academic Coordinator 

+ HDMI Licensing, Les Chard, President 

+ JazzMutant, Guillaume Largillier, CEO 

+ Lumicure, Ifor Samuel, Founder and CTO 

+ Luxtera, Eileen Robarge, Director of Marketing 

+ QFT, Merv Rose, Founder and CTO 

78 pages, only $12.99 

http://www.veritasetvisus.com 

+ RPO, Ian Maxwell, Founder and Executive Director 

+ SMART Technologies, David Martin, Executive Chairman 

+ Sony, Kevin Kuroiwa, Product Planning Manager 

+ STRIKE Technologies, David Tulbert, Founder 

+ TelAztec, Jim Nole, Vice President – Business Development 

+ TYZX, Ron Buck, President and CEO 

+ UniPixel Display, Reed Killion, President 

+ xRez, Greg Downing, Co-founder 

+ Zebra Imaging, Mark Lucente, Program Manager 

+ Zoomify, David Urbanic, Founder, President, and CEO 



Interview with Craig Cruickshank from cintelliq 

Craig Cruickshank founded cintelliq in 2002 in recognition that as basic research 

in organic semiconductors moves from the research laboratories towards early 

commercialization it is imperative that organizations with a vested interest in the 

technology have access to sufficient industry information. cintelliq focuses on 

providing publications on the commercial and technology developments of the 

industry such as — the OSA Direct newsletter and the Organic Semiconductor 

Patent Analyst. cintelliq is also responsible for establishing the annual Organic 

Semiconductor Conference in 2003 and which was recently renamed the Organic 

Electronics Conference and held in Frankfurt, Germany. Prior to cintelliq, Craig 

gained first-hand industry knowledge and experience while working for 

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) and Cambridge Consultants, one of the 

world’s leading technology management consultants. Craig holds a BSc. Physics, 

MSc. Digital Systems, and an MBA from the Manchester Business School. 

Please give us a bit of background information about cintelliq. cintelliq was founded in 2002 to monitor and 

analyze the technical and commercial activities in the “organic semiconductor” industry. Our emphasis is on 

collecting facts that we then analysis and turn into information for a wide audience. At the present time, cintelliq 

focuses on industry developments rather than market forecasts. Our skills are biased towards technology, and this is 

reflected in the products and services we offer. The tangible things cintelliq does is to provide consultancy, 

newsletters, journals, reports and conferences. 

Is there a meaning behind the name? Yes there is a meaning behind the name cintelliq. It reflects what we do. 

cintelliq collects information or intelligence, then analyses it and puts it into various outputs – newsletters, reports, 

and consultancy. Our processes are aimed at making all this technical and commercial information and analysis 

easier for others to understand – we have essentially codified the intelligence – and so cintelliq is derived from 

these two words – codifying and intelligence. 

There are many phrases used to describe the industry you cover; you’ve chosen “organic semiconductors”. 

Please elaborate. cintelliq is often asked why do you use the term “organic semiconductors” rather than say 

organic electronics, plastic electronics, printed electronics, etc. This is an interesting question. If we think about the 

traditional electronics based on silicon then we can clearly see that there are companies that design and build 

“chips” these are the semiconductor companies, it also includes the equipment and material suppliers. Then there 

are all the electronics companies that make use of these “chips” to make products based on “chips”. So we believe 

that there are parallels in the “organic” world – and we have organic semiconductor companies and organic 

electronics companies. At the moment they are one and the same. Over time this will change. 

You recently completed the 5th rendition of your Organic Electronics Conference. Tell us about attendance 

trends over the years. Are you seeing any changes in the types of companies attending the event today as 

compared to when the conference first started? The first conference was held in Cambridge, UK in 2003 and 

was called the Organic Semiconductor Conference (OSC-03). At our first conference we had 66 attendees. In 2006 

we partnered with the Organic Electronics Association, renamed the conference to the Organic Electronics 

Conference (OEC) and moved it to Frankfurt. This year at OEC-07 we had more than 400 attendees – a 33% 

increase over OEC-06. The companies who spoke at OEC-07 were fairly similar to those that spoke at the first 

conference, and in fact many of the delegates at the first conference have attended all five conferences. The main 

difference now is that we are seeing more companies who are starting to deploy the technology, or who intend to be 

active in some way, but who may not necessarily build devices themselves such as materials suppliers, equipment 

suppliers, and application developers. 



Do you foresee a day when organic devices will displace inorganic electronic devices? It depends on which 

organic devices are included in the discussion. OLEDs for displays and lighting applications have the possibility to 

replace most of the incumbent technologies. For transistor circuits, the potential to replace silicon is far into the 

future, if ever. At the present moment in time there is a real need for simple electronics, operating at low 

frequencies and capable of being fabricated using printing techniques. Organic devices offer this whereas it is not 

possible with silicon. The opportunity for organic devices is to fill the space that cannot be achieved with silicon 

and not to replace silicon. 

What do you think are the biggest barriers associated with the rapid commercialization of organic 

electronics? The industry has spent much time and effort in developing the technology, however, much of the 

communication to interested parties, those that could make use of the technology, is still about technology 

performance. There is still a real need to educate end-users about the potential of this technology and how it can be 

used to develop new products. The market will grow much faster when there is sufficient market pull. 

Several companies have been working for quite some time now on active-matrix polymer-based displays. 

What’s taking so long for these efforts to achieve commercial success? Active matrix OLED displays in 

general have been slow to enter the marketplace. Polymer OLED materials have been cited as having insufficient 

lifetimes for commercial products, but this is rapidly changing as there are now polymer materials available with 

lifetimes acceptable for commercial use. By far the biggest factors affecting the commercialization of AMOLEDs 

have been due to scale-up and backplane yield issues. 

Do you see a time when OLEDs will simply displace LCDs? There is something magical about watching 

television on an OLED-based display; the viewing experience is so much warmer than a LCD. Once OLED 

displays have achieved something close to cost parity and larger diagonal displays, then they have a very good 

opportunity to replace LCD as the incumbent technology for displays. If this threat was not real, then why are all 

the major LCD manufacturers actively engaged in OLED development and production? 

You’ve suggested that the number of companies who are likely to make the transition from R&D to mass 

production over the next three years is unlikely to be significant. Please explain. My initial comments were 

that the market forecasts will not be 

met. This is for several reasons. 

