February 2006

news archive

Kodak Expands OLED Market Participation, Turns Joint Venture Over to Sanyo

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Eastman Kodak Co. announced on Jan. 30 that it will soon turn control of its organic-light-emitting-diode (OLED) joint venture over to Sanyo Electric Co. in order to broaden its own participation in the OLED market.

Kodak hopes the turnover of SK Display Corp., a joint venture formed with Sanyo in 2001, will facilitate its broadened participation in the OLED industry and help it "further promote the commercialization of OLED technology," according to a statement. Kodak's enhanced participation model will include display and materials research and development (R&D), collaboration with manufacturers to develop OLED infrastructure including panel design and production, and pursuing additional licensing opportunities for both active-matrix and passive-matrix OLED (AMOLED and PMOLED) display technology. Kodak will continue as exclusive licensing agent on behalf of Kodak and Sanyo for certain OLED intellectual property. To date, more than 20 companies worldwide have licensed Kodak's advanced OLED technology.

"Our participation in SK Display has been valuable and now we have a good understanding of the design and manufacturing process of OLED displays," said Mary Jane Hellyar, Kodak's president of display business and a company senior vice president, in a statement. "This expertise is enabling us to work closely with our licensees to optimize their panel designs, systems integration and time to market. We continue to see excellent opportunities and market growth for OLED technology, and we are committed to expanding our participation model in order to further drive value from our leading OLED patent portfolio and promote the growth of the OLED display industry."

In what appears to be the first step in this new strategy, Kodak announced on Feb. 15 it has entered into an evaluation agreement for AMOLED development with LG.Philips LCD  The two companies will jointly evaluate display technologies for mobile displays and consider other opportunities, including the development and supply of AMOLED technology and products.

"This agreement brings together our leadership in TFT (thin-film transistor) technology with Kodak's expertise in producing OLED materials and processing technology," said Budiman Sastra, executive vice president and CTO of LG.Philips LCD, in a company press release. "Our goal is to work together seamlessly to develop future business opportunities in the AMOLED industry."

CDT Acquires Significant New Portfolio of Light-Emitting Polymer Patents

CAMBRIDGE, UK - Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) announced on Feb. 13 that it has acquired a bundle of patent rights from Maxdem Inc., including five United States patent applications and their foreign equivalents relating to new light-emitting polymer compositions and applications. Also included is a license to a large number of patents and applications relating to polyphenylene polymers and other polymer compositions and purification methods.

In a press release announcing the acquisition, CDT believes that, in combination with other patents and licensing rights it currently controls, it will now be able to control the use of metal/metal ions in combination with key polymers.

Notable patents acquired in the deal include a patent application for the invention of phosphorescent compositions containing a critical class of polymer materials and metals/metal ions. CDT hopes to use this technology for ink-jet printing and other means of solution processing.

The newly acquired rights will eventually be transferred to Sumation, a joint venture formed in 2005 between CDT and Sumitomo Chemical of Japan.

In the press release, CDT noted its belief that any solution-processable material, whether fluorescent or phosphorescent, will require the use of conjugated polymers and will therefore fall within its fundamental patents. Along with the Maxdem patents, CDT owns the patent rights in the use of dendrimers in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and licensing rights to the key Seiko Epson patents relating to ink-jet printing in relation to any OLED containing a conjugated polymer.

CDT also downplayed the recent announcement by Universal Display Corp. (UDC) of its new U.S. patent No. 6,982,179, titled "Structure and Method of Fabricating Organic Devices," stating that UDC's patent is limited to standard methods of creating patterned multilayer devices by solution processing, such methods being fully described in prior patents belonging to CDT or within its control.

LG.Philips LCD's Unveils New Division to Focus on Small- to Mid-Size Displays

SEOUL, South Korea - LG.Philips LCD announced in late January it has launched a specialized Application Business Division that will handle only the company's small- to mid-size thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) business.

The new division is focused on development, planning, sales, production and customer-support functions tailored specifically to the needs of consumers in the small- to mid-size TFT-LCD market. LG.Philips LCD, which as been in the small- to mid-size LCD business since 2003, stated in a press release that the division's sales have increased more than 100% each year-it now averages more than 5 million units sold per month-and the company sees more opportunity for growth in this market. The company's total sales so far in this sector have been around 55 millions units.

Small- to mid-size LCDs, which include any LCDs under 10 in. in size, are used primarily in portable media devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, portable DVD players, automotive displays, industrial and mechanical monitors, and game machines.

Panasonic, Toray to Build World's Largest PDP Plant

OSAKA, Japan - Panasonic parent company Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., and diversified chemical group Toray Industries Inc. announced in January that they will soon begin construction of the world's largest plasma display panel (PDP) plant in Amagasaki, Japan.

