September 5, 2008: Evident Technologies, Inc. and Philips Electronics signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement paving the way for commercialization of nanocrystal-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Evident intends to immediately launch a new line of low-power LED and LED based products that use semiconductor nanocrystals as a phosphor.

“LEDs last longer and are much more efficient than incandescent lights but are limited to only a few colors,” said company CEO Clint Ballinger. “We are excited about this licensing agreement and leveraging our technology to bring additional colors to these light sources.”

LEDs are fundamentally constrained to emit only a single color of light. The current state-of-the-art white LEDs use phosphors to convert blue LEDs into “white” or other colors. However, the underlying phosphor technology can limit the range of colors that are obtainable. Semiconductor nanocrystal technology removes these color limitations. Evident has been developing semiconductor nanocrystal technology for years and plans to immediately launch commercial LED products based on this technology.

“We have long believed that there is a market for semiconductor nanocrystal technology and we are looking forward to the technology being commercialized,” said Dave Barnes, senior IP council at Philips.

“The LED industry seems eager to embrace this technology,” added Dave Duncan, COO of Evident Technologies. “Our new line of LED products will enable us to enter the retail market as well, making them the world’s first consumer products based on semiconductor nanocrystals.”