Looking at the market forecasters they 

have all been indicating very 

aggressive growth between 2006 and 

2010. However, to fulfill this market 

demand requires the necessary 

production capacity to be in place. At 

present there is virtually no significant 

production capacity available. There 

are only a few companies that have 

declared their intentions to go into 

production. Most of this capacity will 

only go on stream toward the end of 

2008, and given the size of the 

forecasts then there is insufficient 

capacity. A consequence of this is a 

delay in market take-up. The forecasts 

are about 2 to 3 years earlier than is 

most likely. 

The number of companies who are most likely to make the transition to 

production over the next 3 years is not significant 



Tell us about your research in the area of patents in the area of organic electronics. cintelliq focuses on 

technology and facts. Patents are an important indicator of technical activity, and of course based on actual filings. 

Since 2004 cintelliq has collected patent information. This allows cintelliq to have a very clear picture of the level 

of technical inventions in the organic semiconductor industry. Each quarter a new report is produced detailing the 

activities of all companies filing related patents. These patents are then classified in terms of whether they are 

related to OLEDs, transistors, photovoltaics, memory, sensors or lasers. We then also classify them in terms of 

whether they are related to materials, deposition, fabrication, device architecture, patterning, encapsulation, or 

substrates. This allows a solid foundation on which to undertake further analysis. 

Do you see regional trends related to patent applications or do all regions seem to be focused on similar areas 

of development? OLED patents dominate, accounting for nearly 70% of all patents filed. In 2006 more than 7000 

patents were included in the patent database. Many of the OLED patents are focused on process related inventions, 

which is to be expected as they have commercialized first. European and US based companies are very active in 

filing transistor, sensor, memory and photovoltaic patents. From a country perspective the largest percentage of 

patents in our database are filed in Japan. However, different countries and different companies have their own 

patent filing strategies. It is not appropriate to judge one country or another simply in the number of patents filed. It 

is important to understand the content. Some patents have very broad claims while others are narrow. The Japan 

patent office encourages the filing of patents with narrow claims and this encourages more patents, whereas in the 

US and Europe patent offices patents with broad claims are acceptable and so fewer patents may be filed. 

Are most patents related to organic electronics coming from small, start-up companies, or from large, wellestablished 

companies? OLED patents tend to be dominated by the manufacturing companies, which are 

generally the large and well-established companies from Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Outside of displays, the 

companies filing patents are evenly spread among large mature companies and young start-ups. 

Do you see any areas related to intellectual property that may destabilize growth of the industry because of 

IP battles or monopolistic royalty positions? I am sure that as OLED technologies start becoming successful in 

the market place, then it is likely that companies will get sued over IP. It happens in most technologies, including 

LCD, so why should organic semiconductor technologies be any different? 

In your opinion, in the field of organic electronics, can companies survive based solely on a patent licensing 

business model? The only companies adopting a technology licensing model have been those that own 

fundamental OLED IP. Non-display based companies such as PolyIC, Polymer Vision, Plastic Logic, Nanoident, 

etc., are all choosing to adopt a direct manufacturing business model. This is the way forward that the new entrants 

have chosen to commercialize their technologies. Product licensing strategies may surface in the future. 

What do you think is the single most exciting thing that was newly presented at your recent conference? 

This is not an easy question. Picking a single thing means that I have to ignore many fascinating developments and 

possibly offend many people. So, I’ll side step the question and say that the most exciting thing to be seen at the 

conference was the growing number of companies who have reached a stage where products entering the 

marketplace are now a reality. 

Likewise, what is the most disappointing development (or lack of development) that seems to be looming on 

the horizon? There are simply not enough companies developing technologies and products. 

Do you foresee a day when the mass production of organic electronic devices in Europe will be on a scale that 

is competitive with Asian manufacturing? This is an interesting question but it is too simplistic. At present much 

of the display industry is based in the Far East, however, there is a growing semiconductor industry based in 

Dresden. Organic electronics is also beginning to be established in Dresden, Plastic Logic is building its first fab 

there. Novaled and others are also based in Dresden. There is every possibly that a manufacturing cluster for 



organic electronics could be established in Dresden. As always economics will play a major role in deciding where 

production capacity will eventually be established. 

Between January 2000 and September 2007 more than $1.3 billion in VC and government investment has been 

committed to organic semiconductor technologies in the US and Europe. 

In the next three years, what do you think will be the single area in the organic electronics industry that is 

most likely to achieve major strides into more traditional device manufacturing? OLED displays have the 

potential to erode the market share of LCD based displays. However, other devices such as transistors, sensors, 

photovoltaics, etc., will expend the market, and open new opportunities that are not possible with conventional 

electronics. 

+ Actuality Systems, Gregg Favalora, Founder and CTO 

+ Cambrios, Hash Pakbaz, VP Business Development 

+ DisplaySearch, Barry Young, Senior Vice President 

+ EBL-WG, Kamal Shah, Chairman 

+ E Ink, Russ Wilcox, President and CEO 

+ Elo TouchSystems, Mark Mendenhall, President 

+ Gunze, John Stetson, Sales Manager 

+ Optronic Systems, Alexandre Fong, VP Sales and Marketing 

+ NeurOK Optics, Tom Striegler, CEO 

+ Polar Sensor Technologies, David Chenault, President 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Interview with Adam Laubach from GSI 

The Functional Printing Division GSI Technologies is a leading producer of medical 

electrodes, smart card inlays, electroluminescent lamps and antennae. The division is led 

by company CTO and functional printing general manager, Adam Laubach, who joined 

the company in early 2006. Laubach brings 15 years of material science-based product 

development, commercialization and B2B business management to GSI. He is a 

recognized leader in the field of “printed electronics”, and was co-founder and CTO of the 

Dow Chemical spin-off, Aveso Displays. Prior to leaving Dow, Adam served as the 

commercial development manager for a NIST funded JV between Motorola and Xerox 

focused on polymer semiconductor materials and devices. 

Please give us some background about GSI, and especially your functional printing 

group. Graphic Solutions was founded by Bob and Suzanne Zaccone (a brother and 

sister team) in 1985. GSI started distributing, then producing products that are now part 

of the GSI industrial graphics side of the business (primarily labels and nameplates). Around 1995, GSI entered 

conductive printing development and has been commercially producing “functional printing” products since 2000. 

At the start of 2007, we renamed the company to GSI Technologies to indicate our future direction and created 

specialized divisions to give better focus to our target markets. The functional printing division now represents 

more than 75% of all GSI revenues. 

What exactly is “functional printing”? Functional printing involves the deposition of functional components 

using additive printing processes. Conductive traces, resistors, electrodes, electrolytes and spacers are all examples 

of printed functional discrete devices, which when assembled in multiple layers, create fully functional electrical 

products like antennae, switches, displays, batteries, sensors, etc… Another way to think about functional printing 

is as the assembly of electrical or electronic devices utilizing printing processes. 