Construction on the new PDP plant-Panasonic's fifth, and its fourth in the joint venture with Toray known as Matsushita PDP Company Ltd. (MPDP)-will begin in May, with production scheduled to begin in July 2007. Based on 42-in. panel figures, the 180 billion-yen factory will have a production capacity of 6 million panels per year. This will bring Panasonic's total PDP output up to 11.1 million panels per year by March 2009.

"The new systems and technologies will bring greater mass-production efficiencies to the whole process while ensuring higher quality. ," said MPDP President Ken Morita in a statement. "Our new process technology allows a single substrate to yield up to eight 42-in. panels, the highest number in the world. According to a comprehensive production strategy aimed at further enhancing production efficiencies in all PDP plants, each production line will be specialized by screen size. As a result, MPDP will be able to supply PDPs with more speed and flexibility to meet the surging world demand."

Panasonic is anticipating the global PDP market will reach 25 million panels by 2010.

"We aim to be the world's top manufacturer of PDPs by enhancing our global share to over 40 percent," Morita said.

LCDs, Semiconductors Help Drive Samsung's 2005 Q4 Earnings

SEOUL, Korea - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on January 13 released its fourth quarter earnings for 2005, showing revenue and operating income driven by growing sales of semiconductors and LCD TVs.

The company posted a net income of 2.56 trillion won on revenue of 15.52 trillion won for the quarter ending December 31, 2005. Operating income for the quarter was 2.14 trillion won, compared to 2.13 trillion won in Q3. Net income in the fourth quarter increased 36 percent over the previous quarter, while revenue jumped 7 percent over the third quarter.

Samsung Electronics also reported revenue of 57.46 trillion won for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2005, and a net income for the year of 7.64 trillion won with an operating income was 8.06 trillion won.

The LCD business reported revenue of 3.01 trillion won and net income of 400 billion won. Sales and net income in the semiconductor division increased 5.09 trillion won and 1.62 trillion won, respectively.

According to a company statement, "The full ramp-up of the latest seventh-generation production line helped Samsung Electronics post solid results and shore up profit margins in the fourth quarter."

Margins in the fourth quarter increased 13 percent, up 2 percentage points from the third quarter.

Universal Display Corp. Receives Ink Jet Printing Patent for PHOLEDs

EWING, N.J. - Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology developer Universal Display Corp. (UDC) announced on Jan. 30 that it has received a United States patent covering ink-jet printing of phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) displays. Under the patent, US Patent No. 6,982,179, titled "Structure and Method of Fabricating Organic Devices," UDC will continue developing new low-cost ink- jet OLED manufacturing techniques.

UDC hopes its ink-jet manufacturing technology will one day lead to the mass-production of large-area OLED displays.

"This PHOLED ink-jet printing patent provides another option for OLED manufacturers in choosing how to produce displays using our proprietary phosphorescent OLED technology," UDC President and Chief Operating Officer Steven V. Abramson said in a statement.

UDC has developed PHOLED technology that is up to four times more efficient than conventional OLED technology, according to a release from the company. Power efficiency is a key metric to the near-term commercialization of OLED displays in portable electronics, as well as the development of OLED televisions and larger screen displays. In addition to superior power efficiency, PHOLEDs offer excellent color quality and long operating lifetime.

Bruce Berkoff Named CEO of Enuclia Semiconductor

BEAVERTON, Ore.- Enuclia Semiconductor Inc. named former LG.Philips LCD executive Bruce Berkoff its new president and chief executive officer in January.

Until recently, Korea-based Berkoff was the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of LG.Philips LCD, the world's leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays (TFT-LCDs).

"Bruce has unmatched display expertise in both fast-growing start-ups and industry-leading companies," Enuclia co-founder Carl Ruggiero said in a statement. "He will be instrumental in helping Enuclia quickly realize its potential. The company has strong momentum, and we expect that under Bruce's leadership, Enuclia will accelerate its position as we push toward our product and revenue goals."

Located in Beaverton, Ore., Enuclia is a fabless semiconductor company focused on emerging display electronics.

ZBD Appoints New Managing Director

Malvern, Worcestershire, U.K.-Zero-power display innovator ZBD on January 30 appointed its former Chief Operating Officer Clive Mayne as the company's new Managing Director.

Mayne was named COO in 2003. Since that time, ZBD has emerged as a leading supplier of display technology for portable electronic devices.

"Over the last two years, the company has made great progress under Clive's leadership," ZBD Chairman Colin Garrett said in a statement. "His knowledge, experience and drive have been crucial in establishing ZBD as an innovator and leader in the eyes of top-tier brands. With him as managing director, the company is set to go from strength to strength."

ZBD's operations cover holographic gratings; liquid crystal materials and physics; optics; electronics and addressing; and LCD fabrication.