news archive
General
Atomics to Investigate Permeability of Plastic Substrates
San Jose,
California, October 21 - The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC)
today announced a $439,000 R&D project with General
Atomics Corp. of San Diego, California. The project's
objective is for General Atomics to develop the hardware,
process, and follow-on service capability to measure
permeation rates of water vapor through plastic substrates.
This technical capability must be established in order for
the display industry to manufacture reliable display devices
on flexible, plastic substrates.
Substrates
are the base layer for fabrication of any electronic flat
panel display and typically are made from ultra-thin glass
(currently 0.7 mm or less). The use of a plastic material
will enable new markets where lighter-weight, more rugged,
and flexible displays are required. Plastic substrates,
however, are far less resistant than glass to penetration of
water vapor and oxygen, which damage typical display
materials.
"Through
a novel approach of using a radioisotope, such a tritium, as
tracer materials, General Atomics can provide detection
capability far surpassing that which is currently available.
This capability was confirmed in prior feasibility studies
that tested procedures and hardware," stated Dr. Bob
Pinnel, USDC's chief technical officer.
The USDC-sponsored
project, which is 50/50 cost-shared with General Atomics, is
targeted to provide detection capability that is three to
four orders of magnitude greater than current detection
limits of 0.005 grams/square meter per day. General Atomics
will design test methods, re-design an existing test system
for enhanced automation and accuracy, and establish a
commercial testing service for the flat-panel display
industry. The project is expected to be complete in twelve
months.
The USDC
program is a collaborative effort of private industry and
the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, located in Adelphi,
Maryland.
Information: www.usdc.org.
Osram Opto
Semiconductors Names TFS as Exclusive U.S. Display
Integration Partner
Tempe,
Arizona, October 15 - Three-Five Systems and Osram Opto
Semiconductors today announced that TFS has been named as
Osram's exclusive engineering services and OLED marketing
partner in the United States. TFS will provide design
engineering and electronic manufacturing services to support
the integration of Osram's technology into TFS customers'
display products and will add three Osram OLED modules to
its offering of standard display products.
The latest
phase of the TFS-Osram partnership expands on the original
agreement launched late last year, which covers a spectrum
of current OLED display technologies and product
configurations. Also included in the original agreement are
plans to market standard OLED display products manufactured
by Osram in a fully qualified ISO environment. As a result,
TFS has added three Osram OLED modules to its line of
standard display products: 96x54, 96x64, and 128x64
monochrome grayscale displays. TFS will continue to offer
full-custom OLED modules, as well as its line of standard,
semi-custom/glass platform, and full-custom LCD displays.
"Expanding
our standard product line to include OLED products is a very
important part of our business plan," said Jack Saltich,
President and CEO of TFS. "There is a growing demand
for this exciting new technology, and Osram is an
acknowledged expert in the field. A standard OLED product is
imperative for our customers who do not want or need to
invest in a full custom module."
Information: www.tfsc.com.
LG.Philips
LCD Sets Record: Sells Two Million Large TFT-LCDs in One
Month
Seoul, South
Korea, Oct. 1 (PRNewswire) - LG.Philips LCD Co., Ltd, today
announced that it has reached a major milestone with a new
monthly production and shipment record of two-million
"large" (10 inches and above) TFT-LCDs, according
to DisplaySearch and other industry analysts.
LG.Philips
LCD attributes this success to the company's strong
marketing and sales capabilities, as well as its superior
manufacturing productivity, as indicated by the company's
record-setting early ramp-up and operation of its two Gen 5
production lines, one of which is "P4," the
world's first Gen 5 factory, which began production in
spring 2002. Through early stabilization of its
fifth-generation operations, the company was able to achieve
more than 80 percent production yield rates, which
contributed to the new production record, the company said.
Information: www.lgphilips-lcd.com.
Rogers
Acquires 3M's Share of Durel
Rogers,
Connecticut, September 30 - Rogers Corporation announced
today that it has acquired from 3M Company its 50-percent
interest in Durel Corporation, a joint venture of Rogers and
3M, for $26 million in cash.
Effective
today, the operations and revenues of Durel will become
fully integrated and consolidated into Rogers Corporation.
The new business unit will be called the Durel Division, and
its financial and operating results will be included as part
of the Rogers' Polymer Materials and Components business
segment. Rogers expects the acquisition to be accretive to
earnings.
Durel
Corporation was formed as a 50/50 joint venture between
Rogers and 3M in 1988. The company progressed from a small
startup operation to what is now the largest manufacturer of
electroluminescent lighting in the world. With its patented
inverter and lamp technology, Durel is able to offer a broad
range of electroluminescent custom designs to meet the
challenges of today's marketplace, a company announcement
said. Year-to-date revenues for the company through August
were $44 million.
Rogers
anticipates a smooth and orderly transition as it fully
integrates Durel into the Rogers family. Mr. Michael D.
Bessette, a 27-year employee of Rogers will become Vice
President of the new Durel business unit. Mr. Bessette is
currently Director of Product Development for Rogers.
Steve
Landwehr, Executive Vice President, 3M Transportation
Business, commented, "Durel has evolved to the point
where we agreed that the business is best served by
integrating it within the organization of one of the
partners. Strategically, the best fit is with Rogers."
Information: www.rogerscorporation.com,
email: cynthia.kiss@rogerscorporation.com.
Sharp
Develops LCD Panel Speaker with Integrated Display and Audio
Output
Osaka, Japan,
September 22 - Sharp Corporation has developed an LCD panel
speaker in which the visual display and audio output
functions are combined using a System LCD with audio circuit
integrated onto the glass using CG Silicon, a
high-performance thin-film semiconductor material jointly
developed by Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. and
Sharp. By eliminating the need for an external speaker, this
product reduces space needed for peripheral equipment in the
product containing the display, and improves the product's
reliability.
The LCD panel
speaker is characterized by a Distributed Mode Actuator
(DMA) element, a drive element using a piezoelectric effect
developed by NXT and licensed to Hoshiden, which vibrates
and produces sounds from the glass surface.
With the
advance of broadband technologies in broadcasting and
communication infrastructures, it is forecast that consumer
demand for new AV- and IT-capable entertainment will grow
rapidly. Mobile-device users will be able to see actual
images from movies and TV programs while enjoying their
sound, and this new module will allow manufacturers to
deliver these capabilities more efficiently, a Sharp
announcement said.
Information: www.sharpsma.com.