Give us an overview of your printing technology. Today GSI practices flat-bed and cylinder deposition with 

manual, automated sheet-fed and web (reel-to-reel) material handling, using thermal and UV curing. GSI also has 

access to rotary screen, flexographic and gravure presses for development work. 

Please describe the advantages that are associated with your functional printing processes. The primary 

advantage of screen printing is its low tooling cost and relative ease of use for development and manufacturing. 

We can rapidly develop and scale using the process, as the material sets and processes are relatively consistent from 

our development through world-scale asset base, thus supporting GSI’s “lab to fab” business model. 

Is GSI’s focus on just the printing processes or are you also involved in ink formulation and substrate 

development? While GSI does not directly engage in material science-related development, we work closely with 

most existing and emerging functional printing and printed electronic material set providers to meet our joint 

customer needs. In many cases, material suppliers will use GSI presses as a “test bed” for new material evaluations. 

What is your preferred substrate? What alternative substrates can you also use? GSI focuses primarily on 

plastic substrates like PET and PETG, but we have processed on PI, PEI, coated materials and paper. In general, if 

it is flexible, >75 micron thick, and softens at >80 degC, we can handle it. In fact our long driers (up to 96 feet) and 

vacuum belts/boxes are nicely set-up for “difficult-to-handle” materials. 

Tell us about the sort of things that new ink formulations are enabling with regard to printable electronics. 

• Functionality – including opto-electric, emissive, photo-voltaic and electronic. 

• Resolution –


There are numerous printable materials that can deliver a functional response when processed correctly. 

Solutions include such things as sensors, batteries, solar cells, displays, etc. Where is GSI focused? GSI’s 

strategic market focus is targeted at the following applications: 

• Medical - therapeutic and diagnostic electrodes 

• Smart cards - payment and security smart card inlays, including display elements and antennae 

• Solar - photovoltaic current collectors and electrodes 

To date, the printing of active RFID tags seems to have been your mainstay. Do you expect that to continue? 

In fact our largest business is medical electrodes. Due to alternative material (Cu and Al) availability and 

economics, GSI has de-emphasized the focus on RFID. 

How “smart” can you make a smart card? Through GSI capabilities and key partners, systems-on-card may 

include one or more of the following: uP, antennae, display element, battery and a button. 

Do you plan to ramp your functional printing capabilities to mass production levels, or do you intend to 

license your technology to others? GSI is already in “mass production” on a number of our product lines, and we 

are confident that by using web processing, we can remain globally competitive. In fact our customer base is 

comprised of North American and European customers that use our intermediates in globally distributed products. 

If a customer requires supply-chain diversification or compression, we will engage in locating a production unit 

that meets our customer’s needs or locating an appropriate sub-contractor in the appropriate geography. 

Describe what you envision to 

be GSI’s “perfect customer”. 

GSI works with both small startups 

and large multi-national 

companies that are engaged in 

either emerging applications or 

material technologies. Our perfect 

customer is one with a unique or 

advantaged product made at least 

partially using functional printing 

that requires the migration from 

“lab to fab” as well as globalscale 

production. Our current 

strategic target markets also have 

substantial value chain elements 

in North America and Europe, 

making GSI’s capability to 

directly service the next step in 

the value chain possible, as we 

have both US and Germany-based 

engineering capability. 

Examples of GSI’s functional printing products 

Approximately how much do 

you think a factory using your technology would cost to install? While the cost of GSI capital and operating 

expenses is proprietary, it is safe to assume that the equipment and facilities side of the cost equation is similar to 

most small to medium sized print operations. The real expense (or rather investment) is on the people side. 

Collectively GSI has more than 100 years of engineering and production management expertise specific to 

functional printing, and ~33% of all personnel in direct support of the functional printing division either have 

engineering degrees or are capable of serving in an engineering capacity. 



Is all of the production equipment readily available, or is there still equipment that needs to be developed to 

move into mass production? All screen printing production equipment (both sheet and web) is production ready. 

Our SMT and web based assembly capabilities are still in development. 

What do you see as the biggest material limiters today that are still needed before your technology can take 

off? Primarily functionality including opto-electric, emissive, photo-voltaic and electronic. Another large need is 

power, both fully printed battery constructs as well as automated discrete battery attach. 

In terms of display devices that elicit an electrical function, (EL, electrochromic, electrophoretic, OLED, 

etc.), is there one that is best suited for your processes? We practice EL and electrochromic in full and 

development production today, and we are actively investigating printed OLED. All three are very well suited for 

the screen printing production approach. 

When can we expect to see displays from you in mass production? Today – EL in automotive backlights and 

nightlights. You’ll see smart card display elements in 2008. 

Do you plan to produce in a roll-to-roll process or a sheet fed process? Both. We plan to produce in sheet-fed 

primarily for development and low volume production and then roll-to-roll for large scale production. 

Tell us about some of the companies you are partnering with to bring your technology to production. Most 

partner companies are confidential, but some examples across the supply chain include: 

• OEMs in the medical and smart card space such as G&D 

• Component technology suppliers such as Solicore 

• Material suppliers like DuPont 

• Consulting groups like IDTechEx 

Are you partnering with any of the industry initiatives focused on printable electronics? Yes, primarily the 

Organic Electronics Association. 

Tell us what you think GSI will look like as a company three years from now. Much the same, still practicing 

“lab to fab”, but the “fab” part will be bigger and our functional printing capabilities will be much more expansive. 

On the left is an image of GSI’s functional printing web line; on the right is their SMT line for functional printing 



Interview with Mike Thwaites from Plasma Quest 

Professor Mike Thwaites, (BSc, PhD, CSci, CPhys, MIEEE, 

FinstP) is CEO of Plasma Quest Limited, an R&D company 

located in Hook, England. PQL specializes in the development 

of novel thin film deposition processes/systems, including those 

associated with the development of advanced amorphous 

silicon, polycrystalline silicon, and CIGS based photovoltaic 

devices. Thwaites spent over nine years developing thin film 

based solar cells at the BP Research Centre, followed by a 

further eight years leading the development of novel thin film 

devices and process systems for BOC. Overall, he has over 25 

years experience in the development of thin film devices and 

deposition processes. 

Please give us some background information about Plasma Quest. PQL is an R&D company specializing in 

the development of complex thin film deposition and plasma enhanced processes, mainly for external customers 

(this includes work for universities). Most of the processes are based on PQL’s proprietary sputtering technology. 

We do sell equipment, which is designed by PQL but built externally. We also, in conjunction with some of the 

UK’s leading universities, teach students up to doctoral level. In fact we have been called the “University of Hook”. 

Traditional magnetron-based sputtering has some deficiencies with regard to utilization and target stability. 

Can you elaborate? Due to the requirement of placing magnets behind the target to enhance the ion density in a 

magnetron sputtering process, this leads to the development of the well-known racetrack in the target surface. The 

combination of racetrack and reliance on the magnetic field propagating through the target leads to: 

• Low target utilization. 

• Poisoning of the target during reactive sputtering, requiring pulsed DC or optical feedback control. 

• The necessity to use thin targets and strong local magnets when sputtering from a ferromagnetic target. 

• Problems with process stability whilst sputtering from a compound target. Once conditioned there are 

still changes in the thin film composition as a function of the development of the racetrack. 

Tell us about your HiTUS sputtering process and how it overcomes the problems faced by magnetron 

systems. In our HiTUS (“High Target Utilization Sputtering”) based systems, the plasma is generated remotely in 

a quartz tube adjacent to the main deposition chamber. With 

suitable magnetic coupling, a high density of low energy Ar 

ions (not energetic enough to sputter directly) is delivered to 

the target surface. Biasing the target negatively (as in 

conventional magnetron sputtering) accelerates the Ar ions 

across the sheath were they collide with the target and sputter 

the target. Because the plasma is generated remotely there is 

no need for local magnets behind the target, as required in 

magnetron sputtering. Therefore there is no racetrack and 

sputtering is now not reliant on magnetic field penetration 

through the target. The advantages are: 

• High target utilization. 

• Reduction in target poisoning during reactive 

sputtering. Pulse DC optical feedback control not 

required. Deposition rate can be ten times faster than 

magnetron sputtering for a reactive sputtering process. 

One of the advantages of the HiTUS system is the 

elimination of racetrack effects typical of 

magnetron-based sputtering processes, thereby 

substantially improving target utilization. 



• One can sputter from thick targets even when using a ferromagnetic target. 

• Stable process, even when sputtering from a compound target. 

Does HiTUS enable any other advantages with regard to cost or performance when compared to magnetron 

systems? Yes. Advantages include: 

• High deposition rates (particularly with reactive sputtering or when using ferromagnetic targets), which 

lead to high yield rates. 

• Opto-electronics properties very close to bulk properties. 

• Good stress control. 

• Good adhesion. 

Do you also claim advantages over other 

coating systems such as ion-beam, thermal 

evaporation, and CVD? Yes. We note 

improvements in overall physical properties and 

deposition rates. 

You recently deposited ITO onto PI and PEN 

at room temperatures. Explain why this is 

important. PQL was able to deposit ITO with 

good electro-optic properties on to flexible PET 

and PEN without destroying the PET or PEN. 

This is useful for the development of flexible 

displays. 

ITO layers have historically been problematic, 

particularly for flexible substrates, due to 

cracking issues when flexed. Does your 

solution reduce these ITO cracking issues? 

Not sure. Need more investigations. 

In Plasma Quests’ HiTUS based systems, the plasma is generated 

remotely in a quartz tube adjacent to the main deposition 

chamber. HiTUS delivers very high quality thin film materials 

with near ideal physical properties, very low stress and excellent 

adhesion – whether on metal, glass or plastic substrates. 

Typical ITO sputtering solutions tend to waste a substantial amount of the target. Can you quantify the level 

of efficiency of your process versus the incumbent processes? Clearly the target utilization is better for our 

technology, but this needs to be judged alongside the material transfer factor, which we have not yet optimized. 

In addition to your recent work related to ITO, have you witnessed success with regard to any other 

transparent conductors? Yes, we’ve seen promising results with ZnO, InO2, and SnO2. 

Please give us any additional observations about why you think HiTUS is well-suited for flexible display 

solutions. We can deposit high quality material, with low stress at low temperatures and a high deposition rate. 

Plasma Quest recently deposited gold on a plastic substrate. Why is this significant? Gold is difficult, 

primarily due to its poor adhesion to most substrates. The gold that we deposited had a specific resistivity close to 

bulk with very good adhesion, again all at ambient temperatures and without an adhesion promoting layer. 

You have the ability to simultaneously sputter multiple target materials. Can this be done in other sputtering 

processes, and what advantages do you offer in this area? Yes, other sputtering processes can simultaneously 

sputter, it is called co-sputtering. With our co-sputtering technology we analyze the chromaticity of the plasma and 

use this information to control the power to the individual targets, this gives us real time control of the sputtering 

process. 



Plasma Quest recently announced a new plasma launch system. Tell us about some of the new features have 

been introduced. This is our linear sputtering process. Here the plasma is generated remotely as before, but 

instead of being steered through 90 o towards a circular target, the plasma is directed along the long axis of a 

cylindrical target. The entire cylindrical target can now be sputtered. Currently, we are able to sputter from a target 

50 cm long by 7.5 cm in diameter. All the advantages of our HiTUS apply to the new linear technology. 

Plasma Quest recently redesigned their plasma launch system (PLS) for use in sputter deposition production 

environments. One of the primary advantages of the new design is that the plasma can be directed along the axis of a 

cylindrical target that enables web processing. 

You currently operate primarily as an R&D center. Are there any plans to expand your scope into a system 

manufacturer and/or a deposition service yourself? No. 

Tell us more about how you enable web processing. Clearly 

using a target in the form of a cylinder is an enabling web 

processing technology, with the web width a function of the 

target length. 

What are the biggest challenges that still demand 

improvement – either with regard to quality, performance, 

or cost? The development of a pre-production system to 

demonstrate the potential of our linear deposition technology. 

Tell us a little about what you are doing with regard to 

flexible solar cells. We will be using our linear technology to 

deposit thin film amorphous silicon solar cells at low 

temperatures onto flexible substrates such as PEN/PET. 

Tell us one of your favorite customer satisfaction stories. A 

large US-based company wanted to deposit a ferromagnetic 

material onto a flexible substrate with low stress. They had been 

trying for about a year with little success. They found it difficult 

This is a 50 cm linear target, which enables 

concept related to in-line linear source coating 

systems that could support continuous feed, 

web, or carrier plate processes. 

to sputter the material for reasons mentioned earlier, but even when they did it just rolled up like a cigar due to the 

inherent stress. Representatives from this company came to PQL for a week. We sputtered the ferromagnetic 

material easily and deliberately produced the thin film with compressive stress and then with tensile stress, finally 

controlling the process parameters between the two types of stress condition, we managed to fabricate the film with 

virtually zero stress, which is what they wanted! 





The huge impact of printed transistors 

Dr Peter Harrop PhD, FIEE is chairman of IDTechEx Ltd. He was previously chief 

executive of Mars Electronics, the $260 million electronics company, and chairman of 

Pinacl plc, the $100m fiber optic company. He has been chairman of over 15 high tech 

companies. He has written 14 books on technical subjects, these being published by the 

Financial Times, John Wiley and others. He lectures and consults internationally on 

RFID, smart labels, printed/organic electronics and smart packaging. 

What new electronic product is being researched by organizations in over 30 countries 

but none have sold anything yet? It is of huge significance to everyone in the electronic, 

printing, merchandising and healthcare industries, to name just a few. It is the printed 

transistor. To be more precise, it is thin film transistor circuits (TFTCs) that do not 

employ traditional crystalline or amorphous silicon, germanium or gallium arsenide and 

that can therefore be deposited at high speeds onto low cost flexible substrates. 

by Peter Harrop 

Flexible transistor circuits using new compounds: Traditionally, semiconductors are made as crystalline as 

possible to optimize their performance but even that is no longer the case. The new transistors variously use thin 

films of organic or inorganic compounds as the semiconductors and gate dielectrics, enabling flexible transistor 

circuits. One printable inorganic semiconductor favored by Toppan Printing and Tokyo Institute of Technology is 

an amorphous combination of InGaZnO, for example, and it can be cured at low temperature. Electrodes in the new 

transistors are sometimes metal but sometimes they consist of conductive organic compounds. 

Similarities with old types of transistor: There are similarities with the old silicon chip and the amorphous silicon 

transistor array on the back of an LCD display today. The new transistors are field effect transistors (FETs). Most 

use the forty-year-old geometry where the controlled current passes horizontally but some (e.g. ORFID Inc in the 

USA) use vertical geometry to reduce feature size, increase frequency and current carrying capacity and/or reduce 

cost. Almost all potential markets for these new transistors are for arrays of large numbers of transistors, not 

individual transistors. Putting p type and n type back to back in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor 

(CMOS) configuration is favored with the new as with the old technology, for example, to save power. Although 

very high power versions for electrical use are also in prospect, they are not the largest potential market. Some of 

these circuits of hundreds to millions of transistors will involve other devices such as sensors, diodes and fuses 

deposited at the same time. All this is very similar to the old technologies. But there the similarities stop. 

Remarkable capabilities: The new transistors can be deposited on low cost flexible substrates such as PET and 

PEN film, aluminum or stainless steel foil. As yet, they are much larger than today's silicon transistors but they can 

be one hundredth of the cost, thinner and lighter in weight. Every one can be made differently if required. In other 

words hard-wired programming for a batch size of one is viable. Small runs and redesigns are still very low cost, in 

stark contrast to the situation with traditional transistors. Some are totally transparent. For example, proponent 3T 

Technologies in the UK calls itself the “transparent electronics company”. Some are much more stable than 

amorphous silicon, even working for years without protection from the elements. Some will be stretchable and even 

biodegradable and made on paper thanks to Abo Akademi and Helsinki University in Finland, ACREO and 

Linkoping University in Sweden and others. Those new transistors that are printed, such as the Hewlett Packard 

ones using zinc oxide based transistors in thermal inkjet printers, can be made at very high speed, reel to reel over 

large areas. Such area is needed for driving the pixels of huge billboards and signage for example. Currently most 

of the new transistors are limited to frequencies around tens of megahertz, but this still embraces the most popular 

frequency for RFID permitting sales of trillions to be contemplated rather than the limit of no more than tens of 

billions yearly imposed by the cost of the silicon chip in today's RFID label. 



The higher the mobility of the charge carrier in the semiconductor, the higher the frequency of the transistor, all 

other things being the same. Improving printable and thin film semiconductors is therefore a hot area of research 

and some examples are given below, though the situation is rapidly changing. However, Plastic E Print in the UK 

has a version made in a single layer that can achieve terahertz frequency. Some printed transistors are fault tolerant 

and therefore of interest to NASA and the healthcare community. Eastman Kodak in the USA has recently patented 

edible printed RFID. 

The chart on the left shows typical carrier mobility in different potential TFTC semiconductors (actual and envisaged). 

On the right is a regional distribution of 150 organizations developing printed transistors. ) 

Source IDTechEx report “Printed and Thin Film Transistors and Memory” 

Huge new markets: The new transistors are the key to huge new markets that the silicon chip will never reach. 

They will transform medicine, for example, making sophisticated diagnostic and drug delivery skin patches viable 

and a multitude of disposable testers of bodily fluids. They will herald the smart package for merchandising, with 

moving color images, sound and storage of books, videos etc as incentives. They will lead to safer dispensing of 

medicines, recording what was taken when, prompting and much, much more. 

The largest segment of the total printed electronics industry (encompassing displays, sensors, photovoltaics, etc.) 

will be printed transistors and memory. They will drive lighting, displays, signage, electronic products, medical 

disposables, smart packaging, smart labels and much more besides. The chemical, plastics, printing, electronics and 

other industries are cooperating to make it happen. Already, over 150 organizations are developing printed 

transistors and memory, with first products being used in 2007. The market will take off slowly initially, reaching 

$40 million in 2009 then grow rapidly as technical challenges are overcome, reaching $8 billion by 2017. 

IDTechEx has a new report “Printed and Thin Film Transistors and Memory”. It explains the many chemical and 

construction technologies of the new transistors and memory, profiles a large number of the developers and their 

plans, and forecasts the market size for 2007 to 2017, as the first production products burst on the scene and a 

multi-billion dollar business is created. 150 organizations developing the new transistors are compared. They are 

distributed as follows. 

These transistors are the engine of the emerging printed and potentially printed electronics market. That will 

become a $300 billion business and many billion-dollar companies will be created on the back of it, transforming 

many sectors of society and industry. No one can ignore that. http://www.IDTechEx.com/tftc 



Silicon inks for electronics 

by Lawrence Gasman 

Lawrence Gasman is principal analyst and founder of NanoMarkets LC, in Glen 

Allen, Virginia. He has over 25 years of experience as a high-tech consultant for 

companies including Analog Devices, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Fujitsu, 

NEC, Nortel and NTT, and is also the author of three books on telecommunications 

topics. He is also on the editorial board of the Foresight Nanotech Institute and is a 

regular speaker at various nanotechnology and display related conferences. This 

article first appeared in the NanoMarkets TOP Blog on September 16, 2007. 

NanoMarkets recently released a new report on silicon inks: “Opportunities for 

Nanocrystalline Silicon and Silicon Inks in Electronics”. http://www.nanomarkets.net 

Recently, the joys of nanoparticles have come to prominence in thin film electronics with the appearance - and 

increasing use - of silver nanoparticulate inks. These nano-inks are intended to replace the silver pastes and inks 

that have been used for years in thick-film (i.e., screen-printed) electronics. The advantages of silver nano-inks lie 

in the fact that they have inherently higher performance characteristics than conventional inks. Nanoparticles 

therefore pack tightly and so inks made with them have better thermal and electrical conductivity. So silver nanoinks 

need less silver and lower temperature processing to create an electrode. 

These silver inks have begun to be followed to the market by nano-inks made from copper, nickel and gold. All that 

is being hoped for here is that the transition from conventional ink to nano-ink will occur with (say) copper in the 

same way it did for silver. Since the applications are very similar for both silver and copper inks, this is a fairly safe 

strategy. 

Printed silicon and nanosilicon: But it also immediately raises a couple of interesting questions. The first one is: 

“What other electronic materials, could be useful in nanoparticulate form?” In answering this question, silicon 

immediately suggests itself for consideration. It is after all the single most important material in electronics 

applications ranging from high-speed processors to photovoltaics. 

The second question is what other common electronic materials - apart from silver, gold, nickel and copper - could 

be made into inks? The motivation for asking such a question is that it may be possible to capitalize on the 

economics of printing vs. vapor deposition or photolithography. Researchers and product development teams are 

taking a look at new ink types that use ZnO, ITO and carbon nanotubes... and there is also a growing interest in 

printing silicon. 

It is important to recognize that the two questions set out above are separate but linked. Silicon inks need not be 

made with nanoparticles. Indeed, in important cases, now being researched, they are not. Yet, using nanoparticles in 

inks can give these inks improved performance, as in the case of the silver nano-inks mentioned above. It is also 

true that nanoparticulate silicon need not be deposited with a printing technology and in some applications - nextgeneration 

computer memory being one example - clearly will not be. Yet, if there is some way to use printing to 

deposit nanoparticles it will surely be attractive to take this route. 

What really links the two questions though is that silicon is arguably the best understood and most used electronic 

material. The depth of understanding of silicon physics and chemistry means that there is a wealth of understanding 

about silicon; decades of research than can be brought to bear on making silicon-based materials in new forms, 

whether these new forms are inks or nanoparticles. The extent of silicon’s current use means that initiating new 

research and product strategies in silicon may be worth it. With so many established applications for silicon 

already, new forms of silicon with improved performance characteristics might see quick market acceptance. 



Applications for the “New Silicon”: There is now a ground swell of interest in this new kind of silicon materials 

platform. At least three start-up firms – Innovalight, Kovio, and Semprius - have placed printed silicon at the core 

of their business. Seiko Epson has done a lot of work on printed silicon too. Meanwhile, Freescale has made 

nanocrystalline silicon a key part of its next-generation memory strategy and this is an interest that is shared to 

some degree by Micron, Infineon and even Intel. 

Freescale’s memory uses nanocrystalline silicon for the floating gates. In conventional memories, floating gates 

require a thick oxide layer, which limits scalability. If the oxide layer is simply thinned down, voltage leaks tend to 

result. Freescale’s solution is to make the floating gates out of 5-nm silicon nanocrystals, which allows thinner 

layers of oxide to be used without much of leakage problem. 

Innovalight is turning nanoparticulate silicon into inks with the plan to print photovoltaic (PV) arrays. (It had 

previously examined using this kind of nano-ink to print lighting.) In theory, this approach, which is expected to be 

commercialized by 2009, could bring to market PV arrays with disruptively low price points but at energy 

conversion ratios and material stability that are not so far from those promised by conventional PV. The 

competition here is organic PV, which can get to those price points, but is unlikely ever to reach the same level of 

performance. 

Meanwhile, Semprius is focusing its printed technology on backplanes (an area of interest to Seiko Epson too) for 

LCD and OLED displays as well as for large area sensors. Here the story is somewhat similar to PV. But the 

competition will come from both organic electronics (OE) and more conventional silicon approaches. To counter 

the competitive threat from OE, printed silicon can once again look to superior performance including higher 

switching speeds. Switching speeds are one important reason that backplanes using organic thin film transistors 

(OTFTs) have never found their way into the mainstream LCD display business, despite some high hopes a few 

years back. To counter competition from more conventional silicon TFT approaches, printed silicon can be much 

more easily addressed to need for printing transistors on large area/flexible substrates. 

It should be clear from all of this that the potential applications that can ultimately be addressed by all these efforts 

are very diverse. In addition to the areas mentioned above, printed RFID is another area that would seem likely to 

attract interest from firms touting printed silicon. It promise better economics than the current approach of 

manufacturing RFID in depreciated fabs and better materials than OE can yet offer. This middle-of-the-road 

thinking is also of some relevance to the use of nanocrystalline silicon in the mainstream semiconductor industry. 

Faced with watching Moore’s Law finally run out of steam completely as a scaling rule or adopting strange - and 

entirely novel - approaches to electronics (spintronics, nanotube transistors, and so on), nanocrystalline silicon 

offers a way forward for chipmakers while retaining much that is familiar. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


ILEDs: Placeholders for OLED lamps? 

by David Lieberman 

David Lieberman has been a regular contributor to the electronics trade press since 1980, 

holding editorial positions at High Technology, Electronic Products and Computer Design 

magazines, as well as serving as managing editor for OEM Magazine during his 11-year stint 

with its sister-publication E.E.Times. Lieberman has authored market research reports for 

NanoMarkets, IDC, First Technology Inc. and Intertech on such topics as flexible displays 

and electronics, and organic and printable lighting. Lieberman holds a BA degree in 

Secondary Education-English from the University of Illinois and an MA/ABD in English from 

the State University of New York at Stony Brook. This article was originally posted on July 

31, 2007 on the NanoMarkets blog site and is reprinted by permission. 

Solid-state lighting (SSL) is making impressive inroads these days in the form of next-gen 

inorganic light-emitting diode (ILED) arrays, and some very innovative products are 

appearing. In overhead lighting applications, ILEDs are delivering comparable or better brightness than traditional 

technologies - at a much higher cost, of course, but also at a significant power saving and a greatly extended 

operating life. 

As ILEDs blaze the lighting trail, however, it’s hard not to see these point-light sources as placeholders for the next 

next-gen technology, which will be flat, printed area-light sources, based on organic LEDs (OLEDs), thick-film 

electroluminescent (EL) devices, field-emission devices (FEDs), or some other technology waiting in the wings. 

There are several reasons for this. As a small semiconductor device, the ILED requires additional optical elements 

to spread its light out for area-lighting applications such as overhead lighting and, further, arrays of multiple ILEDs 

are typically required to provide adequate lighting output, with the need for interconnect and mounting hardware to 

make the whole thing work. Alternative light sources that inherently provide area lighting seem a much more 

straightforward solution. 

ILEDs, moreover, generate a fair amount of heat per unit area, although they are far more efficient than 

incandescent bulbs, and on a par or marginally better than fluorescent bulbs. Flip over one of the new crop of ILED 

fixtures and what do you see? A huge heat sink. That’s required because moving the heat away from the ILED 

itself is critical for reliable operation. In a planar light source such as an OLED lamp, in contrast, the light emitting 

area and heat dissipating area are essentially the same area, greatly simplifying heat management. The heat sink 

required by an ILED fixture not only adds cost but depth and weight as well, increasing the demand on inventory 

space and raising shipping costs. 

Potential cost reduction is, of course, the prime motivation behind the development of printed lighting or, for that 

matter, printed electronics in general. Semiconductor fabrication techniques have come a long way in making 

thermal vacuum deposition, photolithographic patterning and other manufacturing techniques very cost effective, 

and they provide the ultimate in performance. But for applications with only modest performance requirements, 

printing promises an order of magnitude improvement in cost reduction, with its forgiving tolerances and loose 

environmental requirements. What’s more, future light sources will remove many of the constraints on the creative 

freedom of product designers. So many places a flat lamp would easily fit! How simplified integration could 

become! And what a great degree of differentiation will be possible when oval lights, contoured lights, tunablecolor 

lights and the rest all become possible. 

Look around the room you’re in and consider where light could be creatively deployed, either for fun or function. 

How about down or up-lighting on the shelves of your bookcase? A multi-level lamp integrated into your picture 

frames? A bit of drawer lighting in your desk? Or a little glow in the logo on your coffee mug? Can you shed some 

light on what the future holds? 





Smart Technology – Smart OLED – Smart Content? 

by Jutta E. Rasp 

Jutta E. Rasp, founder of FPExperts and FPDisplays, has worked in the flat panel displays 

market for nearly two decades. FPExperts and its companies offer technology services as 

well as market analysis on various technologies and solutions. Jutta´s experience in R&D, 

production, sales, and the marketing of various flat panel display technologies allows her 

to understand the importance of the activities, findings and news releases in this diverse 

industry. 

In September the concert and theater season started again. One of the first events I went 

to was a political cabaret show; not knowing that flat panel display technology would be 

high on the agenda of the performing artist. To cut the story of a long evening short: the 

message the guests were left with is that the quality of broadcasted information 

decreased in correlation with the thickness of the thickness of TVs. Interesting… 

To a considerable number of people, the displayed content is still more important than the technology that is used 

within and around the screen. Especially for mobile communication one would think that it is far more important to 

receive messages rather than having the right color co-ordinates for yellow. Hence I had been amazed how slowly 

Clairvoyante’s subpixel-rendering technology has found acceptance in the market. Targeting various applications in 

the TFT-LCD world, Clairvoyante had been unable to land even one commercial win in the mobile market – even 

with specifications that either reduce power consumption by 50% (compared to stripe-RGB TFT-LCD), or double 

the brightness at the same power consumption. 

Well, in early October, Clairvoyante released information indicating that Samsung SDI is likely to be the first 

company to commercialize a high-resolution AM-OLED – specifically, a 3.08-inch display at 480x800 pixels, 

(although mind you the 480 x RGB x 800 no longer works with subpixel-rendered displays) using PenTile. The 

display also boasts a contrast ratio of 1000:1, brightness of 200 nits, and a power consumption of 400 mW. By 

using Clairvoyante’s proprietary PenTile technology, SDI is able to reduce the total number of subpixels by one 

third while keeping the apparent resolution of the display at 480x800 – allowing them to overcome the multiple 

problems of the current-driven OLEDs and to increase the production yield due to reduced matrix-complexity. 

Samsung SDI, with its investments of nearly $500 million since 2005 into AMOLED development and its latest 

announcement to double production capacity for their “dream displays” (AM-OLED) by first quarter of 2008, plans 

to serve the portable communication and multimedia market with 3 to 7-inch AM-OLEDs and, eventually, moving 

towards display diagonals of 10 to 30-inches to address the notebook and TV markets. Arguably, this makes SDI 

the most serious player in the OLED field. 

Perhaps SDI’s choice of Clairvoyante’s technology will send a strong signal to other AM-OLED and LCD 

manufacturers to start thinking of wise manufacturing and wise display-power-management practices. Subpixel 

rendering is a smart option to help move OLED displays into high-resolution and into more competitive technical 

characteristics. 

During times when concerns about global warming result in Oscars and a Nobel prizes, and when multimedia and 

portable communication devices are sold in millions and billions of units, any move toward energy-saving (starting 

from yield-enhancement during production and moving to daily recharging of the device) should be seriously 

considered. When we then look into the materials one can eventually come up with displays that have been 

produced in the best ecological way, operate at the lowest possible power consumption, and eventually, will 

biodegrade without a waste issue that might impact the environment. Whether smart content will be displayed on 

such a smart device is then up to the user. 



Last Word: Bring on November! 

Frankly, for many of us in the UK, October has turned out to be a “less than 

perfect” month. For those of you who have been on an extended vacation, or living 

in a cave somewhere, I should point out that the UK, and England in particular, has 

suffered two mighty sporting disappointments on successive days. The UK’s Lewis 

Hamilton lost his chance to be Formula 1 World Champion in his “rookie” first year 

in the sport in Brazil today, and England lost to South Africa in the Rugby World 

Cup Final held in France yesterday – note the dignified silence by the author on this 

subject and his refusal to join in gutter-like protests about how “we wuz robbed.” 

Forty eight hours is all the time it took to go from a nation full of sporting hope and 

expectation, to one that is miserable and looking for maximum sympathy from their 

partners and friends. So what has any of this to do with flexible substrates? Well, 

possibly, quite a lot! 

At major international rugby events such as the England–South Africa game, the 

referee on the pitch has the ability to refer any controversial try-scoring situation to 

an off-field fourth official (rugby has one referee and two referee’s assistants on the 

field) who assesses the situation by referring to multiple video feeds to determine 

whether a try has been scored or not. The “video referee” therefore has the power to 

take a decision that will always have a major effect on the progress of the game. On 

by Chris Williams 

Chris Williams is the 

director of the UK Displays 

and Lighting Knowledge 

Transfer Network 

closer consideration this “splitting” of responsibility between the “on field” official who is responsible for all 

decisions taken except for any try-scoring referral to the “video referee” is peculiar. Much better if the on-field 

official was given the necessary support to adjudicate all of the decisions himself. There are usually many 

occasions during the playing of the game when the live feed video shown on the large screens at the ground identify 

clear examples of foul or illegal play that simply were not picked up by the on-field officials, yet the “video 

referee” has no power to intervene and call the referees attention to the action. 

Step forward flexible displays please! Make some small TV resolution displays that are flexible, lightweight, 

rugged, and can be attached to the arm of the on-field referee, and he will suddenly be empowered to receive 

multiple views of any incident that takes place at a major game. He can then take the decision (be it right or 

wrong!) to punish or reward accordingly. With the referee able to see every ruck, maul, scrum, forward pass, try or 

non-try himself with a rapid replay of different camera angles, then the teams themselves will become less likely to 

commit offences, since there will now be much more chance of being caught by the ref! 

Crazy thinking? Am I guilty of exhibiting hopeless optimism in wanting to see a scene that may never occur? 

Possibly – but then that is the fate of every fan of every team in the world isn’t it – when your heart wants one 

result but your brain tells you another? There is also the undeniable fact that any company who successfully got a 

flexible display onto a referees arm for an application like this would have the branding exposure of a lifetime! 

Everyone would want to buy one – regardless of cost – to see the referee’s decisions played out fully. 

One other topic worthy of airing here is the need to try and help encourage, facilitate, build, and deliver – joined up 

government thinking. The UK is no better and probably no worse than many other countries in this area. At the 

present time, government is trying to push hard on environmental issues, and encourage all of us to move away 

from using incandescent bulbs in favor of using more efficient light sources. Entirely laudable! But – here’s the rub 

– much of this forward pressure is coming from the environment-centric department of government without linking 

in to the technology and business-centric departments to find out if the proposals are realistic, sensible, and offer 

manufacturing opportunities for UK plc. So, whilst we are now in a media-supported rush to “Ban the Bulb” and 



get rid of all incandescent bulbs from our homes and offices, no-one has really analyzed what we will be replacing 

them with. 

The incandescent bulb – old, taken for granted, and only delivering about 12 to 15 lumens per input watt. Poor 

lifetime, yes, wasteful of energy – yes, possibly, except that when a bulb is contributing to the total power needed 

for heating a room, if that wasted power in the form of heat radiated from the bulb isn’t there any more, then the 

power will still need to be supplied from some other source. Do incandescents have an excellent spectral output? 

No, but their color temperature of 3k or so Kelvin has been a de facto standard for many of us in our homes, and it 

provides a warm and inviting light. 

Now we have a headlong rush to implement newer “improved” “higher efficiency” bulbs – yippee! Main contender 

in the short term is compact fluorescent lamp technology as that is available now. Hmm – lovely – many more 

lumens per watt, but, hang around, these use mercury in the discharge lamp. Is this good news? We have 23 million 

homes in the UK, with at least 10 bulbs per house. If all switch to CFL lamps that becomes 230 million bulbs 

containing mercury that will become a future nightmare when it comes to safe disposal. Do we really want to see so 

much mercury being used around our homes? When bulbs fail, are householders really going to keep them aside 

and dispose of them safely at a specialist recycling center? Or are most of the failed devices going to end up in 

standard waste disposal methods? What do you think! The same is true of our LCD flat screen TVs and laptops – 

with so many CCFL lamps around now, we have a small time-bomb ticking away when it comes to end of life time. 

Perhaps a rush to make flexible OLED (and EL) lighting systems and lighting tiles to support the developing solid 

state lighting devices using LEDs already underway will be one alternative way forward that can offer us all the 

possibility to reclaim part of our manufacturing market. But then, perhaps it is already too late. Government has 

opened the commercial door and the flood of low-cost, low-spec lighting devices, from the Far East and beyond, is 

already appearing on supermarket shelves around the UK. An excellent example of jumping the gun and promoting 

technology change before domestic technology suppliers are fully in a position to satisfy a market need. 

And finally, yes, I do believe England scored a try on Saturday – having viewed all camera angles on my HDTV 

plasma screen in magnificent detail, so yes, “we wuz robbed!” 

Display Industry Calendar 

November 2007 

November 1-2 Digital Living Room San Francisco, California 

November 5-7 OLEDs World Summit La Jolla, California 

November 5-6 Challenges in Organic Electronics Manchester, England 

November 5-9 Color Imaging Conference 2007 Albuquerque, New Mexico 

November 6-8 Crystal Valley Conference Cheonan, Korea 

November 6-9 EHX Fall 2007 Long Beach, California 

November 6-11 SIMO 2007 Madrid, Spain 

November 7-8 High Def Expo Burbank, California 



November 8 Taiwan TV Supply Chain Conference Taipei, Taiwan 

November 8-10 Viscom Milan, Italy 

November 8-11 Color Expo 2007 Seoul, Korea 

November 9 2007 FPD Market Analysis & 2008 Market Outlook Seoul, Korea 

November 11-15 Photonics Asia 2007 Beijing, China 

November 12-14 LatinDisplay 2007 Campinas-SP, Brazil 

November 12-15 Printed Electronics USA San Francisco, California 

November 14-15 Nano 2007 Boston, Massachusetts 

November 14-15 DisplayForum Prague, Czech Republic 

November 14-16 Quantum Dot Optoelectronic Symposium Limassol, Cyprus 

November 19-20 International Conference on Enactive Interfaces Grenoble, France 

November 25-30 RSNA 2007 Chicago, Illinois 

November 27 

Symposium on Emerging and Industrial DLP 

Applications 

Wetzlar, Germany 

November 27-29 Stereo-3D Munich, Germany 

November 27-30 Display Metrology Short Course Boulder, Colorado 

November 29 Displaybank Japan Conference Tokyo, Japan 

December 2007 

December 4-5 FID 2007 Las Vegas, Nevada 

December 4-6 Connections Europe: Strategies for Digital Living Berlin, Germany 

December 4-6 Digital Video Expo West Los Angeles, California 

December 4-6 CineAsia Macau, China 

December 5-6 Thin Semiconductor Devices Munich, Germany 

December 5-6 Smart Fabrics Prague, Czech Republic 

December 5-6 Active RFID & RTLS Dallas, Texas 

December 5-7 SEMICON Japan Tokyo, Japan 

December 5-7 International Display Workshops Sapporo, Japan

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